Wildwood is the greatest stop-motion film ever made because it feels like the combination of every film, technique, and skill set within stop-motion animation told through the unwavering love of one sibling for another. It also manages to be so many genres, ranging from comedy to thriller to sci-fi adventure and even a war epic. And it does it all while having the best attention to detail that I’ve ever seen where every single frame is an absolute wonder.
The beauty of Wildwood’s stop-motion could not have been the delight that it was if it wasn’t for the storytelling behind all of this. Based on the book by Colin Meloy with art by Carson Ellis, Wildwood tells the story of Prue, a young woman who risks it all to find her brother Mac in a brutal yet magical world divided by war, greed, and grief. And it’s her conviction, her absolute devotion to rescuing her brother, that solidified this movie’s understanding of the complexities of love.
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Personally, I connected to Wildwood because of this bond between the siblings. And as much as I loved the stop-motion of it all, it’s her drive that I felt deep in my heart. I’m also an older sister. And being the older sister isn’t an easy thing, especially when I had to raise my siblings. But if given the opportunity to go back and do it differently, to let someone else parent them, I wouldn’t. The bond I have with my siblings, even if we barely speak anymore, is cosmic. So I understand what it means to fight for your sibling as Prue did.
Besides the journey with Prue, I really liked the brutality of Alexandra, the Dowager Governess. Oftentimes when we have complex woman characters, their grief and love is used against them to get them to back down or stop them from trying to pursue their goal. Was she grieving? Yes. Did people try to appeal to her as a mother? Yes. But that didn’t matter because she was completely lost and so focused on what she wanted that nothing would stop her.
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That brutality that was in Alexandra is something that people might not be attracted to when it comes to women characters, but I am. And I’m not talking about attracted in a “oh my God I have a crush on her.” I mean that I’m attracted to characters that are absolutely broken with not a bone of good left in them. Sometimes you can’t appeal to their better nature. And oftentimes women are never afforded the opportunities to be written in such a manner where they are now just evil.
Alexandra’s motivations lead to some of the craziest scenes in Wildwood, thankfully brought to life by the brilliant artists at Laika Studios. We had the murder of crows scene when Mac was first kidnapped, the General scene where the crows attacked Prue mid-air, and even the chase scene in the main government building in South Wood. All of them were beautifully choreographed down to a T, with the movements looking seamless, colorful, and like they were brought to life with so much love and devotion.
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But the true height of Wildwood and every stop-motion animation that came before it was during that war scene. Alexandra is leading her forces and Prue has teamed up with the Wildwood Bandits and the people of the Mystics of the North Wood to stop Alexandra from waking up the Ivy and rescue her brother. But that war scene had me gobsmacked. Because this felt like The Lord of the Rings level fight scenes in what I thought was going to be a kid’s movie. And technically it is a kid’s movie. But some of the things that happened during that war scene were horrifying. But I couldn’t look away because of how beautifully animated it was.
If anything, the only complaint I have about Wildwood are Prue and Mac’s parents. They were willing to have a child if it meant sacrificing another. And I know they were in a difficult position. But I don’t know if I could trust people like that when adoption is a very real thing. And they just made it worse by not going with Prue to rescue Mac, almost like they were ready to sign off on their son being gone. That I can’t forgive. And I don’t think Prue will ever forgive them either. But I could tell that this family isn’t like others we’ve seen in animated films because of Prue’s relationship with her brother from the very beginning. And that’s parentification for you. And it’s real. Maybe that’s why I didn’t like them so much.
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Ultimately, there’s magic in every single frame of Wildwood. It feels like an art book come to life, down to the actual film credits in this movie. And you simply don’t get quality like this nowadays. Quality where I can’t wait until this movie comes out so I can own a physical copy. Quality where I want to read the books and I need an art book or a documentary to show me how this was made by Laika Studios. Because Wildwood is a movie about wonder, hope, but also the magic that human hands can create.
Wildwood is now available in theaters.
