In theaters this weekend is Wildwood, the sixth feature-length film from independent stop-motion animated studio Laika. Since launching with Coraline in 2009, Laika has become one of the most successful animation production companies of the 21st century. Each of the studio’s previous movies was recognized by the Academy with a Best Animated Feature nomination. Wildwood is hoping to become the first to win a statuette.
Adapted from Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis’ 2011 fantasy novel of the same name, Wildwood follows a teenage girl and her classmate who embark to a hidden magical forest to save her kidnapped baby brother. Along the way they discover a fantastical world filled with magical creatures and warring factions.
READ: How Laika’s ‘Wildwood’ became ‘The Lord of the Rings’ of stop-motion animation
Directed by Travis Knight, the voice cast includes Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Jacob Tremblay, Carey Mulligan, Mahershala Ali, Awkwafina, Angela Bassett, Jake Johnson, Charlie Day, Amandla Stenberg, Jemaine Clement, Maya Erskine, Tantoo Cardinal, Tom Waits, and Richard E. Grant.
Can Wildwood make history for Laika? Here’s a look back at the company’s previous Oscar contenders for some context.
CORALINE (2009)
Adapted from Neil Gaiman’s 2002 novella of the same name, the story follows Coraline Jones, a young girl who discovers an idealized alternate universe behind a secret door in her new home, unaware that it contains something dark and sinister. Written and directed by Henry Selick, the voice cast included Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, Keith David, and Ian McShane.
Coraline was a box office hit upon its initial release, and has since made more through subsequent theatrical re-releases, and is now the highest-grossing stop-motion film of all time. At the Oscars, it was nominated for Best Animated Feature, but had the unfortunate luck of coming out the same year as Disney and Pixar’s Up, which showed up in four other categories, including Best Picture.
PARANORMAN (2012)
Three years later, Laika was back with its sophomore effort: an original film that followed Norman Babcock, a young boy who communicates with ghosts, and is given the task of ending a 300-year-old witch’s curse on his hometown. Directed by Sam Fell and Chris Butler, the voice cast included Kodi Smit-McPhee, Jodelle Ferland, Bernard Hill, Tucker Albrizzi, Anna Kendrick, Casey Affleck, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Leslie Mann, Jeff Garlin, Elaine Stritch, and John Goodman.
While ParaNorman was modest commercial hit at best, it was still met with very positive reactions from critics. It was nominated for Best Animated Feature all season long. Yet it lost the Critics Choice and PGA to Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph while the Golden Globe and BAFTA went to eventual Oscar winner Brave from Disney and Pixar.
THE BOXTROLLS (2014)
Two years later, Laika was back with its third feature film, a loose adaptation of Alan Snow’s 2005 novel Here Be Monsters! The story is set in the fictional European country of Norvenia, where Eggs, a human boy, is raised by subterranean trolls who wear cardboard boxes known as Boxtrolls. As they’re on the verge of being exterminated, it’s up to Eggs to save them. Directed by Graham Annable and Anthony Stacchi, the voice cast included Isaac Hempstead Wright, Ben Kingsley, Elle Fanning, Toni Collette, Jared Harris, Nick Frost, Richard Ayoade, Tracy Morgan, and Simon Pegg.
The Boxtrolls received pretty favorable reviews from critics. Throughout awards season, it was constantly nominated for Best Animated Feature. Yet the Critics Choice, PGA, and BAFTA went to The Lego Movie (which was snubbed by the Academy) while the Golden Globe went to How to Train Your Dragon 2. The latter of which was favored to win the Oscar, but the winner was ultimately Disney’s Big Hero 6.
KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS (2016)
Two years later, Laika delivered an original story set in feudal Japan about Kubo, a young boy who wields a magical musical instrument and whose left eye was stolen during infancy. He embarks on a quest to defeat his mother’s baleful twin sisters and the one responsible for stealing his left eye, his ominous grandfather, the Moon King. Directed by Travis Knight, the voice cast included Art Parkinson, Charlize Theron, Ralph Fiennes, George Takei, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Brenda Vaccaro, Rooney Mara, and Matthew McConaughey.
Despite proving to be a box-office disappointment, Kubo and the Two Strings still received widespread critical acclaim. At the Oscars, it was nominated not only for Best Animated Feature, but also for Best Visual Effects — the first animated film to appear in the latter category since The Nightmare Before Christmas 23 years prior. Despite pulling off a BAFTA win, the Oscar ultimately went to Disney’s Zootopia. Meanwhile, Best Visual Effects went to The Jungle Book.
MISSING LINK (2019)
Three years later, Laika delivered its fifth feature film. It was an original story that followed an orangutan-like Sasquatch who, with the help of British explorers Sir Lionel Frost and Adelina Fortnight, travels to the Himalayas to meet his Yeti cousins. Directed by Chris Butler, the voice cast included Hugh Jackman, Zoe Saldaña, Emma Thompson, Stephen Fry, David Walliams, Timothy Olyphant, Matt Lucas, Amrita Acharia, and Zach Galifianakis.
On a $100 million production budget, Missing Link became the most expensive stop-motion animated film of all time. Yet at the box office, it was a total flop, raking in over $26 million. Luckily, it was still a hit with critics. At the Golden Globes, it faced competition in Best Animated Feature from blockbuster hits such as Frozen II, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, The Lion King, and Toy Story 4. However, Missing Link benefited from being the only contender that wasn’t a sequel nor a remake as it managed to pull off a surprise win. Yet at the Oscars, it ultimately came up short to Disney and Pixar’s Toy Story 4.
Seven years later, Laika is back in the race with Wildwood. The film has won over critics, holding a rare 100% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes as well as an 86 “universal acclaim” score on Metacritic.
According to the Gold Derby experts’ predictions, Wildwood has a 100% chance of being nominated at the 2027 Oscars for Best Animated Feature, tied with Toy Story 5. Behind them in descending order of ranking are Iron Boy, Hoppers, and Ray Gunn.
