Animation has long had the unique ability to transport us to other worlds. But stop motion takes this further, with a level of skill and intentionality that provides a perfect counter to the droning hum of AI slop infecting our feeds.

Laika Studios’ latest stop-motion offering is Wildwood, a project that took an extraordinary 16 years to complete. That’s a long time, even by stop-motion standards (most of the studio’s stop-motion films took between three and six years to develop).

Yet the hard work has paid off. Wildwood is a triumphant film full of heart and moments of connection – an engaging story for lovers of both puppetry and fantasy.

Above all, it staunchly reaffirms the importance of human creativity in storytelling.

Enchanted forests and familial love

From the Forbidden Forest of Harry Potter, to Narnia, to J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth, Wildwood adds to a long tradition of fantastical stories set in the enchanted forest.

Here, the forest becomes a place of learning and coming-of-age. And part of the film’s charm lies in its expansive world-building. Wildwood is a society, with its own........

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