Wildwood: Laika’s ambitious fantasy shows off its spellbinding stop motion craft

If scope, ambition and sheer physical labour were the heart of great animation, then Wildwood, the new epic fantasy from animation studio Laika, would be the best stop-motion movie ever made. At well over two hours, it’s certainly among the longest; and for much of its runtime, it’s an engaging, visually spectacular blend of the verdant, hipster charms of its – and Laika’s own home turf – Portland, Oregon setting, with more familiar fantastical location and setups: an enchanted forest, vengeful sorceress, cursed child and talking critters galore. It’s practically a plea for audiences to embrace the wonders of nature, analogue storytelling’s spellbinding capabilities and stop-motion’s artisanal craft (“Enjoy handmade art before it’s gone forever” reads a blink-and-miss-it Portland street vendor’s sign early on) in an increasingly click-through, hi-tech world. 

Director and Laika head Travis Knight has suggested that the studio, whose first feature Coraline debuted in 2009, has been building up to this since he first fell for Colin Meloy’s 2011 doorstop-sized novel (its illustrations are by his wife Carson Ellis). Their stop-motion know-how – subtly enhanced with CG – acquired and developed across their now six films, pays off here.  

The detail is astounding – 230 puppets across 132 sets. Over 142,000 3D-printed replacement faces, one per frame per second, for each character. A legion of intricately hand-stitched miniature outfits. Bringing in award-winning cinematographer Caleb Deschanel to shoot all this as if it were live action augments this textured, luminous rendering of human and animal protagonists alike. 

As Wildwood’s narrative unfolds – jaded teen Prue needs to rescue her baby brother Mac from the clutches of a grief-stricken witch whose schemes threaten to destroy the entire Impassable Wilderness beyond Portland’s borders – Knight and his collaborators design and execute thrillingly kinetic chases sequences through land and air, as well as a mammoth, Tolkien-esque final battle. Flashback sequences unfold wordlessly, powered by Dario Marianelli’s stirring score and nifty transitions. And a varied cast, including Carey Mulligan’s tormented villainess, Tom Waits’s seething coyote sidekick and Angela Bassett’s regal giant eagle, all deliver sterling vocal performances. 

So, ultimately, what is the thing holding the film back from true greatness? Perhaps it’s the over-familiarity of the fantasy tropes. Or that there’s enough myth to power an entire franchise, as we enter a second half overloaded with yet more lore. Or that it lacks the breathing space or genuine otherworldliness of, say, Kubo and the Two Strings (2016) (still Laika’s pinnacle). For a film about accepting and embodying the mystical, Wildwood’s magic is rooted in its dazzling craftmanship rather than the transcendental power of its story.  

► Wildwood is in UK cinemas now.