LAIKA Studios has spent years building a reputation for stop-motion films that feel handmade rather than mass-produced, and Wildwood looks set to keep that streak alive. The studio’s upcoming adventure follows Prue McKeel, voiced by Peyton Elizabeth Lee, as she rescues her baby brother Mac after he is kidnapped by crows and dragged into the Impassable Wilderness. The film is directed by Travis Knight, who also serves as CEO of the studio, and written by Chris Butler.
What makes Wildwood stand out is not just the story or the creatures populating it. It is the sheer amount of work behind each frame. The film features double the number of shots compared to 2019’s Missing Link, and the studio applies lessons from one film to the next, expanding discoveries and applying them in ways that suit the stories and characters.
The Tour Behind The Curtain
At the end of July, ScreenRant visited LAIKA Studios just outside Portland, Oregon, alongside several other media outlets. The tour let visitors walk through the halls of the studio, which felt like moving through the busy streets of the city before venturing deep into the woods themselves. Maquettes and mockups of characters and settings showed just how much attention to detail goes into every step of the process.
The tour included insights from six key members of the team:
- Screenwriter Chris Butler
- Costume Designer Deborah Cook
- Director of Practical Effects Oliver Jones
- Production Designer Nelson Lowry
- Director of Rapid Prototyping Brian McLean
- Head of Animation Brad Schiff
Actors Peyton Elizabeth Lee and Jacob Tremblay also shared their experiences voicing Prue and Curtis during the visit.
Costumes That Tell A Story
Deborah Cook opened the tour with a look at how she designed the costumes for Wildwood. She started with the everyday look of protagonist Prue and her sidekick Curtis, showing how Wildwood begins grounded in the ordinary world through the eyes of a young yet mature Prue.
“Sassy, super cool, and slightly overconfident” is how Cook described 13-year-old Prue. Her outfits reflect the fact that “she thinks she knows everything.” The iconic profile of her blue coat remains a staple of the story, even as her circumstances change greatly.
“Her silhouette pretty much stays similar throughout the movie because she’s quite a strong character,” Cook explained. “Whereas Curtis’s takes a little bit of a shift.”
The extraordinary looks of characters like Alexandra and other Wildwood inhabitants drew inspiration from Carson Ellis’ illustrations for the original novel. “Her illustrations are more about mark-making and gesture. They’re very elegant and reduced, edited versions of things,” Cook said. Foliage became a recurring motif, with a character sporting leaf tattoos.
Even the smallest costume details carry meaning. The knitwear Mac starts with is “a story point thread between him and his dad,” Cook revealed. Mac’s father, voiced by Jake Johnson, knits clothing for his son as a protective measure. “It’s a family identity that runs through them that, when he’s kidnapped, he loses all of that. Then he’s just wearing diapers and swaddling, and all his family identity and protection is just stripped away from him.”
For the practical side, Cook shared that certain looks — such as Curtis’ rain-streaked parka — were created using dye sublimation to apply heat. That process incorporates visuals into the surface texture, allowing duplicates across many puppets throughout the movie. Animals proved particularly complicated, and Cook confirmed that “we’re not replicating fur” for their costumes. Instead, the team focuses on natural elements they would draw from, along with how Alexandra’s influence affects their overall look.
Puppetry And Armatures
Oliver Jones walked press through the puppetry, which sits at the heart of LAIKA’s stop-motion animation and is a crucial element of Wildwood. He used Curtis as an example, explaining that the character starts off as a maquette, a 3D rendition of the puppet.
The maquette gives the team silhouette, size, and volumes, and the character paint provide the two main pieces of information builders need. Those details then allow the creation of storyboards and puppet sculpts.
“It’s a defrocked puppet, which we’re then going to use in fabrication to build the rest,” Jones continued. Inside the puppet is an armature, which is essentially a skeleton. “It sits inside the puppet underneath silicone, and it’s the main tool for the animators to express the emotions of the puppet.” Made out of steel balls and sockets, hinges, and screws, perhaps the most fascinating thing about the armature is that it “hasn’t really changed since King Kong,” according to Jones. “But we’ve been able to elevate the techniques and make the best tool possible to get lifelike performance.”
Shooting On Ones
LAIKA shoots on ones, “which means that we shoot every single frame of film,” resulting in a smoother performance. Such a performance is enabled by what Jones calls a jetpack, which first began life on 2016’s Kubo and the Two Strings. The jetpack helps animators work faster and allows movement to take place in increments so small that they can’t be perceived on their frame grabs.
Release Date And Production Status
LAIKA has not announced a release date for Wildwood. The film’s production status has not been disclosed either.
The visit to LAIKA left a lasting impression of a studio that treats every frame as a labor of love. From the costumes to the armatures to the shooting process, the film’s creators are not just making a movie — they are building a world.
A Familiar Face
Prue and Curtis are the entry point for viewers. Their costumes establish the world before the extraordinary takes over. Prue’s confidence shows in her outfits, and her silhouette stays consistent throughout the film. Curtis, meanwhile, shifts as the story progresses.
The trailer for Wildwood dropped today, highlighting the breathtaking visuals alongside the subtle emotional depth of each character. LAIKA keeps outdoing itself with each project, and Wildwood appears to be the latest proof of that commitment.
The tour offered a rare look behind the scenes of a studio that refuses to automate out the human touch. Hundreds of artists remain devoted to their craft, standing strong in the face of increasing automation while evolving the scale of their storytelling from one movie to the next.
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Tour visit | End of July |
| Trailer drop | Today |
The visit to LAIKA left a lasting impression of a studio that treats every frame as a labor of love. From the costumes to the armatures to the shooting process, the film’s creators are not just making a movie — they are building a world.
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