Wildwood

Check out my full review @ https://www.manuelsbento.com/wildwood-2026-laika-delivers-a-stop-motion-generational-masterpiece/ Rating: A+ WILDWOOD is a true masterpiece, and I don't use that word lightly. Travis Knight and everyone at Laika spent years building, by hand, the most impressive stop-motion movie I've ever seen, one that deserves the "generational classic" stamp. Caleb Deschanel's cinematography and Dario Marianelli's score belong in every major awards conversation, as the final battle sits right next to the greatest set pieces ever put to screen. Peyton Elizabeth Lee and Jacob Tremblay carry two beautiful arcs. Carey Mulligan makes sorrow terrifying and heartbreaking at the same time. It's a dark, brave, deeply emotional story about grief, family, sacrifice, and, in a very Tolkien manner, the courage of small creatures and their everyday deeds to keep darkness at bay. No notes. I'll forever cherish this treasure.

Technically its a marvel, but storywise it really falls flat. The stop-motion animation is so well done and fluid it looks like it could be computer generated. It must have taken an absolutely mammoth effort to create the film. The film has a painterly palette which looks gorgeous. Which is all the more shame as the characters and story let it down. The characters are less than one dimensional. The parents make some of the most bizarre and illogical actions ever set to screen. Prue doesn't believe in magic she says, but never ever questions it. The other characters are under-developed cliches. The core of the story has conflicting messages and just washed over me, I didn't develop any affinity for any of the characters or end up rooting for them, and the film didn't connect with me on any level emotionally. The film looks gorgeous, but there is nothing under the surface.

Laika has always been one of my least favorite animation studios, and it's because they are tied to a medium of animation (stop-motion) that is becoming more and more dated as CGI is trying to replicate it with new software, and *Wildwood* is no exception. This movie is based on a 2011 novel about a teenager named Prue McKeel, who ventures into a forbidden forest to retrieve her baby brother Mac from the dowager governess, Alexandra. While the movie itself has a great story that perfectly blends action, comedy, character development, solid pacing, and emotional moments, and even has a phenomenal score from Dario Marianelli, the film's edgy, PG-13-level tone and stop motion visuals, while alluring, feel like a major letdown. The character designs look so stiff and plastic, almost like moving dolls rather than real people. And that's my problem with stop motion animation: the texture doesn't feel human and is not even trying to hide the materials it uses. The hair doesn't look like real human hair follicles, and the skin looks like it was made from silicone or clay (which it was). I am honestly not upset this movie is flopping at the box office, as stop motion animation has always been both a tricky medium to work with and a time-consuming one that takes too much out of an animators' day. It's very well-written and even the voice actors make up for some of the creepy character designs, not to mention that final scene of Prue stopping Alexandra is one of the most inspiring scenes in all of animated fiction, the uncanny visuals and slightly dark tone do drag it down. We have to remember Laika is both a family-friendly studio and one that doesn't dive into overly creepy territory. Even *Coraline*, their "darkest movie ever", is tame by comparison. I enjoyed *Wildwood* as it is, but I don't think Laika will survive the 2020s if they keep relying on nostalgia to fuel their stories, coupled with the fact the movie's director, Travis Knight, is a nepo baby relying on his dad's shoe company funding his projects.