Wildwood
A genuine masterpiece, Wildwood is not only a technical marvel that takes stop-motion animation to a whole new level, but it’s also a character-driven, emotionally sophisticated, epic fantasy adventure story that can proudly stand alongside its live-action peers. If it doesn’t win next year’s Best Animated Film Oscar, it’ll be daylight robbery...
Premise: When Portland teenager Prue (voiced by Peyton Elizabeth Lee) takes her baby brother Mac outside to play against their parents’ wishes, a mysterious murder of crows abducts Mac and takes him deep into the nearby woods, known in local legends as the Impassable Wilderness. Setting off to recover Mac with her hapless classmate Curtis (voiced by Jacob Tremblay), Prue encounters talking anthropomorphic animals, fearsome bandits, and the grief-stricken Dowager Governess, Alexandra (voiced by Carey Mulligan).
Review:
“Masterpiece” is not a word I throw around lightly, but every now and then you watch a film that is unlike anything you’ve seen on the big screen before – something that transcends what’s come before it and which redefines what’s possible. Wildwood is such a film – it takes stop-motion as an artform to new heights, while also providing a heartfelt story that brings unexpected emotional depth to an epic fantasy adventure, the scale of which has never been attempted in stop-motion animation before.
What director Travis Knight has shepherded to the big screen in Wildwood is nothing short of a work of art – something that’s clearly been crafted with passion and love and joy, rather than a studio mandate to make money. At a time when creativity isn’t being allowed room to breathe in the Hollywood studio system, and where films are greenlit by executives interested in exploiting lucrative IP franchises rather than creating something original, Portland-based independent animation studio Laika (co-founded by current CEO Travis Knight) is a shining beacon of artistry and imagination in a sea of corporate cynicism.
“…delivers moments unlike anything you’ve seen in stop-motion animation before…”
This is turning into quite the year for Travis Knight, who directed the (5-star) live-action Masters of the Universe reboot that came out earlier in the summer (and which was also written by Wildwood screenwriter Chris Butler) and who’s now directed this – although I understand that Wildwood took five years to shoot (and 16 years in total to make), so it pre-dates Masters of the Universe by quite some time. Once you see Wildwood, you’ll understand why it took five years to shoot, as not only is it the longest stop-motion animated movie of all time (at a little over 2 hours), but it also delivers moments unlike anything you’ve seen in stop-motion animation before – from intimate, character-based moments where a character’s body language speaks volumes, to a largescale, epic fantasy battle involving hundreds of characters, that wouldn’t have looked out of place in Middle Earth.
But there’s a lot more to Wildwood than just technical excellence – and even if you don’t consider yourself a fan of stop-motion animation, you shouldn’t let that stop you seeing Wildwood. In fact, I would wholeheartedly recommend Wildwood to anyone except the youngest of viewers – this is Laika’s first film to receive a 12A (PG-13 in the US) rating, because it does touch on some darker themes than you might not be expecting from an animated fantasy adventure. That’s not a criticism – in fact, it’s to the film’s credit that it doesn’t shy away from addressing issues like the trauma caused by acts of violence, or the corrosive effects of unconfronted grief, and the film never talks down to its audience. So although the film may not be suitable for very young viewers, I’d still consider this an adventure aimed at family audiences.
“…Carey Mulligan’s performance is an incredibly three-dimensional movie antagonist…”
The stop-motion puppets are so engaging that while you’re watching the film you forget about the voice actors helping to bring them to life, but Wildwood has an incredible voice cast, from veterans like Carey Mulligan, Mahershala Ali, Angela Bassett and Richard E. Grant, to comedic actors like Awkwafina, Jake Johnson and Charlie Day, and next-generation talents like Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Jacob Tremblay and Amandla Stenberg. The entire voice cast do a great job – but the puppets themselves are so engrossing that you forget about the humans behind them (in fact, make sure you stay during the end credits for a brief behind-the-scenes look at how much work goes into filming a single short scene of stop-motion animation).
I need to give a special mention to Carey Mulligan for her performance as Alexandra, the Dowager Governess who’s the film’s main antagonist. I think of her as an “antagonist” rather than a “villain”, because Carey Mulligan’s performance brings to life Chris Butler’s script so empathetically, that Alexandra is one of the most three-dimensional movie antagonists that I’ve seen in years. Yes, she commits evil and villainous acts, but her motives are always fuelled by her love and grief, meaning that although audiences never condone her actions, they can always understand what drives Alexandra down her dark path.
“…full of humour, heart & surprises…”
Combining stunning visuals with an emotionally complex fantasy adventure packed full of humour, heart and surprises, Wildwood deserves to be seen on as big a screen as you can find – and hopefully, it’ll make enough at the box office to reward Laika for having taken such a chance on this labour of love. But whether you see it in the cinema, or discover it later on DVD or TV, give it a try even if you think you don’t like stop-motion animation or “kids’ adventure films” – you really won’t regret it.
