Laika's Wildwood stop-motion masterpiece arrives but few are watching
Wildwood, a Laika stop-motion film 14 years in development, has opened with just 11 million dollars despite costing 100 million to make.
Wildwood follows teenage Prue and her baby brother. They stumble into a magical forest filled with talking animals and warring factions threatened by dark magic.
Over 1,000 artists created the film's stop-motion images. They made more than 142,000 face models and 200 puppets.
They spent more than 1,150 days filming individual frames. The film has a strong score by Dario Marianelli.
Voice work comes from Peyton Elizabeth Lee and Jacob Tremblay. Critics call it a masterpiece with stunning visuals, though the middle section has pacing issues.
The opening weekend box office suggests the film will struggle to recoup its budget.
- 14 years
- Development time
- 100 million dollars
- Production budget
- 11 million dollars
- Opening weekend
- Over 1,000
- Artists involved
Why it mattersStop-motion animation is a dying art form; a film this visually ambitious failing at the box office may discourage similar projects.
AustraliaWildwood is now showing in Australian cinemas and represents a rare fully handmade animation release in an era of AI-assisted filmmaking.
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