wildwood

Major American studio releases vie against festival favorites in the animated feature competition.

“Quite a few films from a strong Cannes, such as ‘In Waves,’ ‘Iron Boy’ and ‘Tangles,’ will aim to break into this category,” predicts Robert Daniels.

“The mind-blowing stop-motion masterpiece ‘Wildwood’ is my top contender at this point,” enthuses Dave Karger.

“ ‘Minions and Monsters’ might be an outside pick here but it’s probably the most astute piece of contemporary Hollywood commentary this year,” declares Katie Walsh. “Give Pierre Coffin his flowers!”

Glenn Whipp, meanwhile, sighs that “Toy Story 5” is a top contender: It “was perfectly fine and completely unnecessary, unless you’re a Disney shareholder. It will be the category’s most-seen movie and sports one Taylor Swift song released this year that critics don’t outright despise. That might be enough for the Oscar.”

1. “Wildwood”
2. “Toy Story 5”
T3. “Iron Boy”
T3. “Minions and Monsters”
5. “Ray Gunn”
6. “Tangles”

RogerEbert.com

Robert Daniels

1. “Wildwood”
2. “Toy Story 5”
3. “Iron Boy”
4. “Decorado”
5. “Tangles”

“Quite a few films from a strong Cannes, such as ‘In Waves,’ ‘Iron Boy,’ and ‘Tangles,’ will aim to break into this category. But for now, you can pretty much guarantee that ‘Toy Story 5,’ a return to form for the franchise, and the latest Laika film, ‘Wildwood,’ are in.”

Turner Classic Movies

Dave Karger

1. “Wildwood”
2. “Toy Story 5”
3. “Ray Gunn”
4. “High in the Clouds”
5. “Iron Boy”

“The mind-blowing stop-motion masterpiece ‘Wildwood’ is my top contender at this point, followed as always by a strong entry from Disney/Pixar (‘Toy Story 5’). Meanwhile, former Pixar filmmaker Brad Bird could also find himself back in the running with his Netflix title, ‘Ray Gunn.’ ”

Los Angeles Times

Amy Nicholson

1. “Wildwood”
2. “Minions and Monsters”
3. “Toy Story 5”
4. “Ray Gunn”
5. “High in the Clouds”

“The latest Minions movie was made as much for cineastes as children. So be it. Pierre Coffin’s lozenge-shaped horde has already schooled kids in the joys of (near) silent filmmaking. What a bonus to see them romp with Georges Méliès.”

IndieWire

Anne Thompson

1. “Toy Story 5”
2. “Wildwood”
3. “Iron Boy”
4. “Hoppers”
5. “Ray Gunn”

“The field is led by Pixar’s runaway blockbuster sequel ‘Toy Story 5’ and original eco-feature ‘Hoppers.’ Laika’s stop-motion ‘Wildwood’ is also grabbing raves.”

Tribune News Service

Katie Walsh

1. “Toy Story 5”
2. “Minions and Monsters”
3. “Forgotten Island”
4. “Wildwood”
5. “In Waves”

“ ‘Minions and Monsters’ might be an outside pick here but it’s probably the most astute piece of contemporary Hollywood commentary this year — a loving tribute to old Hollywood threatened by an out-of-control, all-consuming surveillance blob that swallows companies whole. Give Pierre Coffin his flowers!”

Los Angeles Times

Glenn Whipp

1. “Wildwood”
2. “Toy Story 5”
3. “Tangles”
4. “Iron Boy”
5. “Hoppers”

“ ‘Toy Story 5’ was perfectly fine and completely unnecessary, unless you’re a Disney shareholder. It will be the category’s most-seen movie and sports one Taylor Swift song released this year that critics don’t outright despise. That might be enough for the Oscar.”

Audiences for animated movies are proving to be more diverse than the industry expected.

Over the weekend, Laika, the Oscar-nominated studio behind movies like “Coraline” and “ParaNorman,” released its newest feature film “Wildwood.” The original animated feature, which received a rare PG-13 rating, landed in third place at the domestic box office, earning an estimated $11.6 million, according to its distributor Fathom Entertainment.

DC Studio’s body horror “Clayface” topped the box office, with a haul of $24 million. “You Can See Everything,” the experimental Elizabeth Holmes documentary, came in second and added $19.5 million to its total $45 million haul, according to the data-analytics company Rentrak.

Distributed by Fathom Entertainment — the joint venture of AMC Entertainment Holdings, Regal Cinemas, and Cinemark Holdings — “Wildwood” opened in just over 2,900 North American theatres. The distributor said this box office haul is a rare achievement for independently produced and distributed PG-13 animation, as very few films of this nature have received such a wide theatrical release and opened above $10 million.

The opening comes as audiences have strongly favored familiar animated stories like “Toy Story 5” and “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” which each earned over $1 billion. Original animated stories have received mixed reactions. Earlier this year, Disney Pixar’s “Hoppers” found success opening weekend, earning $45 million domestically while DreamWorks Animation’s “Forgotten Island” opened to a softer $13 million last month.

“While the major studios rely heavily on established animated franchises like ‘Super Mario,’ ‘Minions’ and ‘Toy Story,’ Laika has carved out a really unique place in the animation world,” Paul Dergarabedian, the head of marketplace trends at Rentrak, said in a statement.

