by Alex Billington
May 1, 2026
Source: YouTube
“There’s something special about you… something magical.” Laika has unveiled another wonderful 2-min making of featurette for their next stop-motion animated movie Wildwood – landing in theaters starting in October this fall. They’ve been developing it for years and it’s finally finishing up. Here we get a glimpse at the owl character in it. This is an original project and they’re trying to build up the mystique & intrigue and it seems like something special. The character of Prue was revealed in a 2024 first look – Prue McKeel (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) and her friend Curtis are drawn into a hidden, magical forest near Portland after Prue’s baby brother Mac is kidnapped by crows, led by a mysterious woman. The full cast includes Jacob Tremblay, Carey Mulligan, Awkwafina, Mahershala Ali, Jake Johnson, Charlie Day, Jemaine Clement, Amandla Stenberg, Tom Waits, and Richard E. Grant. This making of promo focuses son capturing the beauty of the natural world and all of the birds in this story as the film is set in the PNW and is infused with the mystery of this magnificent region. I am always in awe of the extraordinary attention to detail –every feather, every leaf, every little aspect of every single thing in each frame. This looks gorgeous.
Here’s the “Where the Sky Remembers” featurette for Travis Knight’s film Wildwood, via Laika’s YouTube:
You can rewatch the 2024 promo video for Laika’s Wildwood movie right here or the eagle featurette here.
Step inside Laika’s Wildwood, where a powerful golden eagle commands the skies and magic takes flight. Wildwood – based on Colin Meloy’s illustrated book series – will see Prue McKeel leave behind her home of Portland, Oregon, venturing into Wildwood on a dark quest to save her baby brother, who’s been pilfered by a murder of crows. Wildwood is once again directed by filmmaker Travis Knight, who is also CEO of Laika, and director of the the movies Kubo and the Two Strings and Bumblebee previously. The screenplay is written by Chris Butler (ParaNorman, Kubo and the Two Strings, Missing Link). Based on the graphic novel series written by Colin Meloy and illustrated by Carson Ellis. Produced by Arianne Sutner and Travis Knight. Made by Laika Entertainment’s animators over the past few years based in Portland, OR. Fathom will release Laika’s Wildwood movie in theaters starting October 23rd, 2026. Visit the film‘s official site.
