What if I told you that the legendary stop-motion studio behind ParaNorman and Coraline made a new film that mixes the best parts of Labyrinth, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, and Redwall?
Yes, I know I’m prone to hyperbole.
But, you gotta believe me…
This is real good.
Let’s discuss.
Wildwood is a stop-motion animated film brought to us by director Travis Knight and writers Chris Butler, Colin Meloy, Carson Ellis. These are the power players at Laika responsible for the films listed above. Needless to say everyone involved is at the top of their game. Every single frame of this movie is a work of art. It was almost hard to pay attention to the narrative, because the models and animation were the best stop-motion I’ve ever seen.
The film focuses on Prue, a girl on the verge of womanhood as she considers her future. She dreams of leaving home and going on adventures, or college. Something her parents are adamantly opposed to, especially because they rely on her to babysit her baby brother when they’re vending at the craft fairs. Yet, when her brother is carried off by a murder of crows, she’s forced to leave home and enter the ominous woods at the edge of town. What follows is a magical adventure into a dark world of pain and mystery. A world that is as beautiful as it is unforgiving. Prue, along with her classmate Curtis must summon all of their strength. Will they succeed in saving the child, or will they be another missing person’s case in the Wildwood?
Ray Harryhausen’s legacy is alive and well.
I used to spend Saturday afternoons watching the WGN matinee, which was usually an old science fiction, fantasy, or horror movie. I was always excited when I flipped on the tube and found The Golden Voyage of Sinbad or Jason and the Argonauts was playing. I’ve always loved mythology, but that wasn’t the cool parts of those movies. It was the artistry of the great Ray Harryhausen. He’s the man responsible for not only animating creatures like Talos or Medusa, but for directing those parts of the films. He was famous for a technique called Dynamation, where he would composite the miniature models onto live action footage and match up the movements. Techniques in filmmaking that led to the advent of CGI. LAIKA has proven time and again that they will carry the torch forward and this film is their best yet.
LAIKA’s animation and miniatures have improved movie to movie and this is the pinnacle. I’m not sure how you could improve this further. It’s almost unbelievable that the team that made this movie is the same one that made Paranorman.
It’s great, but not for the littles.
While this is a coming of age story, it is an extremely dark and complex story. The film involves themes of abandonment, suicide, grief, and the horrors of bureaucracy. I mean the film opens with a naked boy committing suicide. It was a brutal and unflinching opening sequence that left me stunned. My 10 year old absolutely loved it, but she cried multiple times throughout the movie. The main reason being all of the characters are well written. Every character, however small, feels alive. This is the first movie in awhile that I can remember have palpable stakes.
It’s also the first kids movie in awhile where the boy character is the hero. Even though the marketing campaign mainly focused on the female leads, the character of Curtis stands head and shoulders above. The poor little guy goes through hell and the film actually shouts him out as he’s not the supporting character I expected. He quickly became the co-lead. It was nice to see a film where both the girls and the boys have someone to root for.
None of this works without the voice talent, and by God…
This Might be the Greatest Cast All-Time.
(I can hear you typing your argument into the comments)
Wildwood Cast
Let me just list them out:
and many many more.
It’s an incredible group of actors and everyone gives their all. You can hear how much joy and wonder each voice adds to the film whether villain or hero. Alongside the sweeping score which is pitch perfect to the visuals, the voice acting soars. No one on this film mailed it in, and it’s extremely refreshing.
This is a movie I will purchase Day of Release.
I not only left my house to see this, but I drove three towns over to see it in theaters and I was not dissapointed.
The only negative I can report is the 2 hour 10 minute runtime. I totally understand that the filmmakers wanted to flagellate themselves all over the audience, and it’s understandable. They made an amazing product, something that is truly timeless in its beauty, but for Christssakes, you could cut thirty minutes out and the film would have been none the worse.
This is currently only in theater and I encourage you to see it on the biggest screen you can.
