After nearly two decades in development, LAIKA’s animated feature Wildwood is finally hitting theaters. Thankfully, this long-awaited new feature proves to not only be worth the wait, but one of the most staggeringly beautiful animated films ever crafted for the screen.
Wildwood takes place in Portland, Oregon and centers on a young girl named Prue McKeel (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) who must venture into the mysterious and precarious woods on the outskirts of her city in order to rescue her brother who has been kidnapped by the Dowager Governess Alexandra (Carey Mulligan) and bring him home. Filling out the rest of this impressive choice cast are the talents of Jacob Tremblay, Angela Bassett, Mahershala Ali, Jake Johnson, Maya Erskine Richard E. Grant, Tom Waits and Awkwafina. At the helm is director and LAIKA veteran Travis Knight who manages to take the stop-motion format to dizzying new heights here.
LAIKA’s stop-motion animated films have always been in the upper echelon of the genre, but what they manage to achieve here is nothing short of remarkable. To call this film breathtaking feels incredibly reductive, bordering on disrespectful, the artistry Knight and his team of immensely talented artists putting on display the best the company has ever produced. The animation is wholly enveloping, the attention to detail, the fluidity and the scale of each and every scene spectacular and wildly immersive. The action set pieces are phenomenal, the lively animation, dynamic camerawork and sumptuous colors and details firmly reeling the viewer in and never letting them go for even a second. Even in the film’s quieter moments, the frame is bursting with nuanced details that make it exceedingly difficult to believe this is a stop-motion animated film. The visual effects also blend seamlessly with the animation, the coupling of the two making each set piece and environment feel fully tactile and wonderfully realized. In fact, the climactic set piece of the film may just be the most ambitious and visually dazzling stop-motion animated sequence audiences have yet to see.
The sound design is also incredibly thoughtful, precise and richly detailed, encircling the audience especially as the narrative’s action begins to substantially ramp up. That sound design is also aided by a beautiful score from composer Dario Marianelli that makes this fairy tale feel as ethereal as it is harrowing. Speaking of the latter, this is a fairy tale that absolutely earns every ounce of its surprising PG-13 rating. This is an animated film that isn’t afraid to tackle more emotionally mature storytelling and it’s all the better for it, unafraid to travel into territory most animation studios wouldn’t dare step foot in.
Knight is no stranger to darker, more mature animated fare, having previously helmed the studio’s Kubo And The Two Strings, but this enters considerably more visceral territory. Essentially, the film feels as if it’s a hybrid of Pan’s Labyrinth and The Lord of the Rings through LAIKA’s singular lens, resulting in a fantasy film that has tremendous emotional stakes a surprising amount of ferocious violence. This is an animated film that tackles the heavier themes of grief, trauma, growing up and venturing into the unknown, never taking any half measures as it fully leans into exploring each with the care and heart they deserve. It also helps that the voice cast Knight has assembled steps up to the plate substantially, each member delivering top tier voice work to bring home these themes and colorful, eclectic characters to life.
Lee imbues Prue with a palpable likability, charm, naivety and sense of wonder that makes her an easy character to become emotionally invested in throughout the course of the story. Tremblay is also terrific as Curtis, a shy, awkward and endearingly nerdy young boy who joins her in the quest to getting her brother back. The two characters make for a winning pairing, the two not only selling the evolution of their relationship but of their respective characters as well as they encounter more danger and obstacles in their paths, forcing them to make decisions each of them aren’t emotionally prepared for. However, Mulligan is superb here and the notable standout as the Governess, a malicious, but magnetic leader riddled with grief, anger and frustration as she inflicts it on those foolish enough to stand in her way of getting what she so desires. Not only is the character well-developed, but Mulligan adds compelling shades and nuances in her performance to make her feel fully three-dimensional that are only enhanced by the intricately detailed character design.
Johnson and Erskine also deliver fantastic work as Prue’s overbearing parents. Not only does the film effectively explain why they’re so fierecely protective of both of their children, but the scenes involving Prue and her parents are some of the film’s finest thanks to their emotionally charged work, the relationship between Prue and the both of them one of the film’s biggest assets. If the family dynamic doesn’t feel lived-in, developed and emotionally compelling, the film would simply falter, but in their capable hands, they become the warm, earnest beating heart of the film.
Not only is the film the studio’s most visually ambitious project to date, but it’s their longest as well, clocking in at a whopping two hours and twelve minutes. Despite the beefy runtime, the pacing is flawless, the momentum consistent, breezy and engaging with very few instances of stalling, if at all. For a story as weighty and large-scale as this, it never feels overstuffed or bursting at the seams, the narrative pieces gliding around the board with ease and propulsion. Simply put, there never feels like a wasted second in this animated film, no fat to trim or meat desired on the bone.
5 out of 5 stars.
Wildwood is not only one of the best films of the year so far, but it’s one of the finest animated films ever made. LAIKA has not only set a new standard for themselves, but for the medium as well. The studio’s immensely talented creative team has crafted an animated feature that not only respects younger audiences, but warmly invites them to engage with more mature storytelling, the kind of storytelling they can not only handle, but deserve as well. In other words, their competitors now know where the bar is.
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