Laika Unveils Ambitious Stop-Motion Film *Wildwood* at Annecy

Since its 2009 debut with *Coraline*, Laika has released five stop-motion features—*ParaNorman* (2012), *The Boxtrolls* (2014), *Kubo and the Two Strings* (2016) and *Missing Link* (2019). *Wildwood* adapts the first novel of the *Wildwood Chronicles* by The Decemberists frontman Colin Meloy, illustrated by Carson Ellis. The project began sixteen years ago after Meloy asked that the film not precede the books, and Laika’s development cycle, which Knight describes as “the pace of a glacier,” reflects a long-term craft focus.

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At the June 2026 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Laika President and CEO Travis Knight presented *Wildwood* to a crowd that included Brad Bird, Peter Lord and other animation leaders. The film’s screenplay, written by Chris Butler, features voices of Peyton Elizabeth Lee (Prue), Jacob Trembley (Curtis), Carey Mulligan (Dowager Governess Alexandra) and Angela Bassett (The General, a golden eagle). Knight screened the trailer and highlighted the story’s blend of Portland-based fantasy and personal emotion.

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*Wildwood* merges traditional stop-motion with digital technology. The central eagle puppet, The General, stands 34 inches tall, spans 64 inches, contains 3,794 individual features and required roughly 3,000 hours of hand-crafting. Knight noted the film’s world spans “multiple worlds,” a step beyond Laika’s earlier settings, and that the studio assembled “craftspeople, artists and NASA-grade technologists” to meet the technical demands.

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Knight described *Wildwood* as Laika’s “biggest and most ambitious” project, emphasizing years spent developing new tools and a philosophy that blends “art and craft and technology.” He highlighted the Annecy exhibition “Wildwood: A First Glimpse into a Handmade World,” which featured a miniature Pittock Mansion replica, handcrafted trees and the massive eagle puppet. Knight also confirmed the U.S. theatrical release for October 23, 2026, with Fathom Entertainment as distributor.

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• “It’s also currently hotter than the surface of Mercury. I’m not built for this. To understand the scale of the problem, you first need to understand my relationship with sunlight. I don’t have one,” — Travis Knight, President & CEO, Laika

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• “I’m a huge fantasy nerd… I read The Lord of Rings when I was a child and loved it. This story felt like it breathed that same air, but it was very specific to because it was set in Portland, where I’m from, and it reimagined Portland as this sort of fantasy realm. It’s also very emotional at the core. It felt like the perfect combination of a big fantasy epic and something that was very intimate.” — Travis Knight

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• “He said, ‘Coraline takes place in a house; ParaNorman, in a town; The Boxtrolls, in a city; Kubo, in a country, Missing Link in the world, and Wildworld takes place over multiple worlds,” — Chris Butler, Screenwriter

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• “It’s one of the most complicated puppets we’ve ever built and a thing of beauty, a work of art.” — Travis Knight

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The Annecy exhibition runs through September 27, 2026. After the festival, *Wildwood* opens in U.S. theaters on October 23, 2026, marking Laika’s latest mainstream release.

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