LAIKA Studios changed my life.
Coraline is still a movie I would rewatch any day. So, you can imagine the excitement I felt when it was announced that a new movie from LAIKA Studios would be coming out this year.
For those who don’t know, LAIKA Studios is an independent stop-motion animation studio based in Oregon. Although they are technically a studio for movies, they don’t need to be bringing in profit from the movies they release because the studio is primarily funded by Phil Knight, the co-founder of Nike.Â
Why is a billionaire who started an athletic wear company interested in funding a stop-motion studio? Well, because of his son!Â
Phil Knight’s son, Travis Knight, started working as an animator in a stop-motion studio called Will Vinton Studios. Will Vinton Studios soon got into financial trouble, which led to Travis Knight acquiring a good portion of it and taking charge.Â
This is how Phil Knight got thrown in the mix. With the help of his funding, the studio had (and still has!) enough money to keep creating movies without the worry of making a profit to stay afoot.Â
Now, let’s get back to the movie that was released this year: Wildwood!
This movie has been in the works for over 16 years, so my expectations were really high when I was walking into the movie theatre to watch it for the first time.
My review? It was amazing.
The attention to detail in the movie is absolutely beautiful. I found it so hard to believe that the movie was stop-motion because the character’s movements were so fluid, even the microexpressions on their face.Â
The scenery was also breathtaking. Combined with bright colors and mystical scenery, the scenes in the movie were spectacular. It’s worth watching just for the visual elements.Â
The themes of the movie added so much depth and emotion to the story.
 Just to be clear, this movie is definitely PG-13, and the topics that it discusses are quite heavy. To be specific, one of the central themes of the movie was grief.
Alexandra, a character in the movie, loses her son and turns to dark magic to cope with the overwhelming grief she is experiencing. Once her first plan with magic does not work out, she gets completely consumed by her grief and it starts to not only corrupt her, but everyone around her. This is all due to her inability to accept things that can not be changed.Â
The movie also meditates on violence that is often sugarcoated. One of the film’s main characters, Curtis, is a fan of games centered around bravery and battles. Yet, when he finds himself in the middle of a battle, he discovers the violence is hard to feel proud of.Â
This film doesn’t build up violence in battles to be cool, heroic things. In fact, it highlights the brutality and sadness that goes behind it through Curtis’s experience. This message is also displayed through the gore shown throughout the film.Â
Despite the heavy themes, Wildwood is also a fun story to watch unfold on the silver screen. It was incredibly entertaining, and I did not get bored once.Â
It doesn’t shy away from incorporating humor throughout the film. I found myself laughing multiple times despite the gloomy topics of the film.Â
And I don’t mean to sound redundant, but it has to be said again. The attention to detail in the movie and the visual elements were so beautiful that it was hard to NOT keep your eyes on the screen.
Overall, Wildwood is an incredible film that I would recommend everyone to watch if they haven’t.Â
Not only is it fun to watch, but supporting films like these is important. LAIKA Studios may not need the direct funding from your ticket, but showing support to art made through the hard work of humans, in an age where AI is increasingly threatening creative jobs, is incredibly important.
So, go out to your local movie theatre and watch a human-made masterpiece!