Wildwood

Wildwood is an epic and heartfelt film that transcends the animation genre and pushes stop-motion animation into new territories.

Laika is known for pushing the boundaries of stop-motion animation with their debut film, Coraline, still regarded as a cinematic masterpiece. Wildwood is directed by Laika’s CEO and president, Travis Knight, son of Laika founder and Nike co-founder Phil Knight. It is Knight’s second release this year, following Masters of the Universe in June, with his earlier films being Bumblebee (2018) and Kubo and the Two Strings (2017). Based on Colin Meloy’s book, illustrated by Carson Ellis, Wildwood follows teenager Prue (Peyton Elizabeth Lee), who ventures into an enchanted forest with her classmate Curtis (Jacob Tremblay) after losing her baby brother. There, they encounter the mysterious Alexandra (Carey Mulligan). The voice cast also includes Richard E. Grant, Mahershala Ali, Angela Bassett, Awkwafina, Amandla Stenberg, Tom Waits, Maya Erskine, Charlie Day and Jake Johnson.

Laika and Travis Knight excel at building rich fictional worlds that feel alive with stories. With a $100 million budget and a 132-minute runtime, Wildwood is the most expensive stop-motion animated film ever made and the longest. Yet the film makes full use of both. Its engaging story sometimes recalls wondrous, dramatic animated films such as The Wild Robot, but builds to a breathtaking finale on a scale rarely seen in animation. Themes of grief, death and identity are woven into the characters’ stories, making the film better suited to teenagers and adults than children. Moments of levity balance its darker themes, while Carey Mulligan delivers the standout performance as Alexandra, one of the film’s most compelling characters.

Dario Marianelli’s wondrous, haunting score captures the film’s medieval atmosphere and is one of my favourites this year. Caleb Deschanel’s cinematography beautifully conveys the fantasy world’s lighting, with some shots so lifelike they could be mistaken for reality. I would encourage to stay through the credits to appreciate the immense effort and extraordinary artistry behind the film, particularly the work of its animators.

Wildwood should win Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards and stands a very good chance of becoming only the fourth animated film to be nominated for Best Picture, joining Beauty and the Beast, Up, and Toy Story 3.

Overall, Wildwood is a magical fantasy epic that shows that no amount of AI could ever come up with a film like this that has so much passion, soul, and artistry. The film is struggling at the box office, but it is a film that deserves to be seen on the biggest screen, as it is one of the best films of the year. See it before you regret it.