Laika’s Wildwood Is the Longest Stop-Motion Film Ever Made
Behind the Scenes: Cinema: Laika’s Wildwood Is the Longest Stop-Motion Film Ever MadeWildwood, the new stop-motion film from Laika, the studio behind Coraline and ParaNorman, arrives in October. Travis Knight (Kubo and the Two Strings, Bumblebee) directs. The world premiere takes place on 11 October at the London Film Festival, and the film opens in the US on 23 October.
It runs 132 minutes, which, according to the filmmakers, makes it the longest stop-motion animated film ever made.
What the film is about
Schoolgirl Prue McKeel lives in Portland. One day a flock of crows snatches her baby brother Mac and carries him into an enchanted forest on the edge of the city. With her classmate Curtis, Prue sets out to find him — into a world of talking animals, rival kingdoms and a mysterious woman named Alexandra who commands the crows.
Based on a musician’s novel
The film is based on the 2011 novel by Colin Meloy, frontman of The Decemberists, illustrated by Carson Ellis. Laika began developing the adaptation that same year, but production only started in September 2021 at the studio in Hillsboro, Oregon.
The team built 136 sets and 231 puppets. The puppets’ armatures were 3D-printed, and the stop-motion animation was enhanced with visual effects. It is Laika’s first PG-13 film.
The voice cast
The characters are voiced by a star-studded cast:
- Peyton Elizabeth Lee as Prue;
- Jacob Tremblay as Curtis;
- Carey Mulligan as Alexandra;
- Mahershala Ali as Brendan, the Bandit King;
- Angela Bassett as the General, a golden eagle;
- Awkwafina as Septima the rat;
- Charlie Day as Dmitri the coyote;
- Tom Waits, Richard E. Grant, Amandla Stenberg, Jemaine Clement and others.
Chris Butler wrote the screenplay, Dario Marianelli composed the score — his third collaboration with Knight after Kubo and Bumblebee — and Caleb Deschanel is the cinematographer.
Anticipation
The film’s trailers have gathered around 178 million views in total. Ahead of the release, an art installation called Wildwood: Follow the Crows opened in Portland, and the title was first revealed at Coraline anniversary screenings.
When to watch
The world premiere is on 11 October in London, and the film opens in the US on 23 October through Fathom Entertainment. Cast and stills are on the film’s page in our AMDB database.
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Author: Vikram Nair, film production writer
Publication date: 23 September 2026
Views: 14
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