Slipping onto the film scene in 2009 with Coraline, Laika has become not only a strong film studio, but one of the last bastions of stop-motion animation operating in Hollywood today. Their signature style rarely misses, and plenty of that charm is present in their newest film Wildwood, directed by studio CEO and president Travis Knight.

An adaption of the 2011 novel by Colin Meloy, Wildwood follows teenager Prue McKeel (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) who defies her parents and takes her baby brother Mac on a day out around Portland, bumping into cowardly classmate Curtis Mehlberg (Jacob Tremblay). However, it turns out that listening to your parents isn’t always a bad thing: When a murder of menacing crows abducts baby Mac, Prue and Curtis have to venture into the Impassable Wilderness on the other side of the railway bridge and get Mac back.

There’s no denying it – Wildwood is an absolutely beautiful looking film. Laika’s character design and amazing execution of stop-motion film-making are here in full force, with a clear commitment to making as much of the film by hand as possible. The craft oozes out of every scene, and it’s extra special that in a time of “AI-generated slop” you can feel the fingerprints of a human on everything bought to life on screen. Of particular note was the ending battle, which is a breathtaking feat of animation that must have taken up a significant portion of the production time.

Unfortunately, beauty can’t always win over substance, and the plot of the film can at best be described as serviceable. There are very few surprises to be found in the story, with many beats feeling quite obvious, though I’m unsure if this is a failure of the screenplay or a problem inherited from the source material. There is some decent character development for Prue and Curtis, though the latter gets a rather harrowing end to his personal journey that isn’t given the breathing room it deserves. Prue and Curtis’ dynamic in general could have done with fleshing out, with his introduction being especially tropey as the “annoying tag-along kid”.

In general, the film’s story feels like a typical book adaption in the sense that some aspects feel rather rushed through or compressed for time. Key lore such as the looming threat of “The Ivy” to the forest, or the relationships and social status of certain characters, feel like they’re missing a little something that got cut for time in adapting for the screen.

To swing back to the positives, the voice performances are (mostly) great. Peyton Elizabeth Lee smashes it as the rebellious, sceptical and dedicated big sister Prue, and Jacob Tremblay turns in a good performance as Curtis the nerd-turned-war-hero, despite the character’s initially irritating introduction. Mahershala Ali is imposing as the Bandit King Brendan, with Amandla Stenberg, Akwafina and Charlie Day adding to the charm of the wronged and rag-tag crew, while Carey Mulligan lends plenty of twisted tragedy to the Dowager Governess. One person who didn’t quite hit the mark in the emotional moments was Jake Johnson as Prue and Mac’s father: Maybe it’s the amount of New Girl which has been on in my house lately, but I didn’t always feel that his performance matched what I was seeing on his character’s face.

Overall, while it’s a bit more of a looker than a thinker, I’d recommend catching Wildwood in the cinema if you can. It might be a bit dark for the really young kids, but otherwise it’s an enjoyable enough time for all, with some interesting exploration of fantasy and Portland folklore alongside the very real magic used to bring the story to life.

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