Wildwood - Review
LFF Special
Wildwood is a masterpiece and stands on its own two feet as a wonderful piece of filmmaking, but it’s relevant to note the stance that Travis Knight and Laika have made against the threat of AI, and why works such as these should be championed for doing so.
Directed by Travis Knight, Running Time 131 mins, Produced by Laika
Review by Mitch Bailey
Laika’s crowning achievement comes in the form of Wildwood, the newest stop motion animated feature directed by Travis Knight. It’s also the most “human” a film utilising this medium has felt for a long time, ironic considering the thousands of individually molded props used to create this masterpiece. It’s a tale of grief, belonging and acceptance, wrapped up in a beautiful fantasy adventure.
The film, which took over 16 years to finally make its way to the screen, feels like homage to the works of Tolkien and C.S. Lewis but still manages to find its own originality along the way, creating something incredibly unique and life affirming. Firstly, the scale is truly unlike anything the animation genre has seen previously; you’ll hear a lot of people talking about the mind blowing final battle sequence and rightfully so, it’s truly a miracle of stop motion filmmaking. There’s plenty of flashy moments such as these, but above all else, the film has heart.
Peyton Elizabeth Lee’s performance as the wonderful Prue showcases this throughout, as she goes through all the motions in a desperate attempt to rescue her little brother, Mac. As she and her classmate Curtis (Jacob Tremblay) enter this vast, challenging hidden world, there's plenty of really wonderful moments where we see these characters relationships mature and strengthen. It’s these added elements of solid character work that make Wildwood all the better.
As for the supporting cast, Mahershala Ali’s fierce bandit leader Brendan and Carey Mulligan’s vengeful antagonist Alexandra are both amongst the most interesting and well developed ‘side’ characters seen in animation. Their individual presence and governance over their respective clans make for powerful and exciting viewing, akin to something you’d expect to see from warring factions in Game of Thrones and The Lord of the Rings. It’s mature in its tone and delivery, but never inaccessible for younger audiences.
Wildwood is a true spectacle. It’s magic in every sense of the word, a film that makes the world a better place because it exists. In a day and age where AI is a true threat to human creativity and art, it’s important that studios like Laika are praised to making something that requires such a vast measure of human collaboration and inventive practise. Filmmaking has never been more at risk; a simple prompt can assemble a hollow imitation of prior works in seconds. It’s why Travis Knight and his crew should be noted for the astounding piece of cinema that they have created.
