Overview
- Laika’s Wildwood opens in U.S. theaters on Oct. 23, 2026, marking the studio’s first film rated above PG and its longest stop‑motion feature.
- Reviewers universally praise the film’s practical craftsmanship, noting huge scale details such as hundreds of hand‑controlled puppets, more than 130 sets, and well over 100,000 printed replacement faces.
- Critics are divided on storytelling, with many saying the visual ambition outstrips narrative focus and others calling the plot and themes overstuffed or uneven.
- The film’s wide release through Fathom Entertainment, a distributor best known for event cinema, and Laika’s independent ownership create a commercial risk that puts extra emphasis on opening‑weekend performance and word‑of‑mouth.
- More than a thousand people worked on the production and early festival buzz raises awards hopes if audiences and critics embrace the film, which contains explicit fantasy violence that underpins its PG‑13 rating.