‘Wildwood’ a wildly creative story come to life
Published 11:07 am Friday, October 30, 2026
This image released by LAIKA Studios shows Prue McKeel (voiced by Peyton Elizabeth Lee) in a scene from the film “Wildwood.”
(LAIKA Studios via AP)
It’s been seven years since Laika Studios last released a feature film, but the stop-motion animation studio behind films like “Coraline” and “Kubo and the Two Strings” is back in a big way with “Wildwood.”
Working from a novel by Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis, this is another quality entry into the animation pantheon — a visually stunning, fully-realized world with a complex, but engaging story.
“Wildwood” tells the story of Prue (voiced by Peyton Elizabeth Lee), a teenage girl who longs to see more of the world than her Portland neighborhood. Her overprotective parents have other plans, constantly warning Prue and her baby brother Mac about the danger of the wooded area near their home known as the “Impassable Wilderness.”
Prue defies her parents’ orders and takes Mac to a nearby park, where he is abducted by birds and taken into the woods — given off to a grieving governess named Alexandria (voiced by Carey Mulligan). She wants Mac for reasons that are ultimately revealed, with Prue and her classmate Curtis (voiced by Jacob Tremblay) working with the humans and animals of the forest to fight Alexandria and her army and rescue Mac.
The film is loaded with a talented voice cast. In addition to Tremblay and Mulligan, the cast includes Tom Waits, Mahershala Ali, Awkwafina, Charlie Day, Richard E. Grant and Angela Bassett. It’s pretty impressive that, with the exception of Awkwafina, most of these well-known voices are virtually unrecognizable with the characters so fully realized and fleshed out that they just seamlessly slide into those characters.
Director Travis Knight (who directed “Kubo”) really gets the most out of this film visually — with some stunning cinematography from Caleb Deschanel. This is a magical world come to life, with some fantastic action sequences — including an epic battle in the final act that feels like it could have been lifted direct from “The Lord of the Rings” films.
Email newsletter signup
The story in “Wildwood” does take a little bit to get going, with the film’s 132 minute run time a little weighty, and the themes and action are definitely a little too intense for younger members of the family (this is a film that definitely deserves its PG-13 rating).
Even if it isn’t a true “for the entire family” type of movie, it is still an impressive feat — another stellar entry from a studio that has proven time and time again to deliver quality cinematic experiences.
Grade: A-
About Micheal Compton
I am a sports reporter and movie critic for the Bowling Green Daily News.
More by Micheal
