Peyton Elizabeth Lee and Jacob Tremblay discuss Wildwood production

Wildwood Reaches Cinemas as Stop-Motion Landmark

Stop-motion fantasy film Wildwood has arrived in cinemas, bringing a handmade aesthetic to the screen through Portland-based studio LAIKA. The film adapts Colin Meloy’s 2011 bestselling novel, according to the Irish Examiner, and follows a twelve-year-old girl named Prue McKeel as she ventures into a forbidden forest to rescue her baby brother.

Director Travis Knight Adapts Dark Fantasy Novel

Director Travis Knight first read the unpublished manuscript for Wildwood shortly after working as lead animator on 2009’s Coraline, The Irish Times reported. Over a decade and a half later, Knight brought the project to the screen with LAIKA, utilizing giant room-filling sets to construct the fantasy world.

The story centers on Prue, voiced by Peyton Elizabeth Lee, and her classmate Curtis, voiced by Jacob Tremblay, who search for Prue’s baby brother after a murder of crows carries him into the no-go lands surrounding Portland, rte.ie reported. The voice cast also features Carey Mulligan as the ruthless dowager governess Alexandra, alongside Mahershala Ali, Awkwafina, Angela Bassett, Tom Waits, Jake Johnson, and Maya Erskine, according to The Irish Times and the Irish Examiner.

LAIKA Film Explores Mature Themes on Massive Sets

The film carries a PG-13 rating, marking a first for LAIKA productions, and explores darker thematic elements alongside lighter, adventurous moments. Tremblay stated that the movie works for everyone because of its mature themes, while Lee noted that animation allows storytellers to connect with young people while tackling complex ideas, according to rte.ie.

Both young actors expressed surprise at the physical scale of the production during press interviews. Lee highlighted that the whole studio was filled with giant sets that take up whole rooms, while Tremblay noted that entire rooms were filled with giant set pieces built just for the background of small puppets, rte.ie reported.

Original Animation Box Office Trends

The release of Wildwood contrasts with a contemporary box office heavily dominated by sequels and established franchises, such as Ne Zha 2, Zootopia 2, Inside Out 2, and Frozen 2, The Irish Times reported. LAIKA, which is owned by Knight’s father, has never made a sequel, relying instead on original stop-motion features that require extensive production time, effort, and care.