Wildwood

Manuel São Bento 10/23/2026 3:10:06PM 8.4

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.

andrewtislercinephile 10/28/2026 3:42:09PM 8.4

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.

CinemaSerf 11/5/2026 11:09:11AM 8.4

Despite being warned to keep her baby brother indoors, "Prue" takes him out on a trip around town and he gets pinched by a menacing murder of crows and taken deep into the impenetrable forest. She's determined to get him back and so sets off into the dark and forbidding woods where she quickly encounters the coyotes - the guards of the "Dowager Governess". Captured and taken to her castle, she is promised assistance in retrieving her sibling but just how trustworthy is this outwardly benign lady? For that matter, what about the marauding "Brendan" and his gang of ruthless bandits? Finally of course, just what have the crows got to do do with things in a kingdom where the other birds seem a good deal more helpful? So, who or what - if any - can she trust? I wasn't so impressed with the story here - it's a fairly obvious hybrid of Frodo Potter goes to Narnia adventures, but the detail in the animation and the crafting of the characters are gorgeous to look at and it makes the most of it's dense forest setting to tell us a tale of courage and friendship tempered with the increasingly obvious and toxic effects of grief - well epitomised by the concept that the ivy can be all consuming. This is a stunning piece of cinema but it could have done with something a little more creative from a storyline that felt very much like the poor relation to the visuals here.