‘Wildwood’ review: LAIKA weaves its extraordinary animation magic into a dark fairy tale

Believing in magic as an adult is the stuff of eldritch terror when it comes to the world of LAIKA.

The stop-motion animation studio scared the shit out of us with Coraline , a twisted, whimsically macabre web that made a nightmare of the uncanny.

Now, with Wildwood , directed by creative chief Travis Knight, LAIKA once again leans into the dark and extraordinary world of fantasy and magic, this time nestled right across the river from the American Mecca of weird: Portland, Oregon.

With handcrafted animation blended with painterly digital tech, the LAIKA team draws you into the Impassable Wilds, a magical realm where the forces of nature cannot be underestimated.

Though a fantasy tale, Wildwood 's emotional core lies in reality.

And in such a real world, where artificial intelligence is invading systems of creativity like the film's all-powerful ivy, LAIKA's hand-wrought, tactile artistry feels truly remarkable.

SEE ALSO: LAIKA's stop-motion 'Wildwood' featurette is the perfect antidote for AI content Wildwood is a dark coming-of-age tale that sees magic for its darkness and light Prue McKeel (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) and Curtis Mehlberg (Jacob Tremblay).

Credit: LAIKA From Wildwood 's magnificent opening scene, adapted by screenwriter Chris Butler (LAIKA's Kubo and the Two Strings ), it's clear this is not a fairy tale for children.

Based on the novel of the same name by The Decemberists' frontman Colin Meloy and illustrator Carson Ellis, the film begins with a gothic tragedy involving a governess, Alexandra (voiced by Carey Mulligan), and her only son, one that recalls Tim Burton's Wednesday story "Tale of the Skull Tree" — and it sets the macabre tone for the film.

For now, the film brings us back into a safe haven: a cosy kitchen in Portland where teen Prue McKeel (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) is leaving the magic of childhood behind her, despite her parents' (Maya Erskine and Jake Johnson) encouragement to believe.

Tasked with babysitting her brother Mac (Arthur Knight, the director's infant son), Prue's wish for adulthood is cruelly granted when he's kidnapped by a Hitchcockian murder of crows, flown deep into the forest that lies beyond St.

John's Bridge.

The Impassable Wilds, her father calls them, and along with adventure game-loving nerd Curtis Mehlberg (Jacob Tremblay), the pair manage to venture beyond the mist.

Into the woods...