Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective thoughts, opinions and critiques.

At the beginning of “Wildwood” (2026), protagonist Prue McKeel (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) bikes through the streets of Portland, Oregon, her baby brother Mack (Arthur Knight) in tow. She stops at a bakery to grab donuts. She holds Mack’s hands as he dances to a street musician’s guitar. She breezes past a painter’s stall and a posted vendor’s sign fills the frame: “Enjoy Handmade Art Before It’s Gone For Good!” 

My intention in writing this review is to encourage everyone to do just that: flock to theatres and go see “Wildwood” before it leaves! Directed by Travis Knight and produced by Laika Studios, the stop-motion epic follows Prue and her friend Curtis (Jacob Tremblay) on a journey to save Mack after being kidnapped by crows and taken into the Impassable Wilderness, or “Wildwood.” Along the way, they encounter the cunning Dowager Governess, Alexandra (Carey Mulligan). Their fight to save Mack also becomes a fight to save “Wildwood” from Alexandra’s destruction. 

Unlike the AI slop permeating many a social media feed, “Wildwood” is the culmination of 16 years of blood, sweat and tears. Behind each turn of Prue’s head, each step the Empress takes, each building, each tree, each animal in the Wildwood, are the real human hands of Laika writers, animators and more.  

Of course, being AI-free is not the movie’s only selling point. I would be remiss not to praise how the Portland setting came alive or how the characters’ stories tugged at my heartstrings.

Unlike Laika’s “Coraline,” (2009), which never formally mentions the obscure Oregon town its setting was inspired by, “Wildwood” is a proud, larger-than-life homage to Portland (close to Laika’s base in Hillsboro). As Prue blazes through the city, we see the big neon “Portland, Oregon” sign, the fall foliage of the mountains surrounding the city and the iconic St. John’s suspension bridge. By making one of the portals into “Wildwood” this fog-covered bridge, Laika ingeniously imprints the magic of the movie onto the real city. A Portlander on their morning walk can now imagine that they too could break through the magic barrier and gain access to “Wildwood.” 

Visual references aside, “Wildwood” shows ample love for the deeper culture of the city. In one scene, Prue almost collides with the Unipiper (a real Portland resident in a Darth-vader mask who plays flaming bagpipes while riding a unicycle). Later, her parents, hippie-coded in their dress and mannerisms, make veiled references to the “weird” things they did together at Burning Man. These inside jokes are sure to delight any Portland natives in the know. They’re also a fitting “thank-you” to those who have shown enormous support for “Wildwood” by filling out Portland’s indie movie theaters. 

The film’s appeal goes beyond the easter eggs. The transition from Portland to Wildwood marks a dramatic shift in the movie’s tone. After Prue and Curtis enter the Wildwood, Alexandra befriends Curtis and brings him to a battlefield of mangled corpses.  There, she commands him to slay an innocent old man — then plunges the sword into herself when he refuses. 

With this scene, “Wildwood” asserts itself as a mature movie that won’t coddle the child you might have accidentally brought along. It goes on to tackle themes like death, grief, infertility, suicide and war with a level of emotional depth made possible by its PG-13 rating. Curtis and Prue feel all the pain that accompanies having to murder their enemies, and even have sympathy towards a villainess like Alexandra. 

It is Alexandra’s story that benefits most from the uninhibited portrayal of violence, especially during the final battle scene. Without revealing too much, the governess is hell-bent on revenge: As she slices through those who oppose her, the carnage she leaves in her wake poignantly captures the erratic grief of a woman who no longer cares who lives or dies. 

The dark themes “Wildwood” dips into may lead viewers to doubt whether or not there will be a happy-ever-after. That uncertainty keeps you on the edge of your seat until the credits roll. 

As for the actual ending, you may find it pleasantly realistic … or a bit unsatisfying.  But once again I encourage (beg) you to go see the film for yourself, multiple times if necessary (it is necessary) and form your own opinion. 

What I will say is that there’s a little post-credits treat waiting for you, so don’t be that person who bolts for the exit as soon as the movie ends. Those few seconds will make sitting through the credits, which themselves are a work of art, worth it.

“Wildwood” is the film everyone needs to watch in the age of AI. If the gorgeous setting isn’t enough to pique your interest, or the characters who feel so real they haunt you long after the screen goes black, watch “Wildwood” simply because it is one of the most impressive feats of human creativity ever conceived. 

More than a decade in the making, it is a testament to real patience and brilliance;  a balm to any weary soul sick of any so-called “art” generated by a prompt and the tap of an “Enter” key. But with “Wildwood” expected to gross a mere $10 million out of a $100 million dollar budget, who knows how long it will be before funds for these incredible stop-motion projects dry up all together? 

The best thing we can do is what the painter’s sign says: Enjoy it. Before it’s all gone.