Laika’s Wildwood has emerged as the top contender for Best Animated Feature at this year’s Oscars, according to Yahoo Entertainment, after a fall release that has critics calling it the studio’s “magnum opus.” The film, directed by Travis Knight, arrives in a crowded animated year and has separated itself on the strength of its stop-motion craft and a story that refuses to talk down to its audience.
The Craft That Sets It Apart
Laika built its reputation on films like Coraline, ParaNorman and Kubo and the Two Strings, but Wildwood pushes the house style further. Yahoo Entertainment describes the animation as “jaw-dropping,” while a Daily Northwestern review called the film “unlike anything I have ever seen,” with hand-crafted figures whose movement carries a distinct humanity. The Catholic Times notes the film took 15 years to complete because of its meticulously crafted stop-motion animation.
Individual sequences have drawn particular notice. Willamette Week called the eagle flight sequence, part of which appears in the trailer, “the most stunning five minutes of animation ever committed to film,” surpassing Laika’s previous stop-motion efforts. The Daily Northwestern compared the film’s ambition to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, saying both pushed the limits of what animation is considered capable of.
A Story That Doesn’t Soften the Edges
The film follows teenager Prue (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) and her friend Curtis (Jacob Tremblay) as they venture into a magical forest to rescue her baby brother from a murder of crows sent by the evil sorceress Alexandra (Carey Mulligan). What begins as a rescue mission unfolds into a war between the bandits of the forest and the Dowager Governess, who plans to sacrifice Prue’s brother to gain the power needed to resurrect her dead son, per the Daily Northwestern.
That premise signals the film’s mature register. Yahoo Entertainment notes the story opens with a child committing suicide in front of his mother, establishing a heavy tale about loss and grief, and like The Lord of the Rings, it refuses to shy away from depicting death and bloodshed. Willamette Week reports the film earns its PG-13 rating, especially in a climactic battle it describes as closer to Return of the King than a child’s fairy tale, and warns that the children and animals are not always spared.
The Catholic Times was more critical, calling Wildwood “a visually breathtaking movie paired with a disappointing story” and questioning who exactly the movie’s target audience is. The Daily Northwestern likewise praised the animation as an “unquestionable achievement” while finding the film lacking in character development, saying it left the reviewer feeling empty. Yahoo Entertainment, by contrast, argues the characters feel especially real, with Lee telling Digital Trends that Prue “allows herself to grow and to learn and to evolve” as she encounters things that contradict everything she has believed.
An Adaptation With Deep Roots
Wildwood adapts Colin Meloy’s 541-page novel, the first book in a trilogy, according to Willamette Week, which notes the film streamlines the plot and overlaps action with expository narration to keep its two-hour-plus runtime moving. Yahoo Entertainment says the film condenses Wildwood’s rich history into just two hours, giving it enough depth while leaving the audience wanting more. Willamette Week also flags the Portland in-jokes for locals, including a busker who resembles Meloy and illustrator Carson Ellis selling street art.
The Competition and the Stakes
2026 has been a strong year for animation, with releases including Hoppers, Toy Story 5, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender, GOAT and Forgotten Island, per Yahoo Entertainment. Against that field, the outlet says Wildwood has proven itself the top contender for Best Animated Feature. NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour went further, calling it one of the best movies of the year and “a gorgeous epic for absolutely everybody,” with a voice cast featuring Carey Mulligan, Mahershala Ali, Angela Bassett and Tom Waits.
For Laika, the film extends a strategy that has paid off before: patient, hand-built filmmaking in an industry increasingly reliant on digital pipelines. The 15-year production timeline reported by The Catholic Times is a number worth holding onto. Few studios in any medium commit resources on that horizon, and the result is a film whose every frame reflects that investment, as the Daily Northwestern observed.
The Oscar nomination decision will settle whether the Academy rewards that calculus. Until then, Wildwood is in theaters, and Willamette Week has one practical note for families: there will be blood, and dead bodies to go with it, so bear that in mind if watching with sensitive viewers.
Sources
- EXCLUSIVE: Here’s why Wildwood is the best animated movie of the year
- Wildwood
- Reel Thoughts: ‘Wildwood’ is an artistic feat, but lacks character development
- Review: ‘Wildwood’ Is No Walk in the Park
- ‘Wildwood’ is a gorgeous epic for absolutely everybody : Pop Culture Happy Hour
- ‘Wildwood’ review: Does the incredible animation make up for the lackluster story? – The Catholic Times
Photo: CopperHerons35 (CC0)
