Laika’s Wildwoodhas officially opened in theaters. It is perhaps the biggest, boldest, most ambitious stop-motion film the medium has ever seen, and it was entirely made by hand with no cheating from computer animation or aye-eye or anything of the sort. Wildwood is the kind of movie you complain that studios don’t make anymore, and yet here it is. It’s a damn good story too. It’s what you want even if you don’t realize it. It’s calling to you. Go see it.
According to director Travis Knight, Wildwood started pre-production seven years ago — which is already a lot of time for an animated film — but its origins actually got back sixteen years, to right after Coraline was finished when he picked up the novel the movie is based on. Colin Meloy’s story captivated him so much he had to make it Laika’s next project, but the problem was, the book’s world was too ambitious for the studio’s level at the time. They had to work on other projects with the goal of eventually getting skilled enough to build something likeWildwood.
Wildwood stars Peyton Elizabeth Lee as Prue McKeel and Jacob Tremblay as Curtis Mehlberg, alongside Academy Award nominee Carey Mulligan (Shame), Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali (Moonlight), Academy Award nominee and Emmy Award winner Angela Bassett (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever), Awkwafina (Crazy Rich Asians), Jake Johnson (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse), Charlie Day (The Super Mario Galaxy Movie), Amandla Stenberg (Bodies Bodies Bodies), Jemaine Clement (Avatar: Fire and Ash), Maya Erskine (Mr. & Mrs. Smith), Tantoo Cardinal (Killers of the Flower Moon), Tom Waits (Seven Psychopaths) and Academy Award nominee Richard E. Grant (Can You Ever Forgive Me?).
Early projections are putting Wildwood at taking in $11 million on its opening weekend, which isn’t enough to cover the $100 million Laika spent on it all these years. I get the sense they were prepared for this (why else release through Fathom instead of an operation with an actual marketing budget)…but it deserves the first place spot for at least one week. It deserves to soar over Clayface and Klara and her sun and whatever else it’s competing against.
Go see Wildwood. Don’t give your money this weekend to anything but Wildwood. Don’t spend it on other movies or streaming subscriptions or books or Fortnite skins or comics or vital medicine or food. Wildwood is more important than eating. If you don’t give Wildwood money this weekend, you have failed as a human being and you will face judgment in the afterlife. If you don’t see Wildwood, you are sexist and a fascist and a puppy murderer, and you bob for apples in the toilet AND YOU LIKE IT. Do you want all that weighing on your conscience? I know I wouldn’t.
Why are you still reading this? Why aren’t you seeing Wildwood? GO! NOW! OUT THE DOOR! (throws your own shoe at you)
