Great art takes time and dedication. Any passionate filmmaker who cares about craft knows this. It’s not about quantity, but quality. Such is the case for the amazing animation studio, Laika — a company that represents the best storytellers in the industry today. It’s been a while since we heard about their upcoming feature Wildwood. But at last today we got our first official peek at the future classic!
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Laika is home to some of the most underrated, creative, hard working filmmakers of all time. The painstaking craft and dedication they put into each movie, from Coraline to Kubo and the Two Strings to Missing Link has always consistently been mature and astonishing. And I expect no less than the same from Wildwood.
The film, directed by company president, Travis Knight, represents a follow up to Kubo, and his live action debut, Bumblebee. He is a filmmaker that understands character, emotion, and relationships. And each one of his films so far has been lovingly crafted with heart and soul. So I have no doubt we will see the same from Wildwood.
Here is a first look!
As the social caption reads, the protagonist of the film will be a young woman named Prue McKeel. I suspect this is who Peyton Elizabeth Lee will be playing. But in additon to Lee, the voice cast also includes Carey Mulligan, Mahershala Ali, Jacob Tremblay, Awkwafina, Angela Bassett, Jake Johnson, Charlie Day, Amandla Stenberg, Jemaine Clement, Tom Waits, and Richard E. Grant.
The movie will be adapted by Paranorman writer Chris Butler, from Colin Meloy’s novels The Wildwood Chronicles about a teenager who must rescue her baby brother from a murder of crows who kidnapped him. Which sounds dark, and heartfelt like all of Laika’s best films. Perhaps crossed with a bit of Labyrinth for good measure!
Wildwood is expected to hit theaters in 2025!
