Wildwood Could Be Laika’s Most Ambitious Film Yet
Behind the Scenes: Cinema: Wildwood Could Be Laika’s Most Ambitious Film YetLaika is back, and it has gone big. Wildwood, the stop-motion studio’s new feature, runs 132 minutes — which the filmmakers say makes it the longest stop-motion animated film ever. Travis Knight directs, with a world premiere at the London Film Festival on October 11 ahead of a US release on October 23.
Knight previously directed Kubo and the Two Strings for Laika before making Bumblebee, and Wildwood marks his return to the studio’s signature handcrafted animation.
The story
Prue McKeel is a Portland schoolgirl whose baby brother, Mac, is carried off by a flock of crows into a vast enchanted forest on the city’s edge. With her classmate Curtis tagging along, she ventures in after him and finds a world of talking animals, feuding kingdoms and a mysterious woman named Alexandra who controls the crows.
From page to puppets
The film adapts the 2011 novel by Colin Meloy, frontman of The Decemberists, with illustrations by Carson Ellis. Laika started developing it the year the book came out, but production didn’t begin until September 2021 at its Hillsboro, Oregon, facility.
The crew built 136 sets and 231 physical puppets, used 3D printing for armatures and layered visual effects over the stop-motion footage. It is also Laika’s first PG-13 release.
The voice cast
The ensemble is stacked:
- Peyton Elizabeth Lee as Prue;
- Jacob Tremblay as Curtis;
- Carey Mulligan as Alexandra;
- Mahershala Ali as Brendan, the Bandit King;
- Angela Bassett as the General, a golden eagle;
- Awkwafina as Septima, a rat;
- Charlie Day as Dmitri, a coyote;
- plus Tom Waits, Richard E. Grant, Amandla Stenberg and Jemaine Clement.
Chris Butler wrote the screenplay, Caleb Deschanel served as cinematographer and Dario Marianelli composed the score, reuniting with Knight for a third time after Kubo and Bumblebee.
The buzz
Trailers have racked up about 178 million combined views, the title was revealed at Coraline’s anniversary screenings, and a Wildwood: Follow the Crows art installation opened in Portland this summer.
Release date
Wildwood opens in US theaters on October 23 through Fathom Entertainment. See the cast and stills on the film’s page in our AMDB database.
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Author: Daniel Reeves, industry reporter
Publication date: September 23 2026
Views: 8
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