WILDWOOD (2026)

Genre: Animation
Director:  Travis Knight
Cast: Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Jacob Tremblay, Carey Mulligan, Mahershala Ali, Angela Bassett, Awkwafina, Maya Erskine, Jake Johnson
Runtime: 2 hr 11 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence)
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 22 October 2026

Synopsis: After her baby brother is abducted by a murder of crows, headstrong teenager Prue McKeel (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) launches a desperate rescue mission into the Impassable Wilderness—an enchanted forest hidden just beyond Portland, Oregon. Joined by her hapless but loyal classmate Curtis Mehlberg (Jacob Tremblay), Prue navigates a world of talking animals, bandits, and powerful figures driven by grief and ambition. As the pair is drawn into a conflict threatening the balance of the forest itself, Prue must discover the strength and belief she never knew she possessed. If she hopes to save her brother and protect Wildwood's fragile future, she will have to risk everything. From Oscar®-nominated and BAFTA®-winning LAIKA, Wildwood is a sweeping adventure about love, sacrifice, and the magic that reveals itself when we dare to look beyond the familiar.

Movie Review:

Travis Knight’s last film, Masters of the Universe, is a testosterone-fuelled adventure, making his latest work with LAIKA Studios, Wildwood, a world apart. An animator by trade and CEO of LAIKA, Knight has long championed the art of stop-motion filmmaking.

While Masters of the Universe features muscular heroes and fantastical battles, Wildwood ventures into an enchanted forest populated by talking animals, mysterious creatures and a ruthless dowager. Yet both share the cheekiness and charm that make Knight such an intriguing filmmaker.

Based on a novel by Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis, Wildwood follows Prue McKeel (Peyton Elizabeth Lee), a young girl whose baby brother is abducted by a murder of crows. Determined to rescue him, she ventures into the Impassable Wilderness, a mysterious forest hidden beyond civilisation. Accompanied by her hapless but loyal classmate Curtis (Jacob Tremblay), Prue encounters talking animals, dangerous adversaries and a hidden world threatened by forces driven by grief and ambition. Her rescue mission soon becomes a much bigger adventure than she could have imagined.

LAIKA has given us some achingly gorgeous and creatively imaginative films over the years, beginning with Coraline (2009), followed by ParaNorman (2012), The Boxtrolls (2014), Knight’s own Kubo and the Two Strings (2016) and Missing Link (2019). With Wildwood, the studio’s sixth feature-length stop-motion production, it appears to have taken on its most ambitious undertaking yet. The scale of the adventure is enormous, and the filmmakers rise admirably to the challenge.

The battle sequence, in particular, brings to mind the epic scenes in The Lord of the Rings movies, except that everything unfolds through stop-motion animation. One can only imagine the painstaking work required to bring such a spectacle to life, moving characters and objects frame by frame to create the illusion of movement. Stay through the end credits, which offer a glimpse into the craft behind the production, and you may find yourself appreciating the finished product even more.

Yet the sequence that truly stands out is a quieter one: the revelation of how the dowager, voiced by Carey Mulligan, became the ruthless figure she is. There is a haunting poignancy to this glimpse into her past, giving the character a tragic dimension that makes her more than just another villain. It is a reminder that even in a world filled with magical creatures and extraordinary events, the most affecting moments can come from understanding the people behind the darkness.

Another memorable moment sees a giant golden eagle carry Prue through the sky as she escapes her pursuers. The animation is so immersive that you can almost feel the wind rushing past your face. Such sequences demonstrate how stop-motion, despite its painstaking production process, can deliver a sense of movement and wonder that feels entirely its own.

The voice cast deserves credit, too. Mulligan, Lee, Tremblay and Richard E. Grant, who voices Owl Rex, bring personality and emotion to their respective characters, ensuring that the inhabitants of this fantastical world never feel like mere puppets.

While Wildwood may not offer the unexpected twists and distinctive eccentricity that made some of LAIKA’s earlier films so memorable, it compensates with solid storytelling and an impressive sense of scale. This is an enchanting adventure that celebrates imagination, craftsmanship and the enduring power of handmade animation.

In an age when computer-generated imagery dominates the screen, Wildwood is a welcome reminder that there is still something extraordinary about watching a world painstakingly brought to life, one frame at a time.

Movie Rating:

(From epic battles to a surprisingly poignant villain origin, Wildwood is a handcrafted fantasy adventure filled with wonder and heart)

Review by John Li