It’s obvious in every frame to hit the screen that each Laika movie is a labour of love. The studio is dedicated to the painstaking craft of stop-motion animation, resulting in the likes of Coraline, Kubo And The Two Strings, and most recently Missing Link. But even by Laika standards, their next film is a feat of mind-boggling complexity – a decade-in-the-making fantasy epic that’s set to push the studio’s capabilities to a whole new level. Get ready for Wildwood, transforming Laika’s home of Portland, Oregon, into animated form – and sending young hero Prue on a dangerous journey into a fantastical forest realm.
As director Travis Knight tells Empire in an exclusive new interview, the film, based on Colin Meloy’s acclaimed novel, is “the hardest thing we have ever done” – hence its especially lengthy development. “A huge part of the reason it’s taken us so long to bring this to life cinematically is that it’s incredibly ambitious,” Knight explains. “There’s all these elements that are really challenging to do in stop-motion.” Those elements include epic battles, aerial sequences, and characters such as Prue’s “mentor figure” the General – the majestic eagle seen in the exclusive new image above. “She’s a miracle of craftsmanship and engineering,” says Knight of the character, precision-tooled to mimic the fluid movement of real-life birds.
Just as Coraline was a coming-of-age story, Wildwood will explore the 13-year-old Prue’s development as she ventures on a quest with geeky classmate Curtis, together searching for Prue’s baby brother who’s been spirited away by a murder of crows. “Prue’s one of those great young-adult protagonists we meet on the bittersweet precipice of crossing the Rubicon from childhood to adulthood,” Knight teases. And in terms of visuals, 15 years after Coraline, the studio has come on leaps and bounds. “We’ve had to build up the creative tools, the technology and our storytelling muscles to do this book justice,” explains Knight. “What I love about this team is how they’re always swimming forward, never content to rest on what’s come before.” Get ready to venture forth into the mysteries of Wildwood.
See more of Prue in action in Empire’s world-exclusive stop-motion animated digital cover, created exclusively for us by the team at Laika – with Coraline herself introducing the studio’s latest hero. Read more here on how it was created.
In this month’s issue of Empire – featuring Joker: Folie À Deux on the cover, on newsstands from Thursday 1 August – you’ll find our full first look at Wildwood and interview with director Travis Knight. Plus, we have a major new 15th anniversary feature on Coraline, speaking to the classic film’s creators and voice stars. Pre-order a copy online here. Wildwood is set for release in 2025.