Laika Needs ‘Wildwood’ to Be About More Than the Stop-Motion Craft That Went Into It: ‘Prestige Alone Isn’t Enough’

The Portland-based animation studio's first movie in seven years is aggressively working to position itself as a theatrical event above just something to be admired.

Animation fans know and love Laika for the meticulous craft that goes into every stop-motion animated film the studio makes. They’re well-versed in the lore behind Laika’s Portland-based facility, where each figurine and character is hand-crafted and put through rigorous attention to detail, and they love the behind-the-scenes featurettes that give a glimpse into the process as much as the films themselves. Laika more than some animation studios has a very clear, distinct brand of being expert craftsmen.

But none of that will matter if people don’t actually leave the house and buy a movie ticket.

Laika’s sixth animated feature is “Wildwood,” a fantastical epic and coming-of-age journey that’s also a love letter to the studio’s home of Portland. It’s also the studio’s first film in seven years after a box office dud with “Missing Link” and a pandemic that hampered the hands-on animators at Laika more than most. To put itself back on the map, Laika needs to position “Wildwood” as a true event that will inspire you to see the film on the big screen and not just some clever animation that you can admire from afar.

“Prestige alone isn’t enough. You need urgency, and in order to have urgency, you need to have a really strong cultural presence,” David Burke, Laika’s Chief Marketing Officer, told IndieWire. “Our core fans and advocates really appreciate and embrace and champion what the artisans here do in the studio. But It’s the proof of the ambition; it’s not the hook.” 

Not resting on solely Laika’s brand laurels and trusting that animation fans would show up has been a big part of Burke’s focus in positioning “Wildwood” and mapping out the many steps Laika is taking to hopefully make this film a box office success. The studio previously might’ve leaned more heavily into pop-up displays of the movie’s figurines or videos showcasing the craft behind it. But with this film, which is not being framed as specifically a kids movie, but an all-audience, four-quadrant epic that happens to be animated, Burke explained that story and the film’s emotional impact need to be front of center.

The first teaser trailer for “Wildwood,” which was released Wednesday following an event at Cannes this week, certainly gives off that vibe of a sweeping, sometimes tearjerking adventure (setting the trailer to a gigantic M83 anthem will certainly help with that), regardless of the format it was made in. The film is based on a Middle Grade fantasy book series by The Decemberists singer Colin Meloy, and it imagines a story in which a girl must venture into a hidden world in the forest to rescue her younger brother.

Laika is also being intentional about how much of the film’s story is being revealed now, and how it’s all part of a slow-burn build up to the film’s release on October 23. Laika says the film’s teaser attracted 115 million global cross-platform views within its first 24 hours online, and it hit No. 6 on YouTube’s trending movie trailers list, so the studio believes that strategy is working.

“We’re not just building the campaign for only for people who love Laika, we’re building it for people who may not know it yet,” Burke said. “That’s something that motivates the team, because we’re building something I think to really be a standout.”

Up next is Laika’s presentation at Annecy, the annual animation showcase in France, a crowd that knows Laika and what it has to offer very well. But it’s also targeting a big presentation at San Diego Comic-Con, where Laika won’t immediately be a headliner name, as well as staging an exhibition at the London Design Museum and doing some real-world experiences in Portland where the film is set. Laika also expects to have “Wildwood” have a strong platform on the fall festival circuit before it releases wide, and its immersive experiences won’t be limited to the East or West coasts.

Laika is also taking a swing by partnering on the film’s release with Fathom Entertainment. Fathom has been well-known for its event cinema releases, including a re-release of Laika’s own “Coraline” in 2024 that brought in $52.3 million worldwide, but this one will be among the widest releases in Fathom’s history as it targets over 2,000 screens nationally in a more traditional rollout. Abroad, FilmNation is handling international sales on “Wildwood,” which is similarly mixing up its approach in different territories to aim for a global rollout.

“We can play at this marquee level. We can compete culturally far more than what people assume for animation. You’ve seen that in the market with independent animation over the last couple of years,” Burke said. “But the ambition, I would say, it’s not niche; it’s theatrical. This is a theatrical, big release that is going to have cultural momentum behind it and is intended to really land with impact and have people engage and have a conversation about it.”

With a production of this scope that has been in development for as long as it has, you’d naturally assume that if it delivers, the studio would be thinking franchise. The book is the first in a trilogy, so it’s a reasonable question. But Burke said that while he would never say never, the other part of maintaining Laika’s brand is committing to original stories and showing a level of ambition on a standalone film.

“It’s not enough for us to kind of lean into being prestige animation or stop motion animation. We need to drive urgency, and there needs to be real presence,” Burke said. “That’s why we’ve intentionally taken that approach, which is leading with, ‘This is a movie. This is something that, when you see that teaser, you want to lean in and understand more.”