Travis Knight's Wildwood arrives as stop-motion antidote to AI
Knight's animated film Wildwood, based on a 2011 novel, lands in cinemas this week.
Travis Knight grew up transfixed by Ray Harryhausen's special-effects work and the stop-motion Christmas specials of Rankin Bass. Knight's childhood spark became a career.
Knight led animation on Coraline in 2009 and founded Laika, the stop-motion studio. Wildwood tells the story of two teenagers who venture into an enchanted forest searching for a stolen infant and encounter a grief-stricken woman.
The film explores fear, loss and darkness, darker than most family films today. Knight argues that stop-motion remains the most human way to make movies.
Every frame, puppet and detail is designed and manipulated by artists' hands. In a film industry shifting toward AI, he sees stop-motion as devotion made visible: slow, painful, imperfect, but beautiful.
- Travis Knight
- Director
- Laika
- Studio
- 2011
- Based on novel from
- Coraline in 2009
- Knight's earlier lead animator role
Why it mattersA major director's statement that human craft still matters in cinema, and proof that stories about grief and complex emotion can still reach family audiences.
AustraliaAustralian cinemagoers can now see a handmade animated film that treats young viewers with respect and emotional sophistication, arriving locally this week.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 2 h ago
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