I was like “I’m not going to fight this”, I was just waiting for someone to change my mind. I looked around for a long time and I didn’t have that same moment but I did have some initial sketches from years and years ago that people were responding to favourably, especially one of Link – everyone seems to love it. On Paranorman it was easy, I saw Heidi Smith’s work and was like “That’s what the characters look like on this one”. I was, I mean officially I’m character designer – it was a difficult one to call to be honest. You were also the lead designer on this, weren’t you? There was something about that shot that summed up what I was trying to do in the movie, the sense of scale, bold graphics and colour – even though we did it in the first few weeks that sensibility survived. Another one was Lionel riding in front of this wall of giant fallen logs, which is in the movie.
The missing link movie movie#
There was one I did with Lionel in the study and that was almost the “eureka” moment for the look of the movie for me.
In this case it was maybe two concept artists – I’ll do some drawings and they’ll paint them up and become this handful of iconic images that sum up the movie.
When you’re in development on a film like this you often work with a handful of artists. I think that comes from being a story artist probably, it definitely helps me. I think for me I’ve got a little movie playing in my head when I’m writing. That’s the most interesting thing, when they’ll read a line in a completely different way from what I expected but it gives a different perspective on a character.Ĭoming from a visual background, working in storyboarding, is it ever a struggle to build a narrative when you have this very specific visual idea in mind? That’s wonderful to me, when an actor reads a script they are creating the character for themselves and it doesn’t necessarily meet with my idea it will do in some instances but not always. A big part of it also is I start with what’s on the page and have a certain idea of the character but then when you enlist the actor and they get into the recording booth they bring a whole other side. In this case it’s about friendship and identity, and I think when you’ve got those themes and you’ve got your setting then it’s kind of easy for things to fall into place. I think I might start with the idea, like “I want to do an adventure movie and I want it to be victorian” but then I think “What’s it about?”
When I’m writing I know what I’m trying to say, thematically. How do you go about developing multiple characters in what must seem like a short time, from a scripting and directing point of view? Skwigly were able to get a little time with the film’s writer, director and lead designer Chris Butler, whose work with Laika began with his directorial debute Paranorman back in 2012. From this brief description, I’m sure you can already imagine the scale of the film – crossing countries and continents required dozens of sets, characters, props and costumes to be created for this miniature-scaled – but nonetheless grand – adventure film.Īs we have come to expect from Laika, the film doesn’t fall short in regards to the visuals or its impressive technical feats Missing Link is joyously colourful and unique in its re-envisioning of yet another world populated by characterfully-designed people and beasts. Upon meeting the kindly creature the two strike a bargain to reunite the red-haired sasquatch with his long-lost cousins the mighty Yeti at their snowy fortress in the Himalayas. Directed by Chris Butler ( Paranorman ), the film follows debonair adventurer Sir Lionel Frost as he treks across the globe to discover and capture the Missing Link. Missing Link is the fifth film from American animation machine Laika Studios in Portland, Oregon.