Missing Link | Geekscape

While I touched on it during my Preview Night recap, LAIKA Live was way, waaaaaay too cool of an event not to dedicate its own post to.

Seriously, this is one of the best offsite events that I’ve been to in years, if not ever, so if you find yourself in the Gaslamp area of San Diego this week, the event is more than worth the likely multi-hour wait time.

LAIKA Live is at 350 5th Ave, with hours as follows:

Friday, 7/13: 2-10pm
Saturday, 7/14: 2-10pm
Sunday, 7/15: 11am-5pm
Monday, 7/16: 12-5pm
Tuesday, 7/17: 12-5pm
Wednesday, 7/18: 12-5pm
Thursday, 7/19: 10am-10pm
Friday, 7/20: 10am-11pm
Saturday, 7/21: LAIKA store opens at 10am; exhibit: 2:00pm-11pm
Sunday, 7/22: 10am-6pm

Natalie wrote about her experience at the event last year, and this year the offsite is over three times the size – this means that even if you went last year, there’s a bunch of new stuff to see, including a giant, huggable Mr. Link from Laika’s upcoming, adorable feature Missing Link.

LAIKA also has a ton of awesome new merchandise available, and will even have a merchandise-only line in case you just want to pick up some sweet wares.

Shane, Courtney, and I were all lucky enough to attend a private showcase of the exhibit which included some nice drinks and tasty treats (many of which were themed after LAIKA properties, and there were even cupcakes that had the silhouettes of LAIKA character hair on top, which amazed me for some reason).

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LAIKA employees were present to chat about the almost lost art of stop motion animation, and to show off just how some of the character animations work. One of the employees sounded super excited about the advancements that things like 3D printing bring to the art of stop-motion, and noted that they’ve made some huge developments with the character models of Missing Link. There’s some new technology that allows the characters to actually breathe, which I cannot wait to see in action.

The event featured sets from films like Coraline and The Boxtrolls, had a life-sized Other Mother’s living room that made for a wonderful photo-op, a “puppet-hospital”, amazing concept art, and so freaking much more. Teri Hatcher, the Other Mother herself, even showed up to kick-off the event, and to help celebrate the upcoming 10th anniversary of Coraline (has it been that long already?).

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I love LAIKA films, and I was in absolute heaven at this event. Both Courtney and Shane commented on the look of child-like wonder that was on my face the entire time we were there, and it was so hard not to buy up every amazing item in the store. After seeing just how incredible Mr. Link looked in person, I don’t know that there’s a film that I’m looking forward to more than Missing Link at this point.

Take a look at a few of the (unedited, SDCC is busy, okay) photos that I took at the event, and if you’re in San Diego, I implore you to head over to LAIKA Live.

A huge thanks to LAIKA for hosting us!

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Briefly: I cannot freaking wait.

Last year, Natalie was completely enthralled by what LAIKA had to show off at their Comic-Con offsite. Seeing her photos and hearing her talk of the event made me super excited to catch it myself… unfortunately, I never made it through the doors.

But that’s okay! LAIKA is back in the Gaslamp this year (in fact, even before SDCC begins) with another offsite installation, this time in a new location that’s THREE TIMES the size of last years phenomenal offering.

The exhibit will show off props, puppets, and sets from award winning LAIKA films like Coraline, The Boxtrolls, Paranorman, and (my favorite) Kubo and the Two Strings.

Naturally, there’ll also be giveaways, a LAIKA store (including some limited edition merch), and Coraline and the Other Mother will also be wandering around the Gaslamp Quarter, posing for photos in celebration of Coraline‘s tenth anniversary (it’s hard to believe that it’s already been that long).

If you’re headed to San Diego early, you’ll watch to check out this sure-to-be-a-highlight event before the crowds arrive. LAIKA Live is at 350 5th Ave, with hours as follows:

You can bet that I’ll be at LAIKA Live as soon as I possibly can be, camera in hand. Look for photos and impressions next week, and read of for some of the event’s upcoming highlights, straight from LAIKA!

Saturday, July 21st:
11am: LAIKA President & CEO Travis Knight (director of Kubo and the Two Strings) will take Facebook Live guests on a tour of the exhibit. (Details tba)

12:30 to 2:00pm: Autograph signing session with Travis Knight. Autographs of merchandise (available at the store at LAIKA LIVE) will be available on a first-come, first-served basis, time permitting.

WHAT TO SEE at LAIKA LIVE:

– Sets, puppets, props and technology demonstrations from all four LAIKA films as well as our hero puppet and a set from the studio’s upcoming Missing Link.
– LAIKA merchandise available for purchase.
– Daily drawing for one pair of collectible Coraline Dunks from Nike.
– Photo ops with LAIKA costume characters, including, Coraline and Other Mother from Coraline, Norman and Zombie Judge from ParaNorman, Boxtrolls Fish and Sparky from The Boxtrolls, Kubo, Monkey and Beetle from Kubo and the Two Strings, and Mister Link from Missing Link

Tag: Missing Link

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