A new poster for Laika’s upcoming stop-motion fantasy adventure, Wildwood, has been revealed. The film is set to be released in 2020 and stars the voices of Reese Witherspoon, Jake Johnson, Ginnifer Goodwin, and more.
Laika Studios is a stop-motion animation studio based in Portland, Oregon. They have been producing films since the 1950s and are known for their work on Coraline, ParaNorman, and Kubo and the Two Strings. Recently they announced a new film set to be released in 2019 entitled Wildwood.
The studio behind Coraline and Paranorman has resurfaced. Wildwood, Laika’s next project, was recently revealed, complete with a poster reveal. To bring its figures to life, the studio uses hand-sculpted puppets and settings. Their sixth feature film, Wildwood, will be their sixth full-length feature film.
Travis Knight, the president and CEO of Laika, is set to direct. Knight has directed both Laika’s Kubo and the Two Strings and the 2018 hit Bumblebee, so he’s no stranger to the director’s chair. Caleb Deschanel, the cinematographer, will be working on the project for the first time. Through this project, Deschanel will take his first steps towards stop motion animation. He worked on the cinematography for Jon Favreau’s The Lion King, so this won’t be his first animation job. Arianne Sutner will produce Wildwood, while Chris Butler will write it. Both earned Golden Globes for their work on Missing Link, which Butler directed.
Wildwood will be based on Colin Meloy, lead singer and composer for the band The Decemberists, and his first book in The Wildwood Chronicles. There hasn’t been any word on distribution yet, although there are lots of choices such as Netflix, Amazon, and Apple TV+.
Wildwood is located outside of Portland’s city boundaries. You are not permitted to enter. You’re not meant to even be aware that it exists. Prue McKeel, on the other hand, is about to enter this magical realm. Her infant brother Mac has been abducted into the depths of the forest by a gang of crows, and she and her hapless classmate Curtis are determined to find him. Prue may believe she’s too old for fairy tales, but she’s just landed in the middle of one…complete with weird talking animals, rogue bandits, and powerful people with the worst of intentions.
In an interview with Indiewire, Knight stated, “As a deep-dyed native son of Oregon, I have rainwater, microbrew, and fair-trade coffee flowing through my veins.” “With ‘Wildwood,’ I’ll be able to create a very ambitious tale of magic, wonder, and peril set in the world where I grew up. With a stirring epic that will ignite imaginations, raise spirits, and shatter hearts, my hometown of Portland will join that pantheon of memorable fantasy worlds.”
According to Indiewire, Deschanel views the endeavor as a fresh chance to learn. “I’m constantly searching for new and exciting experiences. That implies I’m working on a project for which I have no clue what I’m doing. I shot ‘Never Look Away’ in German – a language I don’t understand – and photographed ‘Lion King’ in a virtual environment I didn’t understand. ‘Wildwood’ will be shot using stop-motion animation, which is one of the oldest types of animation, but it will be enhanced with cutting-edge technology to make it even more expressive. I have no clue what I’m doing once again. But, to be honest, I’m simply supervising some very brilliant individuals who have done this many times before. I’m gaining knowledge from them. It’s an interesting and intriguing process.”
Laika has proved time and time again that they can transport audiences to other realms. Bringing tales like Coraline and Paranorman to life, as well as emotional adventures like Kubo and the Two Strings and lighthearted comic romps like The Boxtrolls and Missing Link. They continue to push the limits of stop motion as a medium and special effects with each production. Each of their five films was nominated for an Academy Award. For its remarkable fast prototyping, 3D printing technology for character animation, the company has won an Academy Sci-Tech Award. The company just acquired the rights to screenwriter John Brownlow’s action thriller novella Seventeen, which it intends to adapt as its first live-action movie.
Topics include: Wildwood
Related Tags
- laika movies
- stop motion movies
- claymation movies
