Wildwood Film Discussion - Laika

[FoxTail]

WILDWOOD

This movie looks absolutely incredible. It is made independently by Oregon's Liaka Studio and the film takes place in the Pacific Northwest, ALL stop motion! It looks like a beautiful mix of fantasy and realism that you really don't see anymore in films. It looks haunting and whimsical at the same time. A true love letter to fairy tales, fantasy, and the Pacific Northwest in general. It adds that mysticism that has really been played off on the region for years now, especially with all those vampire movies. The film has a tone we don't often see, as this is clearly not just made for kids entertainment.The release date is October 23, 2026.

Here is the official trailer.

SYNOPSIS:

"Prue McKeel and her classmate Curtis Mehlberg are drawn into a hidden magical forest near Portland in an attempt to save Prue's kidnapped infant brother Mac from the crows, who are led by a mysterious woman named Alexandra."

"Wildwood is a tale of love, loss,
sacrifice, and secrets, and of the magic
you can find on your doorstep, if you’re
willing to look for it."

Wildwood Official Website
Film's Wikipedia Page

[RainySunshine]

That is an ominous film. They had a tone and they did it beautifully.  It captures the beauty of the region, but has a cold, wet, mysteriousness to it.

[MasterXtreme]

This looks like an incredible movie. It’s all clay-mation/stop motion. It is made by Laika Studios in Portland, Oregon. An independent film studio who have made some movies over the years.  They’ve spent 7 years working on this. They don’t work with any of the big studios and do it all themselves. You can tell it’s a passion project. It’s a wonder they are even still around. Since when have you seen a “kids” film with a trailer that isn’t just mindless silliness.

Visually, THIS is what artistry in films looks like and it’s something that has been completely forgotten with the use of CGI, green screens, and soon ai generation.

[Anyponedrawn]

Wow. How many times were people crying in that trailer? Looks incredible. Maybe the first Laika film that actually interests me.

[RainySunshine]

There were more tears than smiles! This is definitely a love letter film.

[Sniffles]

This film looks incredibly beautiful.

[Anyponedrawn]

I really do hope this studio finally gets a success. This film is getting a lot of buzz online, but that rarely seems to translate to REAL LIFE sales.

[Soda]

Watched the trailer. It was real good.

[Soda]

They revealed a final trailer a few days ago. Lots of different footage.

[FoxTail]

^ This looks SO GOOD! Oh my goodness! I have not been this excited for an animated film in a very long time! 

[Rainberry]

I just hope it lives up to all the hype.

[Smiles2us]

Three days from release. I hope it's a good movie.

[Soda]

Release date. We'll see what happens I guess.

[MasterXtreme]

A bit too early to talk about how much it is making, it's only been a day. But reviews are coming in.  It was projected a $6-8 million USD open, but now they are predicting $11 million! Currently on Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 100% score among 110 critics'. Reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.7/10. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.

[Wolfwood]

A bit too early to talk about how much it is making, it's only been a day. But reviews are coming in.  It was projected a $6-8 million USD open, but now they are predicting $11 million!

I'm so worried it won't break even. It is being praised by the critics and press. It also beat its numbers projection. It hit $12 million on Saturday. That beat its old projection of $8m and the updated $11m. So I hope it keeps excelling. I think it will hit $15 million by the end of the weekend, but I don't know if it can hit the $100 million budget.

I guess it also hasn't hit international theaters yet, but I cannot imagine it will add much from that. It's the US or nothing.

But then there is also this . . .

"Wildwood box office reports say Travis Knight’s stop-motion film may carry a budget of at least $400 million and possibly as much as $700 million, far above the earlier $100 million figure. If that range is right, the film sits in a financial tier that would dwarf most animated projects and put Laika on the hook for an unusually large amount of cost.

The $700 million figure would make Wildwood the most expensive animated movie ever made, while the older $100 million estimate came from a throwaway line in a Variety box-office piece. TheInSneider said that figure was flat-out wrong, and one source put the potential overrun at four times the original estimate."