LAIKA does a good job of creating heartfelt stories with a handcrafted feel. Indeed, in a world where CG makes up the bulk of the animation on the big screen, there has been a loss of some of the physical touches that the medium brought. In the past, it was the bleeding of the pastels or the rough Xerox job done during the animation process.

But just because I get a kick out of seeing something physical get animated doesn’t mean they get a pass in the story or acting department. As with all movies, there’s a lot of weight that’s hoisted onto the backs of the actors. In this case, they have several big actors like Hugh Jackman, Zoe Saldana, and Emma Thompson rounding out the cast, but we can’t forget the man who’s playing the titular Mr. Link himself, Zach Galifianakis.

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LRM Online‘s Gig Patta had a chance to catch up with director Chris Butler, and in their discussions, Gig asked why he felt Galifianakis was the man for the role.

“I think it would have been easy for that character to be the slapstick sidekick, and he was much more than that to me,” Butler told us. “He is the heart of the movie. We went for Zach because he brought such an innocent vulnerability to that role. He’s naive, but he’s not stupid, and when I look at Zach’s comedy, there’s a slightly displaced feeling to it as well that has a vulnerability to it. I think what you end up with is a character you really feel for. You’re not just laughing at him, and that was important to me.”

“Naive but not stupid” I think is key here. Very often it’s easy to jump from inexperienced straight to stupid, and it’s difficult to find someone who can straddle the line there.

What do you think of what you’ve seen of Galifianakis’ take on the role based on the trailers so far? Let us know down below!

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SOURCE: LRM Online