‘Wildwood’ Opens With a Perfect Rotten Tomatoes Score: Is Laika’s Dark Fantasy Its Best Yet?
Stop-motion animation is one of cinema’s slowest and most stubbornly handmade crafts, so a new Laika film always lands as an event. After a long wait, the studio behind ‘Coraline’ is finally back, and the first verdict on its new fantasy epic is already in. ‘Wildwood‘ is shaping up to be the kind of film people argue about for years.
The adventure comes from a studio that has been absent from theaters since 2019’s ‘Missing Link.’ It adapts Colin Meloy’s 2011 novel, illustrated by Carson Ellis, and follows Prue McKeel as she ventures into a hidden forest outside Portland after her baby brother Mac is taken by a murder of crows. Laika’s own pitch is a “bold fusion of human-crafted artistry and cinematic storytelling” in an era of automation.
Now the numbers are in. The film’s Rotten Tomatoes page shows a perfect Tomatometer score based on 16 reviews, coming off the film’s world premiere at the 70th BFI London Film Festival on October 11. If that score holds, it would become Laika’s highest-rated film, ahead of ‘Kubo and the Two Strings’ at 97% and ‘Coraline’ at 91%.
The early notices are glowing. Several critics have called it the studio’s most ambitious film, with one review arguing it rises above all of Laika’s previous work. Another described it as a dark fable of colossal proportions, and one early reaction compared its battle sequences to epic fantasy on the scale of ‘The Lord of the Rings.’
Even the most enthusiastic reviews stress its craft. Flickering Myth went furthest, calling it “the crowning achievement in Laika’s 20-year journey.” The same review warns that the film includes multiple character deaths and at least one genuinely traumatic scene, which may make it a movie for older kids first.
It isn’t a unanimous rave on every point. One roundup of the festival reviews noted that critics largely agree on the stop-motion’s ambition but divide on the storytelling. Variety praised its scale while raising concerns about familiar fantasy elements and lulls in the pacing.
IndieWire admired the craft but found the result less magical than the studio’s best work, questioning its stock characters. That split is common for films with this much visual ambition. As more reviews arrive, a perfect score is unlikely to survive untouched, but the early consensus still leans heavily positive.
The scale is part of the sell. Reports from the production point to hundreds of sets and nearly 250 practical puppets. Travis Knight, Laika’s CEO, directs from a script by Chris Butler, with Caleb Deschanel serving as cinematographer and Dario Marianelli composing the score.
The voice cast is stacked. Peyton Elizabeth Lee voices Prue and Jacob Tremblay plays her classmate Curtis, with Carey Mulligan as Alexandra, Mahershala Ali as the Bandit King Brendan, and Angela Bassett as the great eagle known as The General. Awkwafina, Tom Waits, Charlie Day, Richard E. Grant and Jake Johnson fill out an unusually starry ensemble.
The awards talk has already started. Every previous Laika film has been nominated for Best Animated Feature, but none has won, and ‘Wildwood’ currently leads Gold Derby’s odds for the category. Earlier predictions had ‘Toy Story 5’ as the frontrunner, so the race is far from settled.
There are places you don’t go. One choice changes everything. Watch the Teaser Trailer for Wildwood now, and see the movie in theatres everywhere October 23. #Wildwood https://t.co/1COoQT3REY
— LAIKA (@LAIKAStudios) May 13, 2026
The box office is the bigger question. This is Laika’s first PG-13 film, and its 2 hour 12 minute runtime is long for animation, which could make it a challenge commercially. Fathom Entertainment is releasing it nationwide on October 23.
If the reviews keep this momentum, the film may prove that audiences still have an appetite for handmade animation in a very different era of filmmaking.
Can Wildwood Become Laika’s Best Film Yet?
Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!
