"WILDWOOD" - MINI-REVIEW

Breathless, seamless, and peerless, WILDWOOD is an unbelievable feat of stop-motion animation.

The hands that made CORALINE, PARANORMAN and KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS are back with their sixth feature film (and their first since 2019’s charming THE MISSING LINK); a mature, fantastical, propulsive picaresque, grounded in place, grit and consequence. The story may remind you of better fantasy films that have come before, and while it occasionally suffers from packing in as much as it can into its 2 hours and 10 minutes, the presentation is nothing you’ve yet seen, whether it’s the lovingly rendered recreation of Portland, or the treacherous textures of the Impassable Wilderness and beyond.

16 years in the making, WILDWOOD is brought to stunning, stirring life by LAIKA director Travis Knight (who also directed this year’s MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE), legendary cinematographer Caleb Deschanel (THE BLACK STALLION, THE NATURAL, and Zooey’s dad), production designer Nelson Lowry (KUBO, FANTASTIC MR. FOX), and versatile composer Dario Marianelli (PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, V FOR VENDETTA).

It also features an indelible voice cast which includes Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Jacob Tremblay, Carey Mulligan, Mahershala Ali, Angela Bassett, Jake Johnson, Awkwafina, Charlie Day, Tom Waits, Jemaine Clement, Blythe Danner, Tantoo Cardinal, Richard, E. Grant, Len Cariou, Rob Delaney, Marc Evan Jackson, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, and Amandla Sternberg.

For all their craft and wizardry, LAIKA finally makes a film that only they could have made, and one made for the big screen. It has all the makings of a brilliant fantasy classic.

WARNING: Take the PG-13 rating seriously. WILDWOOD is surprisingly dark and not intended for young children (think more mature Miyazaki), and makes that known from its very first scene.

WILDWOOD opens in theaters Friday, October 23.

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