LAIKA Releases 'Wildwood' First Look
It's been a long time since we last saw a new film from LAIKA Studios. In fact, you have to go all the way back to 2019's Missing Link for the last film we saw from them. That feels like an awful long time- and not just because the last five years seemed to last forever. After a long period of radio silence, there have been several projects announced at the studio (including some live-action). It seems like the first out of the gate will be Wildwood.
First announced back in 2021, the film is based on a book by Decemberists frontman and Portland native Colin Meloy, and illustrated by Carson Ellis. It follows a young girl named Prue who must travel into the mysterious Wildwood to rescue her baby brother.
We've been waiting a long time for this film, but now we get our first proper look at it in a new video. LAIKA are still keeping most of it under wraps, but this is our best look so far. It's not quite a trailer, it's more of an introduction.
It opens with a celebration of LAIKA's history, particularly highlighting Coraline and Kubo And The Two Strings. It then goes on to introduce us to the new film: "Now LAIKA is working on their most ambitious cinematic journey yet. Set in a magical world, just beyond the edges of Portland, An enchanted wilderness teeming with rebel bandits and talking animals awaits Prue Mckeel on a quest to save her baby brother. Welcome.. to Wildwood"
The introduction is accompanied by some pretty spectacular and spooky-looking visuals that give us some idea of what to expect from the finished film. This is definitley a return to the creepier feel of their earlier films like Coraline and ParaNorman, mixed in with a bit of the fantasy of Kubo And The Two Strings.
We are then introduced to one of the film's characters- the giant Eagle known as The General. Using a mix of concept art, behind-the-scenes footage and finished animation, we get to know the character, who we learn will be voiced by Angela Bassett. There's also a lot of footage of the animation process- which has become something of a LAIKA trademark
Those hoping that the video would conclude with a release date will be disappointed. It finishes with the frustratingly vague "Coming Soon". So we still don't know when to expect the film- not even a year. Some sources say 2026, but it doesn't seem to have been made official.
Wildwood is the first LAIKA film since Kubo to be directed by Studio head Travis Knight. The script is written by Chris Butler (ParaNorman).
It will feature the voices of Carey Mulligan , Mahershala Ali , Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Jacob Tremblay, Awkwafina, Jake Johnson, Charlie Day, Amandla Stenberg, Jemaine Clement, Maya Erskine, Tantoo Cardinal, Tom Waits and Richard E. Grant.
Check out the first look, below.