The film is Laika’s first in seven years and has been in the works since 2011. Based on the novel by Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis, it follows Prue, a young girl who ventures into an enchanted forest to save her little brother. The Oregon-based studio was founded in 2005 by Nike co-founder Phil Knight. His son, Travis Knight, is the owner, chief executive and director of “Wildwood.”

The handcrafted stop-motion film runs just over two hours and more than a thousand people worked on it. The studio did not disclose its production budget. Laika films can cost between $60 million and $100 million to make, according to Forbes.

“‘Wildwood’ embodies everything LAIKA believes animation can be: a handmade film that is emotionally resonant, visually ambitious, and created by artists, craftspeople and technical innovators working at the highest level,” David Burke, the film’s executive producer, said in a statement.

Opening weekend was just a starting point for Laika. The studio’s films have historically demonstrated strong theatrical staying power, with its five previous features averaging around 3.6 times their opening weekend domestically, according to Fathom. The film is also expected to hit dozens of international markets in the coming weeks, which is expected to boost its box office revenue.

Dergarabedian said the film’s opening is “encouraging, particularly for a film that doesn’t fit the traditional animated blockbuster mold. Its performance is another example of why originality and creative risk-taking are so important to the theatrical marketplace.”

“At Laika, we have always taken the long view,” Burke said in a statement. “Laika makes timeless films that resonate with audiences around the world and across generations. ‘Wildwood’ carries that tradition forward.”

Move over, “Alice in Wonderland” and “The Wizard of Oz” — you too, “Spirited Away” and “The Chronicles of Narnia.” There’s a new eye-popping portal fantasy in town and its name is “Wildwood.”

This is a thoroughly involving and captivating stop-motion adventure from Laika, the animation studio that made such other beautiful handmade works as “Coraline” and “Kubo and the Two Strings.” But it’s clear from the level of artistry on display here that the company, led by producer-director Travis Knight, has steadily advanced in technology, innovation and ambition. (We’re talking 233 handcrafted puppets and 132 practical sets.) That’s saying a lot given Laika’s previous top-tier output. In addition, Laika worked alongside New Zealand’s Wētā FX to create the movie’s stunning digital environments and visual effects. That magical ivy is something else.

The wondrous story was adapted by frequent Laika collaborator Chris Butler from the epic 2011 novel written by Colin Meloy (frontman for indie rock band the Decemberists, whose original music is featured here) and illustrated by Carson Ellis. The tale kicks off as intrepid young Portland, Ore., teen Prue (voiced by Peyton Elizabeth Lee) defies her worrywart parents and, in their absence, takes her baby brother, Mac, out for a bike ride around her city’s singularly quirky downtown. (Not for nothing, Knight is a Portland native and Laika is based just outside the city.)

But things quickly turn pitch dark as a murder of crows (take that collective noun how you will) swoops down and, quite terrifyingly, à la Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds,” abducts little Mac. This leads a desperate Prue and, soon, her nerdy but plucky classmate Curtis (Jacob Tremblay), into the forbidden “Impassable Wilderness” at the edge of town to rescue Mac. From there on it’s a roller coaster of magnificently rendered battles, chases, near-misses and escapes as Prue and Curtis — separately and together — navigate the enchanted, astonishing woods and its wildly assorted communities of rulers, warriors and underlings.

As Prue and Curtis struggle to unravel the twisty lore of the obstacle-laden forest in their search for Mac, their outsider presence inadvertently sets off a long-festering showdown for control of the forest between its warring factions. On the one hand, it’s Alexandra, the sinister, dangerously obsessed Dowager Governess (Carey Mulligan) and her marauding band of military-style coyotes (Tom Waits, Charlie Day and others) versus a wayward posse of bandits (led by Mahershala Ali’s formidable Brendan). Then there’s the Avian Principality, a bird-led kingdom also against Alexandra’s mounting power, including a stunningly majestic eagle known as the General (Angela Bassett) and the wise old Owl Rex (Richard E. Grant).

Vying for dominance as well are the haughty, self-serving bureaucrats of the area’s bustling capital of South Wood (Jemaine Clement, Marc Evan Jackson), who pull their political strings from the relative safety of the grand Pittock Mansion. Other characters Prue and the increasingly brave Curtis encounter along the way include the wry and resourceful rat Septima (Awkwafina), the courageous bandit Niamh (Amandla Stenberg), elderly mystic Iphigenia (Tantoo Cardinal) and the realm’s harried postmaster (Len Cariou). The talking animals feel right at home alongside the human figures and the voice work is excellent all around.

Needless to say, there’s a lot going on in Butler’s busy, occasionally dizzying script, though compressing the approximately 550-page source material was surely no easy task. (As it is, “Wildwood” runs more than two hours, long for an animated film, though it rarely lags.) Still, the narrative has its share of “just go with it” moments and explanations. Bits of connective tissue can sometimes feel missing amid the action and the story’s lessons, particularly for Prue, don’t always land as strongly or affectingly as they could.

It should also be said that there’s some fairly outsize violence along the way, particularly during the combat scenes, plus other potentially disturbing bits of mayhem that may be too extreme for younger children. Parents take note: The film more than rightly earns its PG-13 rating.

Nonetheless, for most audiences, especially animation-loving teens and adults, this should prove a spectacularly immersive ride, vibrantly shot by the great Caleb Deschanel (“The Right Stuff,” “The Natural”) and crafted by a reported 49 animators who brought the film to life one dazzling, painstaking frame at a time.