Film review: Wildwood

Is Wildwood the greatest stop motion film ever created?

Laika Studios has dropped another fantastic stop motion film. One which took 16 years of craftsmanship to create... this alone deserves the highest praise.

Originally based a novel by Colin Meloy, This enchanting tale follows the protagonist Pru, who, much against her parents’ will, takes her baby brother into the outside world, where he is captured by crows. She and her classmate Curtis go on a quest to retrieve her brother. They must enter the forbidden woods, where the two come across a mystic world that lives in segregation and fear. The movie approaches elements of grief and sacrifice, which is what makes it such a bittersweet emotional journey.

Director Travis Knight has already blessed us with some beauties over the years, such as ParaNorman as well as Kubo and the Two Strings. Now he delivers us with a new masterpiece with the most intricate details. The team has clearly poured so much passion into this project, and it really shows down to the very last leaf. Approximately 230 puppets were used to make the characters come to life. Every expression, every movement is thought through to perfection, this is especially noticeable in a scene where Baby Mac is drinking from a water fountain. Another component that makes this film so memorable is the wonderful soundtrack, with a variety of empowering song selections. A few of my favourites were from composer Dario Marianelli (known for his work on Pride and Prejudice) and indie band The Decemberists, who have several tracks throughout the movie.

There is some great character development and payoff within the film, with Jacob Tremblay (best known for his role as Auggie in Wonder) playing the much-loved, clumsy, innocent kid, Curtis, who accidentally gets wrapped up in the fairy tale adventure. We also have Carey Mulligan (known for Ryan Gosling’s love interest in the film Drive) who plays a headstrong female lead character, riddled with sorrow and grief. The contrast in these characters emphasises resilience and emotional maturity, highlighting how different experiences of grief and adventure can shape an individual's perspective of the world. Curtis’ character development is one that particularly stands out as we see him have to make some horrific decisions in order to spare his life. We watch him transform into a hero-like character, and admit it, we all love a ‘from zero to hero’ trope character.

I thoroughly enjoyed Wildwood's similarities to the much loved film Coraline, perhaps one of Laika Studios’ most popular films, also one of my all-time personal favourites. This genre of film tends to have similar demographics of PG-13. Both of the movies tackle difficult subjects, such as exploring the element of death; we can relate to this as an audience, and this is what makes it a much more personal watch. I also loved the similarity in the films, both having a courageous female protagonists, who both have to leave their comfort zones and enter an unknown world. I think this is a very important message for younger viewers to learn about bravery, and also an important lesson for the parents to let their children have their independence.