Laika is the top stop-motion animation studio in the world.
I am sure most people would have heard of at least one of their films, among them ParaNorman, Kubo and the Two Strings, and, of course, Coraline.
The latter is one of my favorite animated movies of all time, and definitely Laika’s best… or at least it was its best until recently.
I say this because I just got back from watching Laika’s latest film, Wildwood, and I would call it nothing less than an animated masterpiece.
Based off the novel by Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis, I first became aware of Wildwood when the trailer was recommended to me.
I remember gawking at the quality of stop-motion, the likes of which I had not seen before.
This sent my hopes high and Wildwood not only surpassed but sometimes exceeded these expectations.
Directed by Travis Knight, the film follows the young and adventurous Prue (Peyton Elizabeth Lee), along with her awkward classmate Curtis (Jacob Tremblay), who both travel into the magical Impassable Wilderness outside their town to rescue Prue’s baby brother Mac, after he is kidnapped by a murder of crows.
Quickly seperated, the two find themselves lost in a world of quarreling factions, bandits, talking animals, and one of animation’s greatest villains.
Whenever you think of the best animated villains, I am willing to bet the likes of Scar and Frollo cross your mind.
Well, I make the argument here that Alexandra (Carey Mulligan) more than deserves to stand alongside them in reception.
The Dowager Governess manages to be both threatening and tragic, along with the occasional touch of morbid humor.
It is not just her because every character of this expansive voice cast, whether they be human or animal, big or small, gets their moment to shine, with Mahershala Ali being another standout as the Bandit King, Brendan.
The humor accompanying these characters also gets a laugh.
As examples, there is the already mentioned morbid jokes of Alexandra, along with Prue attempting to bluff her way into identity fraud.
However, although there are plenty of lighthearted moments to be had with this movie, there is also a lot of maturity.
Make no mistake, this is not a children’s movie but a family movie.
This makes sense, since Laika also made Coraline, which I am sure inspired many a childhood nightmare.
But I remember my jaw dropping to the floor on multiple occasions at how far this animated movie went with the violence.
Granted, this is often through quick or faraway shots, but it leaves little to the imagination about what is happening when it comes to the brutality of certain moments.
Wildwood certainly earns its M rating, but I would not have it any other way.
It is rare to find animated family movies that have such a perfect balance between the light-hearted and the grim, and this all culminates in Wildwood’s glorious third act climax.
Back when I first watched the trailer, I was in awe at the promised stop-motion battle, and this final fight certainly eclipsed anything I have seen before.
While there may have been some CGI incorporated to make everything more seamless, it is almost indistinguishable and flows brilliantly.
The final encounter between our hero and antagonist left me on the edge of my seat, and I finished the movie with a big smile on my face that stayed there all the way through the credits, which I watched to the end.
That alone should state how much I loved Wildwood.
Its characters are both loveable and tragic, the stop-motion is the best in the buisness, and the third act is one of the greatest in any animated movie ever.
This is not only my favorite film of the year so far, but an obvious shoe in for Best Animated Feature at the Oscars.
Despite being such a renowned animation studio, however, Laika rarely seems to make its money back on the films they make.
So, I implore you, please go see Wildwood in theaters.
It is Laika’s magnum opus.
