A stop-motion gem hand made with wizardry.
“Wildwood” is the latest feature from the Laika stop-motion animation company. “Coraline” was the first from the studio to take the hand-made animation to new heights. It was the most commercially successful entry, while “ParaNorman,” “The Boxtrolls,” “Kubo and the Two Strings,” and “Missing Link” made that kind of eye candy impression, but not that kind of financial impression. And as a critic, I have been telling people to see them and appreciate the hard work that went in them.
If “Missing Link” can win the Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature and if Guillermo Del Toro’s “Pinocchio” can win both a Golden Globe and Oscar, then stop-motion still has a fighting chance to remind people why they love “The Nightmare Before Christmas” or “Wallace and Gromit.” “Wildwood” is not only the longest-running of that kind of animation, but it’s also one of the best of that kind of animation I have ever seen.
To watch this movie is to imagine of Hayao Miyazaki went for the genre, and to reflect on his masterpieces like “Spirited Away” and “Princess Mononoke.” Being rated PG-13, this is the kind of animation aimed for teenagers and adults, who have grown tired of Princess Peach acting like spoiled princess in “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” or were humiliated by Andy Serkis’ take of “Animal Farm.” “Wildwood” takes many risks, and knows when to be serious, how to use the voice talents, and how to tell a challenging story.
The place is Oregon (the same place the movie was made at), and the main heroine is a young girl named Prue (voiced by Peyton Elizabeth Lee), whose baby brother Mac gets taken by crows and into a forrest that is said to be impassable. However, she and her nerdy friend Curtis (voiced by Jacob Tremblay) enter that world, which is filled with humans and talking animals.
The great evil regards a woman named Alexandra (voiced by Carey Mulligan), who is so distraught by the death of her son, that she turns to dark magic and an army of red coat wearing coyotes (their leader voiced by Tom Waits) and crows to take over the land.
There are rebels in the form of bandits (with voices from Mahershala Ali and Amandla Stenberg), comic relief animals (with Awkwafina as a rat and Charlie Day as a disgraced coyote solider), a giant courageous eagle leader known as the General (voiced by Angela Bassett), a wise old owl (voiced by Richard E. Grant), and a mystical woman (voiced by Tantoo Cardinal). All of whom are willing to help the girl and her friend save the baby and end Alexandra’s reign of terror.
“Wildwood,” based on the book by husband and wife Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis, was directed by Travis Knight of Laika fame. He also directed “Masters of the Universe” last summer, but I think this stop-motion feature is the one that deserves high praise. It has a story that challenges the journey in the tradition of “The Lord of the Rings,” and it speaks with many convictions. The animation is presented with much freedom by the Weta artists, and the characters break free from routine animated characters.
The voice acting, which was revealed in 2022, is fantastic. The kind that takes lesser-known stars, comedy stars, and serious stars, and draws them into a fantastic world that is in great peril. There are some tickles and there are some whimsy, but there’s also studying and persistence. And given its rating, the fight sequences are going to be rough and characters will be killed. But this movie is anything but miserable.
I thought “I Am Frankelda” was a visual delight and I thought “Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom” was fun, but “Wildwood” is the best stop-motion film I’ve seen in 2026.
