Wildwood, 2026.
Directed by Travis Knight.
Starring Carey Mulligan, Jacob Tremblay, Richard E. Grant, Awkwafina, Amandla Stenberg, Tom Waits, Charlie Day, Blythe Danner, Arthur Knight, Maya Erskine, Jake Johnson, Tantoo Cardinal, Rob Delaney, Jemaine Clement, Marc Evan Jackson, Len Cariou, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Angela Bassett, and Mahershala Ali.
SYNOPSIS:
The adventures of Prue McKeel as she sets off to the forests outside Portland to find her kidnapped brother.
A young boy walks to the edge of a balcony, his mother screaming after him as the rain starts to beat down on his naked body. He climbs to the edge, takes a step, and you’re in the world of Laika Studios’ Wildwood. A story steeped in the kind of twisted darkness that would make The Brothers Grimm sit up and take notice. A parable in which you’re reminded that there are no such things as Happy Endings. And a fairytale that just happens to be one of the best films, no “animated” prefix to be found here, the best films of the decade.
The story is a little bit Labyrinth, in that a young girl named Prue (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) is tasked with looking after her cute-as-a-button little brother, but is warned by her parents that she must not take him outside. So in an act of love, not defiance, she rides off on her bike with her brother in-tow in a wooden trolley. Along they way she stumbles across Dungeons & Dragons playing nerd Curtis (Jacob Tremblay), who’s unrequited affection for Prue sees him following her to the playground. It’s here that the adventure begins, as the infant is kidnapped by a murder of crows, with Prue and Curtis having to journey into the Impassable Wilderness to rescue him.
And what a place to behold it is. Laika has created some truly stunning worlds in the past – the twisted buildings of Coraline, or the dancing leaves of Kubo and the Two Strings – but nothing compares to the one you’re invited to on this occasion. All of the behind-the-scenes videos can’t prepare you for just how incredible Wildwood looks. It almost takes you out of the movie, wondering how they achieve such fluidity, such life, such epic scope and minute detail from stop-motion animation. Chase sequences through dense vegetation, huge complex battles to rival Lord of the Rings, or the tiniest scars, blemishes and bags under the eyes of characters. How did they do it? That’s the true magic of Wildwood. You quickly stop caring, as you’re engulfed like suffocating ivy by the enchanting story.
Your wonder is transferred to the trials facing our protagonist, Prue McKeel. Voiced superbly by Peyton Elizabeth Lee, she feels real and relatable, imbued with empathy towards everyone, including Carey Mulligan’s grief-stricken villain. It’s not an overstatement to say that Prue feels like a hero for our times; world-weary at such a young age, but capable of greatness, hope against a backdrop of division.
As complex as her is Mulligan as this fairy-tale’s foe Alexandra, whose character motivation is the stuff of great baddies, in that you feel for her. There’s a real sadness to what she’s doing, and an underlying desire on the part of the audience for her to be saved as much as Prue’s little brother.
Animals and humans alike are brought to life wonderfully by the entire cast; Angela Bassett brings her Wakandian stoicism to a giant Eagle, Awkwafina turns her comedic rat into a character capable of bringing you to tears, and Jacob Tremblay’s Curtis might just steal the entire film. There as much care and attention-to-detail in the inhabitants of Wildwood as there is in the creation of the world itself.
Perhaps the only misstep on a commercial level might just be how dark the material is. The aforementioned battle features some grizzly moments, there are multiple character deaths, and the scene hinted at in the opening of this review is genuinely traumatic. Some of the best kids films deal with mortality – The Bridge to Terabithia, The Lion King – but this might have to be one that the older kids cast their eyes over first.
Wildwood is the crowning achievement in Laika’s 20-year journey and deserves a place amongst the very best films of the year. Staggering ‘how did they do that?’ world building animation, and an emotionally rich story that should ensure that this is one for the ages.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Matt Rodgers – Follow me on Twitter