Story perspectives

Travis Knight Leads Laika’s Wildwood, Longest Stop-Motion Film

By Drooid · Oct 12, 2026, 2:38 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Travis Knight Directs

Travis Knight officially directs the stop-motion film Wildwood.
Peyton Elizabeth Lee voices Prue and Jacob Tremblay voices Curtis.
Wildwood runs 132 minutes, the longest stop-motion feature ever.
Laika earned its first PG-13 rating for Wildwood because of dark fantasy violence.
Wildwood opened worldwide in theaters on October 23, 2026.

Summary

Phil Knight Funds

Wildwood premiered at the BFI London Film Festival.
A special screening took place on Oct. 19 at the Academy Museum.
Production spanned 16 years, beginning in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Phil Knight finances the costly project despite Laika’s pattern of higher budgets and lower box-office returns.
Marketing frames Wildwood as a handcrafted counterpoint to AI-driven cinema, resonating with a large fanbase.

History

Historical Context

When Disney released Henry Selick’s stop-motion musical The Nightmare Before Christmas in 1993 under the Touchstone banner, the studio’s fear of its dark tone led to a limited October 13 debut and a wide October 29 release that proved commercially successful. The film’s production used over 120 animators and 109,440 frames, establishing a model that today’s Laika project Wildwood follows.

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Travis Knight Directs

Travis Knight officially directs the stop-motion film Wildwood.
Peyton Elizabeth Lee voices Prue and Jacob Tremblay voices Curtis.
Wildwood runs 132 minutes, the longest stop-motion feature ever.
Laika earned its first PG-13 rating for Wildwood because of dark fantasy violence.
Wildwood opened worldwide in theaters on October 23, 2026.

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