Laika’s Wildwood is as impressive a fantasy adventure (and cinematic magic trick) as one will see in 2026.
The newest film from Laika, the stop-motion animation house behind such classics as Coraline, Kubo and the Two Strings, and ParaNorman, has produced a truly stunning cinematic achievement in their newest film, Wildwood. An adaptation of the fantasy novel of the same name by Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis is the kind of sumptuous visual feast that recalls Lord of the Rings or Star Wars in its ability to both transport you to another world and make you wonder: “How did they do that?”
A rousing, urgent adventure into a world of magical forests and animals, yet a meditative coming-of-age story about the complexities of grief and finding your voice. Wildwood finds the perfect balance of tone and story, showing our young hero Prue’s quest to find her brother Mac, who has been kidnaped by Alexandra, taking her into the mystical woods that lay outside Portland.
The film running 132 minutes, never fell weighed down, though it has the sense to allow the story to breathe, giving characters more than plot to regurgitate. Curtis, Prue’s “nerdy” (her words, not mine) put-upon companion on this adventure, is never a one-joke gag but rather someone who has his own adventure and growth throughout the entire story. Even a character like Septima, a rat voiced by Awkwafina, seems at first to be simple comedic relief, but belies a true soulful character that is given moments of heroism and emotion one could never expect. Part of the joys of Chris Butler’s adaptation is that every character is richly etched. Even Prue’s crunchy granola parents, played by Jake Johnson and Maya Erskine, at first played for jokes, become anything but in the final third.
Wildwood gets its visual lushness and splendor from the work of Caleb Deschanel. The cinematographer known for some of the most beautifully photographed films ever, including The Black Stallion and The Natural, brings his keen eye for lighting to the production. This unique collaboration results in a film that aches with wonder, bathed in a constant hue of sunlight or moonlight that perfectly renders the emotional state of the film, never feeling anything less than perfectly realized. The way that Knight, Deschanel, and Animators stage the climactic epic battle of good versus evil is jaw-dropping in its audacious “how did they do this all?” – that will take even the most jaded, cynical viewer back to the childhood wonder of possibilities that cinema can hold.
Director Travis Knight and countless artisans at Laika Studios have crafted a film that stands proudly alongside Hayao Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke, George Lucas’ Star Wars, and Peter Jackson’s The Fellowship of the Ring as a pinnacle of fantasy storytelling on an epic scale. One that any true fan of film should see on the biggest screen possible.