Missing Link - In Theaters April 12th

This post is in partnership with United Artists Releasing

Last weekend I was invited to a VIP advance screening of the upcoming film Missing Link in Los Angeles. It was an amazing weekend. We stayed at the Beverly Hilton and it was a beautiful hotel. We were shuttled around on a double decker Missing Link bus. It was awesome! The kids wanted to ride on the top and they still can't stop talking about it. They thought it was so cool. We were served dinner and got to watch the movie in a private screening room. It was so good. The movie will hit theaters April 12th. Thank you United Artists for this invitation.

This photo makes me so happy. I seriously love my job and being able to bring the kids to movie screenings and ride on double decker buses is just so cool. They have no idea how lucky they are.

Of course I made the kids Missing Link shirts!

Sunday morning was the press junket at the Beverly Hilton and it was so much fun. I met with the talent and interviewed Zoe Saldana, Zach Galifianakis, and Chris Butler (director and writer). Blake and the kids got to come to the press junket and there was face painting for the kids, swag bags (the kids were spoiled with so much Missing Link merchandise), story telling, photos with the characters and more. It was seriously the best.

The movie stars Hugh Jackman, Zoe Saldana, Zach Galifianakis, Timothy Olyphant, David Walliams, Emma Thompson, Matt Lucas, Ching Valdes-Aran, Stephen Fry, Amrita Acharia and more.

It was an honor to meet Zoe, Zach, and Chris. I loved learning about LAIKA and the filmmaking process. I enjoyed listening to Chris Butler share about the process of making this movie.

"It started with a drawing that I did of Mr. Link, which has been described as a hairy avocado,

with legs. And there was something about that drawing that I just kept coming back to, and people kept saying, That is a very charming thing. And that really ended up becoming Mr. Link in this movie."

This was a pitch me moment! I have always been a fan of Zoe Saldana. I love all of her movies, but Center Stage and Crossroads are two of my favorites!

Zoe shared how she loves stop motion. "There is a level of commitment and passion and devotion and artistry that is invested in this form of art that LAIKA just refuses to let die. So, that is what attracted me in the first place to want to do this film. I think I am used to being a part of projects that take forever to make. And it is always like leaps of faith. But Chris Butler was very convincing and he was wonderful. And when he showed me all the reference pictures and I was able to see Adelina, I fell in love with the whole story of it. And then he said that Zach and Hugh were already signed on, I said, Okay, absolutely, yes, I am gonna do it."

Zach shared about how he loved the innocence of Mr. Link. "You know, the thing that I really like

about Mr. Link, I miss it, is innocence. I miss it, and having kids you get to see it, you know. And I am like, Oh my god, what happened to me?! And I think because he is in the woods,

he has an innocence and purity to him."

The movie is about Mr Link, who has been living in solitude in the Pacific Northwest. He is 8 feet tall and covered in fur. He recruits fearless explorer Sir Lionel Frost to guide him on a journey to find his long-lost relatives in the fabled valley of Shangri-La. Along with adventurer Adelina Fortnight, the trio encounter their fair share of peril as they travel to the far reaches of the world. Through it all, they learn that sometimes you can find a family in the places you least expect.

This movie had purity, humor, creativity, and joy. It is an epic comedic adventure, that is heartwarming and about finding true friendship and what really matters. All three of the main characters are on a journey to finding themselves and wanting to be accepted. The movie is 94 minutes and my kids loved it from the beginning until the end. Carter is seven and Kennedy is four.

There was story time after the press junket and the most amazing picture books about Missing Link.

There was this collectible 3D wood model you could make of Mr. Link and Carter and Kennedy loved putting these together at home.

This is what the model should look like once you are done putting it together. This one was at the press junket.

We got to meet Dan, who is a stop motion animator. He makes these puppets come to life. He was so wonderful to talk to and it was interesting to learn about the puppets and his job.

Mr. Link is the heaviest lead character ever created for LAIKA film. On the outside Mr. Link is lovable and friendly. On the inside he is a nest of metal parts, including a mechanical belly mover, a chest breather, squash and stretch devices, worm gears and racks and pinions.

The kids were so excited to meet the characters after just seeing the movie. If you know my children, you know they love meeting characters!

Kennedy got her arm painted

Here are some of the goodies we came home with. My kids loved everything!

Bring in your Missing Link movie ticket to any CPK and get a FREE kids meal! At CPK right now they are also giving away these adorable stickers! You can purchase tickets for the movie here.