Green Light Films has unveiled the trailer for the adventure animation Wildwood — the new project from studio LAIKA, on which director Travis Knight has been working for 16 years. The film will be the studio's first feature-length work in seven years and will be released in Ukrainian cinemas on October 22, 2026. The new trailer reveals more details about the mysterious world of Wildwood and its unusual inhabitants, setting the tone for LAIKA's grand return to wide theatrical release.
Seven Years of Silence and LAIKA's Return
Wildwood closes a notable gap in the studio's filmography: LAIKA's previous feature-length film was the animated movie Missing Link, released in 2019. Thus, about seven years have passed between the studio's two major releases, making the new work especially significant for fans of LAIKA's signature stop-motion style and confirming that the studio has approached its return with maximum ambition.
Plot: The Brother's Kidnapping and the Path into a Magical Forest
At the heart of the story are the girl Prue McKeel and her classmate Curtis Melberg. When Prue's younger brother, little Mac, is kidnapped by crows led by a mysterious woman named Alexandra, the children set out to find him. Their journey leads them to a hidden magical forest near Portland, where astonishing creatures and dangerous characters await the heroes. The story is based on Colin Meloy's novel Wildwood, whose events, as in the book, unfold in Portland — the city where LAIKA studio itself is located, by the way.
16 Years of Work and the "Most Ambitious Film"
Travis Knight became interested in Colin Meloy's novel even before its publication, and he was captivated by the combination of an adventure story, a fantasy world, and real-life Portland. According to the director, "this is undoubtedly the biggest and most ambitious film we have ever made." To realize the vision, the team had to develop new tools, techniques, and approaches to stop-motion animation, which collectively determined the project's record 16-year production period.
Production Scale: Mind-Boggling Numbers
The production of Wildwood is striking in its scale: the film featured 233 physical puppets, 132 sets across 117 unique locations, and 142,030 interchangeable faces for animating the characters' expressions. The studio combined traditional handcrafted animation with modern technologies — practical effects, miniatures, digital visual effects, and CG. As an example, a miniature copy of the Pittock Mansion was built, on which about 50 artists worked for more than 11 weeks; some of the physical sets were later enhanced with digital effects.
Voice Cast and Premiere
The main characters in the English-language version are voiced by Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Jacob Tremblay, Carey Mulligan, Mahershala Ali, Awkwafina, Angela Bassett, Jake Johnson, Charlie Day, Tom Waits, and Amanda Seyfried. The premiere of Wildwood in Ukrainian cinemas is scheduled for October 22, 2026, making the film one of the most anticipated animated events of the autumn.
