REVIEW: ‘Wildwood’ Is The Peak Of Its Impressive Craft

Wildwood, director Travis Knight and LAIKA’s newest stop-motion animated feature based on the book by Colin Meloy and illustrated by Carson Ellis, is an incredible feat of animation. It is the pinnacle of this handcrafted art form, with countless hands painstakingly carving every facial expression, building every set, costume, and piece of scenery, and puppeteering every tiny movement across this luscious, imaginative world.

Prue McKeel (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) hates being a kid. The middle schooler likes to think of herself as a grown-up who doesn’t believe in fairy tales about dangerous Impassible Wildernesses on the edge of Portland, or the silly warnings her parents give about keeping her brother, Mac, inside at all times. But her insistence on being mature is foolhardy, and when Prue takes Mac for a walk, a terrifying flock of crows takes him and whisks him into the woods she’s always been warned about.

Prue and her classmate, Curtis (Jacob Tremblay), whom she loathes, chase the murder of crows across the bridge and into the woods where Prue’s disbelief in magic and childish things is promptly and overwhelmingly challenged. In the Impassable Wilderness sits Wildwood, a fantastical world where talking animals live alongside humans and an ancient magic connects all life through the land around them. 

A full cast of characters fleshes out Wildwood’s fantastical world.

Wildwood is spectacular on nearly every front. The story is a simple high fantasy with enough unique elements and a delightful cast of characters to stand out within the genre. Prue’s insistence upon naturally is neither too subtle nor too heavy-handed, making for a well-balanced character who has room to grow and does.

Curtis, too, enjoys his own journey of growth and bravery that endears you deeply to him as he grows up and Prue embraces juvenility. None of the characters quite feel like they receive enough opportunity to get to know them as deeply as you could hope for, including the main characters, but most still offer plenty to enjoy. Brendan the Bandit King (Mahershala Ali), Owl Rex (Richard E. Grant), and Iphigenia (Tantoo Cardinal) especially charm with their roles.

The weak point is Septima (Awkwafina), because it feels like a stronger connection to Curtis is missing, mostly due to a vocal performance that’s noticeably flatter and less lived-in than the rest of the cast. There also could stand to be a little more support for the underlying distrust the various factions of Wildwood hold for one another, but it still comes across well enough 

The sheer scale of the movie’s crowd scenes is enough to make Wildwood noticeably special in LAIKA’s catalog.

Alexandra, the Dowager Governess (Carey Mulligan), does not disappoint. Her tragic story holds the emotional core of the movie together. Mulligan’s vocal performance and how her story’s told visually ties Wildwood’s many threads together just right.

Wildwood’s visual style also lends itself perfectly to the fairy-tale nature of the movie. The character designs are just doll-like enough to fit thematically with the movie’s text, but never cross the line into uncanny. Characters have reasonable proportions, even when they are chillingly large or exceptionally old, helping the world feel authentically next door to ours.

The unbelievable level of detail in each model is truly special—an unparalleled delight within the world of stop-motion filmmaking. The sheer scale of the movie’s crowd scenes—human, animal, avian, and floral alike—is enough to make Wildwood noticeably special on its own, especially in the numerous crown scenes of the final act.

Not all of the humor lands, but the tone is immaculate.

There are times when Wildwood gets a smidge too cheeky. Did I, a lifelong fan of original writer Collin Meloy’s band The Decemberists, feel more glee over the numerous references to him and the band more exciting than a Marvel cameo? Yes, of course. But some of them are a touch overkill. As is some of the curt humor.

From time to time, Wildwood’s “boy humor” works and is funny. Other times, the comedic timing undercuts sincere moments too harshly by trying to make you laugh instead of sitting in the moment. It detracts from the handful of moments guilty of doing so, but it’s not nearly as egregious as in some of screenwriter Chris Butler’s other movies.

The humor lands just fine when it’s not trying too hard to make a point of itself. It’s funny when it’s authentic to the characters, like with Dmitri (Charlie Day), especially. But often, the physical comedy and forced laugh lines don’t match the tone of the movie around it. Fortunately, the world and everything in it forge the tone so expertly that the moments pass without much bother. 

Wildwood is the peak of its craft.

Helping build that tone is the music. It’s inspired by the folky-rock style of The Decemberists and the general hippie-hipster-ish vibe of Wildwood’s version of Portland. The score is filled with acoustic guitar and features a few old and new songs by The Decemberists and their contemporaries.

As an avid listener, I found myself craving even more songs to accompany certain scenes. The music choices have a concept-album quality, and given The Decemberists’ reputation for fairy-tale-inspired concept albums, that would have felt apt. Instead, the needle drops come and go at distant intervals.

If the only complaint that can be levied against Wildwood is that it needed even more of what already makes it special, then the movie is in excellent shape. A wonderful story and set of characters inhabit a sensationally hand-crafted world; it’s the peak of its craft in nearly every way and will be worthy of praise for years to come.

Wildwood is in theaters everywhere October 23rd, 2026.