Laika is Just Showing Off At This Point
Few studios have set such a precedent within their own genre quite like Laika Studios. With each painstakingly crafted story, they consistently find new ways to level up stop motion animation and push the limits of what can be accomplished. Stop motion is already a marvelous feat of patience and meticulous staging, but Laika sets a new bar with Wildwood. The next step in animated evolution, mastering the artform and pushing it forward yet again in new and exciting ways. There are moments in this latest effort that feels like Laika is just showing off at this point. Visually arresting and emotionally captivating, Wildwood is wonderful. A dazzling display of craft and storytelling and a new milestone in what animation can do and what these narratives can be.
The scale and scope of Wildwood would be an achievement on its own. But Laika manages to transfer the rich, adapted material from the novel into an equally rich and engaging animated film – the likes of which cannot be fathomed without first baring witness. It is truly a marvel to behold. So much so that even if you have some misgivings about the story itself or the hybrid fluidity of VFX layered on some of its larger stop motion sequences, you can’t help but be in awe of what Wildwood ultimately achieves. You may have seen stories like this, sure. It’s inspirations even beyond its source material are no secret and easy to telegraph what Knight and co. were drawing from. But you’ve never SEEN anything like Wildwood, and that includes everything created previously from the studio.
A Fiery Tale of Fantasy, Family and Portland
Written by Chris Butler (a staple of Laika’s animation and writer’s room including ParaNorman and Kubo and the Two Strings) and directed by Travis Knight (most recently Masters of the Universe which I enjoyed more than most and more that it deserves) Wildwood is adapted from a novel of the same name written by Colin Meloy and illustrated by Carson Ellis. Set in Portland, Oregon, the film follows Prue, a young, adventurous girl with her head in the clouds and just starting to come into her own despite her free spirted but overprotective parents. They tell stories of the forbidden woods, and have her baby brother on complete lockdown, never allowing him outside of the house.
When Prue is charged with babysitting duty under the strict instruction to not leave the house, she of course does with her brother in tow. After a brief, unwanted interaction with Curtis – a hapless but well meaning classmate – her brother shockingly carried off into the fog covered forest by a pack of crows. Desperate to find him and bring him home, her and Curtis somehow find their way into the Wildwood. A realm of magic, talking creatures, and a land torn apart by grief and warring factions. To find her brother, she must learn more about the wood and herself, and uncover the magic that lives in all of us to save it all from total destruction.
World Building, Direction and Excellent Voice Cast
Bold and ambitious, Wildwood takes some pretty wild swings in its world building. It wastes no time introducing us to its fantasy land, and hammers home the fish out of water foundations that move the story along. Each new character brought to life is visually stunning. I found myself asking more than once, ‘how did they do this?’ It’s hard to wrap your head around just how these stunning set pieces and fully realized characters are brought to life with such detailed precision. Over 200 puppets and 136 sets were created for Wildwood, all serving as a love letter to Portland and a complimentary indulgence of fairy tales and myths. it is transportive fantasy in the best of ways, whisking you away to far away lands with adventure and danger around every corner.
Knight is really in his bag here. Wildwood is a behemoth of a story for any director to get their arms around, and Knight’s passion and obvious adoration for the material shines through in how he puts the millions of tiny, hand crafted pieces together. Butler too, understands animated storytelling better than most, with decades of practice and success that shine through as he adapts the novel for the big screen. Wildwood also sports a stacked cast, one in which it’s comprised of almost all recognizable names and not a single weak link. Lee has the most on her shoulders and gives one of the best child voice performances I’ve heard in a while. Mulligan is also excellent as the dowager governess, fueled by grief and vengeance and excellently performed by the actress.
More Than Earns Its PG-13 Rating
Though Wildwood is a clearly aimed at kids, I’d be remised if I didn’t at least notify parents of approaching this with some caution. Animation and fantasy is often discounted for its lack of consequences and permanence, typically undoing any harm with magic and built in plot devices that keep everyone largely unscathed sans the villian in the end. But Wildwood is very much about those things. There is real danger and while stylized and slightly watered down due to its animation – is still shockingly violent at times. The big battles are visceral and reminiscent of Lord of the Rings, full of soldiers on both sides dying on the battlefield.
Hell, Wildwood opens with a child ripping out a cog from his chest and falling to his death. This is vital to the overall story of the film and it’s relevance isn’t revealed until much later in the story, but it nevertheless opens with essentially a suicide. Make no mistake, though. Wildwood is absolutely fun for the whole family, filled with narrative beats for both kids and adults alike and delivering high concepts about family, loss, grief, love, heroics, and friendship that are often crucial to animated films for kids to understand and process. But it certainly earns its PG-13 rating.
More than likely, kids are gonna absolutely LOVE Wildwood and will be able to handle most of it. But you should know going in that when characters die, they die for real. The danger, however fantastical and fairy tale rooted it may be, is VERY real for our protagonists, and you should know that going in.
Final Thoughts
All in all, Wildwood is a huge step forward in animation. A marvel of technical mastery and unbridled imagination, it is filled with enough life and wonder to leave everyone of all ages soaring. It’s not just a love letter to Portland, but a testament to family and what we would do for our loved ones – good and bad. Wildwood is beautiful and moving, and visually unlike anything you’ve seen before – even from Laika themselves. It is always exciting to be alive to witness something new; something that you leave knowing is the new starting point for the genre. Wildwood sets a new precedent for what’s possible, and if this is where animation is going you can sign me up for as many films like Wildwood as they want to make.
Also my brother lives in Portland and I can confirm that their wilderness really is like Lord of the Rings except with more vegans, flannel shirts and lots and lots of freshly brewed coffee.
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