“Wildwood” is a beacon of hope for animation

By Ryan Denkovic

Being completely honest, “Wildwood” was not on my radar for film releases this year. While the film looked good enough to go and see, I was not anticipating that much. That changed, however, when the film debuted with a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and a staggering 4.4 out of five average on Letterboxd; that is when the film piqued my interest. I saw the film the weekend it came out, and it completely blew me away. Since I saw it, I have not been able to stop thinking about how absolutely incredible this film was, and how underappreciated it has been at the box office. 

“Wildwood” is the latest film from stop-motion company Laika, the studio that made “Coraline,” “Corpse Bride” and “Paranorman.” This is the first of Laika’s films that was given a PG-13 rating, and it kind of pushes that rating. This is in no way a kids’ movie; it is bloody and violent, but is also incredibly beautiful. Since this film is stop-motion, every single part of every frame is intentional, and that is so apparent throughout the entire runtime. This is one of the most visually appealing films I have ever seen, and that is no doubt thanks to how hard and intricate it is to animate anything, let alone anything in stop-motion.

The film follows Prue McKeel, a teenager from Portland, Oregon, as she and her classmate, Curtis, journey into a mystical forest to find her baby brother after he is kidnapped by a murder of crows. Her brother, Mac, has been brought to the Dowager Governess Alexandra as part of a plan to bring her son back from the dead. Prue and Curtis join forces with the people of the forest to fight Alexandra’s army and save Mac.

What should not be understated about this film is how absolutely drop-dead gorgeous it is. Every single frame could belong in a museum. From the sets and lighting to the attention to detail on the puppets is marvelous and breathtaking. The script and score is incredibly written as well. Everything about this film works in tandem with everything else so flawlessly, and it is a testament to the mastery of human-made art. In a time where many videos and images are generated by artificial intelligence, something like this is such a breath of fresh air. “Wildwood” director and Laika CEO, Travis Knight, said that AI will never be used at Laika and has no place in art, and I commend him profusely for that.

Speaking of Knight, some folks online have been denouncing the film, due to Knight’s father and co-founder of Laika, Phil Knight, being the CEO and co-founder of Nike. While I recognize the nepotism-bathed elephant in the room, if I am being completely honest, I do not care. Laika has lost money on all of its films, but every single one I have seen has been absolutely gorgeous. If Nike wants to continue funding pieces of art like this, I am completely fine with that. It is clear that Travis Knight is incredibly passionate about making films that transcend so much of what modern animation has to offer, and I just want to thank him for that. “Wildwood” is the love child of 16 years of hard work from Laika, and it is unabashedly beautiful.

In times like these, where generative AI is so prominent, “Wildwood” is a beacon of hope in a sea of slop. It is possibly the best modern-day case of how putting in the time and work will inevitably lead to something breathtaking. This film is a demonstration of why human-made art will always be beautiful, and it is criminal that this film is underperforming at the box office. So far, the film has only made $35 million globally, and it deserves tenfold. I am never going to shut up about this film and how gorgeous it is. I have rated a lot of movies 5 out of 5 stars, but this is by far the easiest film to receive that rating.

Ryan Denkovic is a sophomore English major