Le chaînon manquant

'The Missing Link' - sometimes known as 'B.C. Rock' and 'Le Chaînon Manquant' - this is a daringly different sort of animated comedy no matter the title, focusing on the world's very first homo sapien, who eventually teaches his people how to walk, talk and make fire after many adventures with dinosaur friends. The humour varies in effectiveness with lame moments as the prehistoric humans repeatedly fail to copulate and attempt to walk in the strangest possible ways. There is a lot of ingenuity to the film too though with the protagonist inadvertently inventing the wheel and accidentally inventing the skipping rope. There are also fun references to movies such as '2001: A Space Odyssey' and stories such as 'Gulliver's Travels'. Some of the prehistoric beasts that appear in the film are wonderfully imaginative too, such as a species of feminine felines with long red tails and one-legged creatures that hop back and forth. And on the subject of beasts, the protagonist also manages to teach a confused dragon how to breathe fire! The characters here are not much to write home about, and bits and pieces of the film feel terribly juvenile, but the movie's tenacity to twist conventional theories of evolution, even bringing religion into the equation at one point (!) is no small feat, plus the film is genuinely touching at times with the protagonist's attempts to locate others of his own species.

I watched this so many times on BetaMax (yup I'm old-er) that the video store stopped charging us to rent it! This isn't great animation compared to now but hey, for 1980 it was awesome. I never laughed so hard over an animated adult movie. The dragon scene (Bill Murray) is hysterical - tears pouring down your face hysterical! The best part? I just found it on DVD from a place that specializes in hard to find movies, TV shows, etc. Search for Times Forgotten DVDs and you should find it. I haven't received my copy yet so not sure of quality, but I cannot wait for it to arrive. Movie night with about 10 of my friends who have heard me talk about it but never seen it. Awesome soundtrack artists too!

The soundtrack contains a few tracks from Leo Sayer and singles from the likes of Genesis and REO Speedwagon. The characters are amazing: Stewey Babcock (the first Man), Bone his buddy (a dinosaur) and Slick (a pterodactyl?) are the main characters. They have some amazing adventures, great comedy, satire as well as social commentary.

I didn't recognize many names in the credits, but the voice work was outstanding as well.

If anyone knows where a copy of this can be had, please email me as soon as possible!

I've been looking for a good copy of this for the last 10 years or so - no luck to date.

(Orig: 8-20-2001 Updated:1/26/08) I've almost been looking for 20 years now! Wow!

This review and most of the others as of this date refer to the English release titled "B.C. Rock", not the original French(?) version which now appears to be for sale on DVD and to which my original movie submission and review have been subsequently merged.

Based on reviews, the soundtrack and dialog are all different. I'd look for the English title of "B.C. Rock." Outside of the animation itself, it is not clear from the reviews that the original movie is related to "B.C. Rock" at all.

Definitely one of the best adult animated films ever made. I just don't understand why it is not available to buy on DVD OR VHS. We used to rent this film quite often back in the late 80's, but I have never seen it available for purchase ANYWHERE. Why is this? I found Ralph Bakshi's "Wizards" on VHS after years of searching. I have "Heavy Metal" on DVD. Why won't they make this available to us???????? This film is hilariously funny. The animation is awesome, and the story line is just too good! Complete senseless fun, and I would LOVE to show it to my kids now that they're grown. It sure would be nice to have even a limited re-release of this film so a whole new generation would be able to enjoy it.

There is something charming about Picha's, 'The Missing Link' and perhaps it lies in it's quaint production values. The sound is patchy, the animation uneven and performances somewhat forgettable but somehow it lingers like a guilty pleasure that draws snickers rather than belly laughs. There are some genuinely funny moments and some fabulous characters such as the fast talking, wise-guy, Pterodactyl and a fire breathing Dragon voiced by Bill Murray that is certain to get a laugh. The comedy largely depends on cartoon violence and sexual suggestion and is not at all confronting by today's standards and somehow seems naive and cute. Whilst 'The Missing Link' it is not Disney or even Hanna-Barbera, it reminds us of how important it is to admire these largely forgotten films that somehow get made through dedication and love and slip through the cracks in defiance of all that is mainstream.

F. Drebin