Laika’s WILDWOOD Final Trailer Takes Us on a Wild and Beautiful Fantasy Adventure

Every new look at Laika’s Wildwood makes it harder to believe this thing was actually made by hand. The final trailer has arrived, offering another gorgeous look at director Travis Knight’s stop-motion fantasy adventure.

The scale, environments, character animation, and tiny handcrafted details are incredible, but this trailer also puts more focus on the characters and emotional journey driving the spectacle.

Knight, whose credits include Kubo and the Two Strings and Masters of the Universe, looks to be taking everything Laika does so well and pushing it into a much bigger fantasy world.

There are strange creatures, talking animals, massive landscapes, dangerous encounters, and plenty of adventure packed into the footage.

At the center of Wildwood is Prue McKeel, voiced by Peyton Elizabeth Lee, a teenager who ventures into a mysterious forest after her baby brother is taken by a murder of crows. Jacob Tremblay voices her loyal classmate Curtis Mehlberg, who joins her on the dangerous journey.

Laika describes the story: “After her baby brother is abducted by a murder of crows, headstrong teenager Prue McKeel (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) launches a desperate rescue mission into the Impassable Wilderness—an enchanted forest hidden just beyond Portland, Oregon.

“Joined by her hapless but loyal classmate Curtis Mehlberg (Jacob Tremblay), Prue navigates a world of talking animals, bandits, and powerful figures driven by grief and ambition.

“As the pair is drawn into a conflict threatening the balance of the forest itself, Prue must find a way to save her brother while confronting forces that could determine Wildwood’s future.”

The voice cast Laika assembled for this world also includes Carey Mulligan, Angela Bassett, Mahershala Ali, Richard E. Grant, Awkwafina, Amandla Stenberg, Tom Waits, Charlie Day, Blythe Danner, Maya Erskine, Jake Johnson, Rob Delaney, Jemaine Clement, and Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, among many others.

What continues to grab me about Wildwood, though, is just how insanely beautiful it looks. Laika has created some stunning stop-motion animation over the years, but the scope of this movie appears enormous.

That craftsmanship matters even more when it’s serving a story you actually want to experience. This final Wildwood trailer makes the movie look like a wonderful old-school fantasy adventure filled with danger, heart, strange characters, and a huge world waiting to be explored.

I’m incredibly excited to experience this one on the big screen. A movie this visually rich deserves to be seen on the big screen, where all those handmade environments, miniature details, and sweeping fantasy imagery can really shine.

Wildwood arrives in theaters on October 23.