by Nick Ferro, Editor
Laika has made some truly special films over the years, however, I find that with the exception of Kubo and the Two Strings, each entry of their library has taken me a few re-watches to fully embrace them. I walked out of Kubo, fully in love with that film and to this day it remains my favorite of their collection, but movies like Coraline and ParaNorman took me a few years and several attempts. Really what sets Laika apart from other animation studios is their complete commitment to making the most beautifully constructed stop-motion animated films that I have ever seen, and Wildwood is no exception.
Set in Portland, Oregon, Wildwood follows Prue McKeel (Peyton Elizabeth Lee), a pre-teen girl who finds herself lost in a mystical wood, with schoolmate Curtis (Jacob Tremblay), when a murder of crows kidnaps her baby brother. Once there they find talking animals, a witch (Carey Mulligan), and several groups people who don’t see eye to eye trying and failing to co-exist in this magical land. In order to save her brother Prue will have to bring these people together to stand against the witch and stop her evil plan. What an incredibly stacked cast of actors providing their vocal talents: Richard E. Grant, Jermaine Clement, Mahershala Ali, Awkwafina, Blythe Danner, Chalie Day, The Great Angela Bassett, and many more. Each and every one of them delivers an excellent vocal performance that brings these characters to life. But the voice performance that stood out to me as the best and possibly his personal best to date is Jake Johnson, as Prue’s dad. He truly disappeared into the character to the point where I wasn’t even sure if it was actually him. His warmth and fears shined through with his voice alone and I was incredibly impressed by his efforts despite the role being smaller.
But I am burying the lead. The number one reason to see Wildwood this weekend is the animation. I have long been a sucker for stop-motion animation ever since the early 90s when so many movies, I saw as a kid, used the medium as a way to make elements of a movie come to life in the absence of the modern solution of CGI. Movies like Beetlejuice or Star Wars used it in a way that felt seamless and fully animated Christmas tv specials like Rudoph the Red Nose Reindeer were staples in my house. But when The Nightmare Before Christmas came out is when I truly fell in love with the medium. Wildwood is the pinnacle of stop motion animation. A few years ago, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio took that title and I love that filmmakers are always striving to push this style forward. I don’t believe I have ever seen a more gorgeous film. From the set design with the beautiful autumn aesthetic to the design of the towns to the wilderness. Every single element in this movie stood out as frame worthy. On top of that, the action of the movie, in the way the characters moved and interacted throughout this world was stunning and unbelievable. Literally, at times I didn’t actually believe it was stop-motion, I kept thinking, “They have to be cheating and using CGI to complete some scenes.” There are so many moments of characters being chased and the camera work that captured so much movement in so many dynamic ways left me with my jaw on the floor.
Sadly, that is where my high praise comes to an end. I truly wish this was three pages of me gushing about how this movie touched my soul, but ultimately I went in with too high of expectations. Yet those expectations are not the only ones to blame in all of this, as the trailer sold me a story that ultimately wasn’t there. Both are tangentially linked, because some movie trailers are so visually stunning and full of magic it’s hard to not get swept up in the hype. Wildwood’s trailer was no different. I feel very strongly that there have only ever been a handful of movies that have trailers that can be considered a work of art. These trailers typically elicit such a strong emotional response from me that I fall in love immediately. There have been so few that have lived up to those expectations, but when they do, boy is that a feeling I wish I could bottle. Some movies have lived up to their trailers, like the Wild Robot or Logan’s Hurt trailer but most movies don’t. It’s times like these when I try to remember that some movies take multiple viewings to connect with on a deeper level and I am reminded that this has been true for most of Laika’s movies for me.
As far as stories go, this is a perfectly fine one, in line with the likes of The Chronicles of Narnia and The Labyrinth. There is nothing new or surprising to how the story plays out, the characters are all pretty shallow and stick to their typical archetypes. Our leads are more along for the ride as an audience surrogate than the subject of a true hero’s journey. However, I don’t mean any of this as a negative, just that you have seen it before and that it is done very well. Sometimes you go to a restaurant because you know exactly the meal you’re going to get and there is nothing wrong with that.
If I had to really knock the movie for anything it would be the runtime. While I appreciate the story taking its time to breathe and feel complete, there was an overindulgence due to what I said before about the story feeling a bit run of the mill. At just over two hours I feel like there should have been a little more weight to the narrative. While there is a minor nod thematically to learning to work together with those different than you, it fell flat in execution. And by far the biggest problem with a two hour movie designed to be a sweeping adventure epic is that there was never a moment when I connected to the characters or felt any emotion towards them. I couldn’t see myself in them and they failed to elicit an emotional response. I sat there hoping for that “Pixar Punch” where my heartstrings were pulled at by a character overcoming adversary in a way that felt rewarding. I know, save for Kubo, that isn’t exactly Laika’s thing, but it would be nice if they spent just a little more time finding the emotional connection to their films. Then again, this could also just be a me problem because it isn’t the movie’s fault that it had no intention of getting me to shed a tear.
Wildwood is, in my opinion, the most beautiful film of the year. Watching this movie on mute would absolutely be worth the price of admission alone, however even if you aren’t a fan of stop-motion in particular, there is still enough done well, to engage most audiences. Normally I take my kids to this kind of movie before reviewing them to gauge their reactions and help advise on my assessment of the film. I am aware that as a 41 year old man I might not be the exact demographic Laika was aiming towards. However, I am taking them on Sunday, so if they feel different I will be sure to post an update from their perspective. I truly believe that if you are looking forward to Wildwood you will have a great time, I hope to simply impart the wisdom of: “temper your expectations,” because what was sold to you in the trailers might not end up being what you get. And yet despite this warning, I still feel confident that with Laika’s track record I can see myself growing to appreciate this movie as I watch it more through the years.
Rating: Liked It
Wildwood is currently playing in theaters.
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