Wildwood Review: A Visually Stunning Fantasy Epic Bound For The Oscars

After more than a decade of work, Laika's Wildwood is finally being released — and this beautiful stop-motion animation is well worth the wait.

Published Oct 11, 2026, 9:15 AM EDT

Liz Declan is a Lead Writer for ScreenRant, primarily covering movies. She is a massive fan of Star Wars, the MCU, and Supernatural. In addition to writing, Liz loves attending and covering conventions and interviewing actors. Find her on TikTok and Instagram @va.va.vera

Laika Studios has put out some truly beautiful stop-motion movies over the years, from, perhaps most famously, Coraline in 2009 to films like ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls, Kubo and the Two Strings, and others in the years since. With these successes, several of which have continued to be seen as modern animated classics, the studio has become associated with masterful storytelling and visual excellence. So, expectations were incredibly high for the studio's latest work, Wildwood – a bar that had perhaps been set all the higher because this movie has been in the works for more than a decade, and marks the end of a seven-year hiatus for Laika.

Now, their latest movie has proven itself to be so much more than just a worthy successor to Coraline (although it is also that). From beginning to end, Wildwood is a truly captivating story with second-to-none stop-motion animation; fully-formed, nuanced characters who avoid common tropes; and a fantastical story that feels both familiar in its nuts-and-bolts and unique and unexpected in all the ways that matter.

Coraline Meets The Nutcracker In This Cinematic Masterpiece

Unlike innumerable animated films of the day, Wildwood is the type of movie you just can't look away from – this is not something to have on in the background while you scroll. At several points, I found myself marveling at just how beautiful the animation was, to such an extent that I was nearly distracted from the story. More than just living up to the studio's legacy, Wildwood has only proven that Laika has honed its craft all the more in the years 'off.'

That isn't to say the story isn't just as compelling – on the contrary. Although I went into Wildwood a bit skeptical about the premise of a baby being swept away by a murder of crows because his older sister took him out when she shouldn't have, the plot caught me completely off-guard with its layers and poignancy. While that certainly applies to the relationship between protagonist Prue (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) and her baby brother Mac (Arthur Knight), that's actually one of the less prominent pairings of the film.

Wildwood is at once beautiful and horrifying, heartwarming and gut-wrenching, hopeful and crushing.

The standouts are actually among the less expected characters. Prue, as the film's heroine, is just as dynamic, fierce, and gripping as one might expect, and while that's unquestionably a bright spot, it was delightfully unexpected that her sort-of friend (at least at the beginning), Curtis (Jacob Tremblay), was just as engaging on screen. Arguably, between the two, it's his arc that hits harder by the movie's end.

Yet, neither Prue nor Curtis is really the example that best reflects Wildwood's dedication to creating complex characters who go beyond audience expectations. That's the film's primary antagonist, Alexandra (Carey Mulligan). The trailers had already teased that Alexandra was a slightly complicated villain. Yes, she's the cold and cruel Dowager Governess who rules her pack of loyal coyotes with an iron fist, but she's also a grieving mother who lost her son when he was just 12 years old.

Wildwood is far from the first movie to depict a mother who has lost her child being pushed to the edge out of grief and acting in heinous, evil ways because of it, but there is something special about how it captures the pain of this loss and the way it twists Alexandra. For one, it offers a closer look at how this transformation took place over time. But there is also a disarmingly touching and actually rather brief moment in which Alexandra is treated with immense and, arguably, completely unearned compassion that really underscores the uniqueness of Wildwood's approach to this story.

If Laika set out to prove that it is still worthy of its reputation as one of the best animation studios today, Wildwood has more than accomplished that...

The fact that the film is deeply empathetic towards even the most vile characters doesn't mean that it pulls its punches, though. Throughout, there are some shocking moments of downright savagery that will take audiences by surprise. That is, perhaps, the most affecting thing about the movie: Wildwood is at once beautiful and horrifying, heartwarming and gut-wrenching, hopeful and crushing. Neither the narrative nor the animation hold back in any one of these areas to make the others work.

If the movie has one flaw, it may be that not every character and plot detail is necessarily handled with the exact same attention to detail. Prue's parents, for example, at times feel like underdeveloped afterthoughts, although that might just as easily be because Prue is a teenager who sees her parents in a flatter, more one-dimensional way.

In the end, however, any quibbles feel small in comparison to the film's achievement. If Laika set out to prove that it is still worthy of its reputation as one of the best animation studios today, Wildwood has more than accomplished that—and I'd put money on the fact that the 2027 awards season will validate that.

Wildwood releases in theaters nationwide on Friday, October 23.

Cast

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  Peyton Elizabeth Lee

  Prue McKeel (voice)

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  Jacob Tremblay

  Curtis Mehlberg (voice)