Laika’s ambitious new outing contains everything which has made their stop-motion films so great, and improves on every single one writes Carter Smith
A few months back I went on a usual trip to the cinema. I can’t remember what film I was seeing. I’m guessing Toy Story 5 or Masters of the Universe. Regardless, I remember sitting there watching the trailers, like you do. Nothing blew me away. That was until the Wildwood teaser started playing.
I remember myself watching it and seeing the scale of it all with M83’s My Tears Are Becoming a Sea playing in the background and just feeling very emotional. I couldn’t even tell you why. Maybe it was the song. Or the scale and ambition of the film. I don’t know, but it really had an impact on me.
So, although I’m blaming it on the usual film festival sleep deprivation, it comes as no surprise to me that this same emotion washed over me. A few tears were even shed. More so than I expected, actually. Towards the end, especially, I was so overcome with emotion I had to use all my willpower to not succumb to a flood of tears.
This is Laika back to their peak. Wildwood is a magnificent display of animation and story telling. Dare I say, it may be their best yet. Travis Knight’s second directorial outing of the year follows Pure (voiced by Peyton Elizabeth Lee) who, after going to the town with her younger baby brother Mac, watches as her brother is taken by a murder of crows into the mysterious, magical forest. Determined to get him back we watch as she, along with her classmate Curtis (Jacob Tremblay), ventures into the unknown in hopes of finding Mac.
It wasn’t just an exercise in strength for the crows, but rather an instruction by the mysterious Alexandra (A powerful Carey Mulligan), a grief-stricken witch hellbent on taking over the forest.
No match for her solo, Pure has to enlist the divided functions of the forest to help retrieve Mac from her deadly grasp. It’s a beautiful narrative full of emotion – especially if you have a sibling –, creative action sequences, heart, growing-up, grief and a final battle I haven’t been so impressed by since the hold for Helm’s Deep in the Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
As has been come to be expected, it has Laika’s usual charm where they push the boundaries of their 12A rating. Not as scary as Coraline, but it still made me jump a few times. Give me some grace. I will remind you again that it was a 6:30 wake-up for this one.
Where this film excels most outside the animation is its uplifting messaging. I’m sure I’m not alone in being dejected by the current divide in the world, so seeing a story where people come together to fight for each other and peace had me choked up.
There are some films I watch where the sheer magnitude of it makes it unfathomable to me that anyone could have made it. I was sat there completely spellbound for the whole 131 minutes. The mere thought of the efforts and work they had to put in gives me a headache.
I know I’m gushing, but it feels important to do so. Animation as a whole is a genre which has never been given the respect it deserves, and in a climate where an AI film is pushing to be nominated for an Oscar (yuck!) it feels important to highlight films which are showcases of pure brilliance. Wildwood is just that. Go and support it in any way you can.
Rating: 4.5/5
- Wildwood releases in UK cinemas on October 23rd
