Adult Animation Revolution: ‘Wildwood’ Looks To Be Laika’s Most Ambitious Fantasy Film

Directed by Travis Knight (Kubo and the Two Strings), Wildwood is a fantasy-horror epic that follows Prue McKeel as she sets off to the forests outside Portland to find her kidnapped brother. Laika has always been the little-animation-studio-that-could. Coraline and Kubo have garnered loyal fans of young adults because each film commits to exploring heavier themes with macabre visuals. At the same time, Laika’s envelope-pushing material has yet to translate into a massive Spider-Verse-sized commercial success.

I believe that Laika’s movies have always been ahead of their time. And to that end, I implore viewers not to sleep on this film! We need to support a studio such as Laika that consistently makes original, hand-crafted animation, and explores challenging and nuanced themes. The thirst for original fantasy epics is alive and well, only maximized by the generation who grew up on Harry Potter and Narnia reaching maturation. Instead of looking to the past for nostalgia, I hope audience members will embrace the future and give Wildwood the success it deserves.