My opinion right after watching the movie
My opinion right after watching the film is that it’s somewhat underwhelming to me. Laika has such a huge reputation for their great films, and this film was just……. good at best. It kind of dragged, the premise was not interesting, and I kind of got bored at times. There is still a lot of fine stuff in the movie, and you can get a few laughs, but it just came and went in my opinion. Sucks that Laika can never really get much financial success.
Production
There is not much information on the production of the film, other than the fact that Laika used 110 sets, and over 65 locations for the film.
Story
The movie starts with some chase with a prehistoric monster attacking two people, and after not getting the evidence, Sir Lionel Frost (Hugh Jackman) is abandoned. He finds a foot of some prehistoric figure, and shows it to the exhibition (Society of Great Men) to claim it as the “missing link”. Lionel demands to his rival Lord Piggy-Dunceby (Stephen Fry) that he will bring proof of the figure’s existence, and will become a member of the club when he does so.
Anyways, Piggy sends some goons to try and kill him, but of course it doesn’t turn out to the former’s way. Lionel ends up bumping into his ex lover Adelina (Zoe Saldana) for a map that will take him to the Yetis, but she is bitter for not showing up to her husband’s funeral, who was his friend. Anyways, she kicks him out, and we end up getting quite a bit of filler after this, where they break in her house, and barely manage to escape with the map. She follows them to the train station, and somehow ends up joining them. During the time on the boat, Adelina tells Lionel that he treats Mr. Link like crap, and how he is a selfish son of a gun, while Lionel is trying to make up with his ex.
One of the goons show up once again, fails, and they continue travelling, where it is also clear that the exes are going to fall in love with one another once again. They are told that the place in the Himalayas are hidden by choice from the humans, only for Mr. Link to reveal that he is a “missing link”. Anyways, they make it to the Himalayas, and they are quickly tossed out, causing everyone to wallow. Adelina lectures him for wanting to join a group of people who do not respect or care for him, and doesn’t care about anyone else. The villains show up, and destroys the bridge they are ALL on, and what you think will happen……. ends up happening. So Adelina goes on her own adventure, while Lionel and Mr. Link become business partners.
Characters
All of the characters are relatively thin, in my opinion. Lionel is just the stereotypical selfish smartass who has to learn how to be more selfless, without adding anything interesting to it. Mr. Link is mainly comic relief, an is the naive person who wants to fit in with a group of people. Adelina is a somewhat love interest, and mainly yells at him for being a shitty ex, though I am proud that they did not reconcile a relationship. I did not care for the villain in the film whatsoever. Luckily the dynamic between everyone in here makes up for the thin characters.
Animation
The animation is great, and what I would expect from Laika, so…… yeah. There is not much else for me to say about it, though it wasn’t as creatively mesmerizing as some of their predecessors.
Music
I don’t remember anything about the music, and it’s very forgettable. Nothing stood out about it being bad or whatever, but nothing that really got me in my emotions regarding the scenes in front of me.
Reception at Release
Like most Laika films, it underperformed (this one bombed) in the box office, where it made $16.6 million domestically, and $8 million in other territories, adding to a worldwide gross of $24.7 million. Also like most Laika films, it received great critical acclaim, where people liked the humor, heart, story, and animation. It sucks that they announced that another film won’t be coming anytime soon, but it seems like they need to find a way to recoup and restrategize.
Score
Story: 6/10
Characters: 6.5/10
Animation: 8/10
Music: 6/10
26.5/40 = 66%
animatedkid 
I thought this film was just okay as well. I consider it to be Laika’s weakest film.
I definitely agree. Didn’t care much for “The Boxtrolls”, but I remembered it being a lot more creative at least.
I personally think this is my favorite LAIKA film and while it does have many problems with plot and the character and voicing of Mr. Link, I think I liked it because it’s about stereotypical British adventurers and cryptozoology. So I think the subject matter is what drew me to the film.