LAIKA: Frame x Frame, a free exhibition at BFI Southbank, 12 August to 1 October 2024

LAIKA: Frame x Frame is a free exhibition that will showcase the boundary pushing art and science behind the studio’s five epic films, at BFI Southbank from 12 August to 1 October 2024. This narrative-rich experience will honour the stories of LAIKA and the unparalleled level of detail in the physical puppets, intricately crafted sets, costumes and awe-inspiring props – some never before seen – from LAIKA’s vast production archives. The exhibition is presented alongside Stop Motion: Celebrating Hand-Crafted Animation on the Big Screen, supported by headline partner LAIKA, a major new season taking place at BFI Southbank from 1 August to 9 October with free film screenings for children under 16.

Using assets from every department of the Portland-based studio, LAIKA: Frame x Frame tells the story of LAIKA through the lens of its five feature films to date, Coraline (2009), ParaNorman (2012), The Boxtrolls (2014), Kubo and the Two Strings (2016) and Missing Link (2019), all of which were nominated for the Academy Award for Outstanding Animated Feature. 

Each film will be celebrated with one key frame within the exhibition surrounded by a constellation of artefacts, encompassing illustrated concept and character design, artistic inspirations, storyboards, costumes, puppets, props, sets and dynamic digital content, which will highlight the painstaking attention to detail and boundless creativity that go into the making of one single frame in a LAIKA feature. Further cabinets and drawers will allow guests to unlock even more treasures, illustrating how a LAIKA film comes together to create something extraordinary from the sum of its exceptional parts.

The exhibition will invite audiences to step inside, as well as behind, the scenes of LAIKA’s films, affording the opportunity to interact with the studio and the talented team behind these creations firsthand. New scenic reproductions, built at a ‘human scale’, will transport guests from the real world into Coraline’s Other Garden as they enter the exhibition, with highlights of the over 700 individual artefacts on display inside including:

• Coraline (2009): character puppets, including Coraline, Cat, Other Father, Other Wybie, Taffy Monster and the Scottie dogs, early look development maquettes of Coraline, Cat, Wybie, Other Father and Other Mother, paint test maquettes of Spink and Forcible, Other Mother puppet development pieces, Other World bridge, garden gate, nose tree and mantis tractor props, plus Real World and Other World Pink Palace apartment props.

• ParaNorman (2012): zombie puppets alongside their Puritan counterparts, a Norman armature, Norman maquettes, Neil, Alvin and Salma puppets, Aggie Prendergast paint tests and development pieces, a Town Hall cupola set piece and a scaled prop of Mitch Downe’s van.

• The Boxtrolls (2014): puppets of Eggs, Winnie, Snatcher and boxtrolls Fish and Shoe, along with early development maquettes of Eggs, Winnie, Snatcher, Fish and other boxtrolls, the film’s pneumatic tubes set, plus the Cheese Guild, Market Square and cavern props.

• Kubo and the Two Strings (2016): puppets including Kubo, Moon Beast, Monkey and Origami Samurai, plus Kubo and Monkey development maquettes, VFX character puppets and maquettes, a Taiko Drummer diorama, and the Central Avenue set and market props.

• Missing Link (2019): puppets and maquettes of Sir Lionel Frost, Mr. Link and Adelina, plus Link and Yeti puppets on rig, the Pullman Train internal set, Pullman Train development maquettes, environment maquettes and other film props.

• A sneak peek at LAIKA’s forthcoming sixth feature, Wildwood (2025).

LAIKA: Frame x Frame is presented alongside Stop Motion: Celebrating Hand-Crafted Animation on the Big Screen, supported by headline partner LAIKA, a major new season taking place at BFI Southbank from 1 August to 9 October with free film screenings for children under 16. Titles playing on the big screen will include LAIKA’s five films to date, from the newly remastered 3D Coraline (2009) to Missing Link (2019), plus King Kong (1933), Jason and the Argonauts (1963), Chicken Run (2001), Corpse Bride (2005), Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), Anomalisa (2015), and many more. 

Special guests in venue will include filmmakers Henry Selick (Coraline), Chris Butler and Sam Fell (ParaNorman), Guillermo Del Toro (Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio), Peter Lord (Chicken Run), Nick Park (Wallace and Gromit), The Brothers Quay (Street of Crocodiles), Suzie Templeton (Peter and the Wolf), Barry Purves (Achilles), Osbert Parker (Clothes) and further names to be announced.

Tickets for BFI Southbank screenings and LAIKA’s free exhibition in August are on sale to BFI Patrons from 1 July, BFI Members from 2 July and to the general public from 4 July. Tickets for BFI Southbank screenings and LAIKA’s free exhibition in September and early October are on sale to BFI Patrons from 5 August, BFI Members from 6 August and to the general public from 8 August.