A review of the new children’s film “Wildwood”
Promoted as “from the hands that made Coraline”, a children’s movie noted for being particularly scary, my 10 year old granddaughter was worried that she would be “traumatised” by “Wildwood”. I assured her that it was rated 12A and I was the A and, in the end, she loved it and determined that she would now see “Coraline”.
“Wildwood” itself is quite simply one of the best children’s films that I’ve ever seen and it is destined to be a classic of the genre. It is a brilliant combination of stunning stop-motion animation and powerful story telling.
The production features 136 sets and 231 practical puppets. Facial animation was created digitally and then 3D printed and finally added frame by frame to the puppets with as many as 24 printed faces per puppet per one second of film. Special attention was devoted to the creation of a murder of crows in scenes playing homage to the Alfred Hitchcock film “The Birds”.
Based on a novel, the story is that of a teenage girl named Prue (voiced by young Peyton Elizabeth Lee) who ventures into an enchanted forest in search of her infant brother after he is abducted. This strange, new world is ruled by Alexandra (Cary Mulligan), a mysterious woman who tragically lost her son. It all ends with the mother all battles involving all kinds of anthropomorphic animals.
The whole thing is the creation of Portland, Oregon: it is based on a book written and illustrated by two local creatives, the production company Laika is located in the city, and the sets and characters are both inspired by the city.