You know how sometimes you watch something and it’s such a huge advancement that you have no idea how it was done? Think back to 1995 and the original Toy Story. We’d seen computer graphics before, but never a full-length animated movie. How was that possible? Well, we got the same feeling watching the new trailer for Laika’s upcoming film Wildwood. We know it’s stop-motion animation. That’s Laika’s thing. And yet, we have no idea how that’s even possible because this thing looks massive.
It also looks decidedly adult too. Which is probably why the film is coming to theaters on October 23 from Fathom Entertainment rather than a major distributor. Everything about it feels like a huge, expensive risk. One that, if the movie is half as good as this trailer, could really pay off. Check it out.
See what we mean? The music certainly helps, but the faces, the hair, and the environments all look way better than we’re used to seeing in stop motion. Oh, and then there are battle scenes with dozens of characters onscreen at the same time, which must take a level of patience and skill that’s unfathomable. How is this even possible?
In Wildwood, a teenager named Prue (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) enters an enchanted forest to rescue her brother. Along with her friend Curtis (Jacob Tremblay), Prue’s mission ends up crossing over with a conflict that threatens the fate of the forest as a whole.
The voice cast for Wildwood is almost as impressive as its visuals too. In addition to Lee and Tremblay, it features the voices of Carey Mulligan, Richard E. Grant, Awkwafina, Amandla Stenberg, Tom Waits, Charlie Day, Blythe Danner, Maya Erskine, Jake Johnson, Rob Delaney, Jemaine Clement, Angela Bassett, and Mahershala Ali, to name a few.
From director Travis Knight, Wildwood opens October 23, and we cannot wait.
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