Laika has to be one of the most creative studios modern western cinema has in its arsenal. Their work easily stands alongside Studio Ghibli, and films like Coraline and Kubo and the Two Strings remain among the finest animated movies of the century. So when a new trailer drops from them, you already know I’m paying attention.
And honestly? Wildwood looks absolutely spellbinding.

The film’s premise is giving off serious Labyrinth energy:
“Prue McKeel and her classmate Curtis Mehlberg are drawn into a hidden magical forest near Portland in an attempt to save Prue’s kidnapped infant brother Mac from the crows, who are led by a mysterious woman named Alexandra.”

The trailer itself is a beautiful tease. Every frame is dripping with handcrafted detail, blending eerie fantasy with that unmistakable tactile charm that makes Laika films feel almost dreamlike. Paired with the haunting music of M83, the whole thing feels less like a standard animated movie trailer and more like the opening to some forgotten fairytale.

And then there’s the cast… good lord, the cast.

Wildwood features an ensemble voice cast including Angela Bassett, Tantoo Cardinal, Charlie Day, Rob Delaney, Blythe Danner, Maya Erskine, Richard E. Grant, Jake Johnson, Len Cariou, Jemaine Clement, Marc Evan Jackson, Arthur Knight, Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Carey Mulligan, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Awkwafina, Mahershala Ali, Amandla Stenberg, Jacob Tremblay, and Tom Waits. That is an absurdly stacked lineup.

But what excites me most is that Wildwood doesn’t look like it’s aiming to be “just” a children’s film. It looks like the kind of dark fantasy adventure that families experience together — the sort of movie that unsettles kids slightly, mesmerises adults completely, and sticks in your memory for years afterward.

If Laika pulls this off, Wildwood might end up becoming one of those films people reverentley talk about for decades.