LAIKA isn't as much of a household name as Disney or Pixar, but the animation house has a success record like no other. The company has released a string of extraordinarily crafted, well-told stop-motion tales, from the beloved fantasy "Coraline" to the underrated horror comedy "ParaNorman." And LAIKA's latest effort might be its masterpiece.
The ambitious coming-of-age epic "Wildwood" (in theaters Oct. 23) takes audiences from the streets of Portland, Oregon, to an enchanted forest full of delights and dangers alike. It also marks a bit of history: After many family-friendly films made with handcrafted puppets, director Travis Knight's "Wildwood" is the first PG-13 movie in LAIKA's 20-year run. While the studio has long utilized a dark fantasy
streak in its various narratives, "Wildwood" might not be suitable for all children.
Here's what moms and dads need to know going into the new animated movie:
What is the movie 'Wildwood' about?
Disobeying her overprotective parents, teenage Prue (voiced by Peyton Elizabeth Lee) takes her baby brother Mac out for a bike ride through the streets of Portland. When a murder of crows inexplicably kidnaps the infant from a playground, Prue and her nerdy classmate Curtis (Jacob Tremblay) follow them into "the Impassable Wilderness," a magical place where talking animals (including an army of coyote soldiers) interact with people and divided tribes need to work together to face the dark force threatening everything that lives there.
Desperate to find her brother, Prue finds important allies in a quest to discover the truth about the forest as well as her own mysterious past, while Curtis falls under the sway of Alexandra (Carey Mulligan), a dowager governess who will do anything to see her dead son again.
How long is the 'Wildwood' movie?
The film, based on Colin Meloy's 2011 fantasy novel, clocks in at two hours and 12 minutes. It's longer than most other animated films, which usually range between 90 and 105 minutes, but the expansive runtime matches the grand story that "Wildwood" tells. It doesn't feel long at all, especially when you're immersed in the characters' travails, yet that runtime might test some kids' patience. (It's got plenty of action and emotion to keep the momentum going for adults.)
What is the age rating of 'Wildwood'?
"Wildwood" is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association "for strong fantasy violence/bloody images, thematic material, suicide-related material, brief partial nudity and language." Which is quite the laundry list for parents of small children.
In the opening scene, a naked boy (with his bare bottom shown) hurls himself off a balcony and falls to his death – he ripped out a clockwork heart and was apparently an automaton before that, but still. As for language, one coyote soldier calls his commander a "son of a b----," which leans more clever than crass. There's a lot of blood and death, especially in an extremely brutal climactic battle scene akin to "The Lord of the Rings" in scale. Yet it's also an emotionally heavy film that deals frankly with the corruptive power of grief and the loss of innocence.
Who is in the cast of 'Wildwood'?
Peyton Elizabeth Lee voices teen heroine Prue while Jacob Tremblay is Curtis, her dorky classmate who becomes a loyal friend, and Carey Mulligan plays the villainous Alexandra. Mahershala Ali is Brendan the Bandit King, a close ally of Prue's, while Awkwafina plays Curtis' rat pal Septima. Maya Erskine and Jake Johnson costar as Prue's parents, Angela Bassett is a mighty golden eagle known as the General, Amandla Stenberg plays the bandit Niamh, Charlie Day is the embattled coyote Dmitiri, and Tom Waits is Maksim, who heads up Alexandra's coyote legion.
How long did 'Wildwood' take to make?
LAIKA announced that "Wildwood" was in production in September 2021 but much of it was already underway. Storyboard artists started to work off Chris Butler's screenplay in 2018 and pre-production started in 2020, with much of the crew working from their homes during the pandemic before returning to the studio July 2021. Because LAIKA works in a style that most others don't – using handmade puppets and intricately crafted physical sets for their stop-motion tales rather than hand-drawn or computer-generated animation – "Wildwood" took a while to come to theaters but the results are pretty glorious. (You can get a glimpse of their process in the video above.)
Is 'Wildwood' appropriate for little kids?
"Wildwood" is an amazing visual spectacle, a powerful and stirring heartfelt story, and one of the best movies of the year, period. It's also very much not for little kids. It's the first PG-13 LAIKA film for a reason: Teens and tweens, and obviously any parents with good movie taste, are definitely the target audience because of the violence and adult themes. If you do take a young movie fan, there are several scenes that might scare them, especially with the vicious coyotes running around, creepy crows flying about, and various peril that Prue and Curtis find themselves in, not to mention the humongous final battle.
But if the little ones aren't familiar with the LAIKA canon, show them the earlier stuff – "Coraline," "ParaNorman," "Kubo and the Two Strings," it's all quite stellar – so they can get used to the immersive dark fantasy elements that are the studio's hallmark vibe. Once they're a little older, then introduce "Wildwood" because it is a must-see experience and a memorable fable, one that deftly digs into when to hold on and when to let go as well as how, even in adulthood, nobody has all the answers and that's OK.
Where can I watch 'Wildwood'?
The movie is in theaters nationwide Oct. 23. But if you're itching to see it at home, you'll be waiting for a bit: "Wildwood" likely won't be available to watch via digital video-on-demand platforms until around Christmas or early January, and because LAIKA's an independent studio not associated with a streaming service, it might be a while before it arrives on a streamer such as Netflix or Hulu.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Is PG-13 'Wildwood' OK for little kids? A parent's guide
