Laika's final Wildwood trailer as absolutely stunning, but would you know it's stopmotion animation?

Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter There's little over a month to go before Wildwood reaches cinemas on 23 October, and Laika Studios has released…

Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter There's little over a month to go before Wildwood reaches cinemas on 23 October, and Laika Studios has released the final trailer. As we already knew, the movie looks incredible, taking stopmotion animation to whole new level with its epic scale and polished execution.In fact, it's so impressive that some are questioning whether it's too polished. Wildwood – Final Trailer | Get Tickets Now - YouTube Watch On Wildwood is an adaptation of the 2011 children's fantasy novel written by Colin Meloy of The Decemberists and illustrated by Carson Ellis. The first book in The Wildwood Chronicles trilogy follows two seventh-graders, Prue and Curtis, as they enter the magical Impassable Wilderness in Portland, Oregon, to rescue their baby brother.Latest Videos FromCreative BloqWatch full video here: True to Laika's signature animation style, the film combines traditional stop‑motion with CGI enhancements (check out how Laika animates water). That creates a smooth, polished aesthetic while Laika's process of animating on ones creates very fluid motion.On social media and YouTube, this has some people asking, if it doesn't look like stop motion, why use stop motion at all?It's true that a lot of viewers might not realise that they're watching stopmotion. And it's true that many fans of stop motion will tell you that what they like is its imperfection: the visibly handcrafted nature that makes it feel warmer and more human.But while Wildwood might not have the obvious rough edges that the medium's known for, I think it's wrong to say that the studio could have achieved Wildwood's look digitally, and I have to disagree with people who says it looks like Pixar-style CG 3D animation.Get the Creative Bloq NewsletterSign up to Creative Bloq's daily newsletter, which brings you the latest news and inspiration from the worlds of art, design and technology.Wildwood has a sense of tactility with tangible physics and organic textures that digital renders can't replicate in the same way. In stopmotion, the puppets are heavy, fabrics have natural folds, and objects interact mechanically. The physical force of gravity is real. In pure CGI, every bounce of a curl, shift in clothing, and footprint must be artificially simulated.There's also the lighting. A digital camera can only mimic real light. Laika uses physical camera lenses to shoot a miniature world lit by actual studio lamps gives The way light scatters across real materials, like the 9,000 tiny hand-placed feathers on General Eagle puppet or the way light filters through translucent materials give a different feeling to the depth of a scene.And then there's the subtlety of the micro-vibrations in physical objects moved frame-by-frame. These lend an organic, living pulse to the film that digital math can't capture naturally. The CGI doesn't replace stopmotion in this sense; it expands its scale.What do you think? Would you know that Wildwood was stopmotion if you didn't know it was made by Laika?Wildwood will be released on 23 October. If you're inspired, see our guides to the best laptops for animation and the best animation software. TOPICS Joe Foley Freelance journalist and editor Joe is a regular freelance journalist and editor at Creative Bloq. He writes news, features and buying guides and keeps track of the best equipment and software for creatives, from video editing programs to monitors and accessories. A veteran news writer and photographer, he now works as a project manager at the London and Buenos Aires-based design, production and branding agency Hermana Creatives. There he manages a team of designers, photographers and video editors who specialise in producing visual content and design assets for the hospitality sector. He also dances Argentine tango. View More You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. Logout LATEST ARTICLES 1 How Trails in the Sky gets it right when it comes to remaking a classic JRPG 2 These headphones were $3,000 back in 2015 – at $949 today, they're my 'value' high-end cans of choice 3 Rihanna’s shady new Savage X Fenty ad towers above the competition 4 The latest Washington Commanders logo controversy has sparked calls for a change in the law 5 The budget 3D printer we most recommend for beginners is now half price

Source: Creative Bloq AI Art — Published September 17, 2026 at 07:00 UTC — Category: Image AI