Wildwood

A Baby Stolen Beyond Portland

Wildwood sends Prue McKeel into an enchanted forest after a murder of crows snatches her infant brother, Mac, from a city playground. The abduction is ordered by Alexandra, the woods’ grieving ruler, whose lost son appears to have driven her toward a desperate plan involving Prue’s family.

Prue crosses into the forest with her classmate Curtis Mehlberg, but their rescue mission quickly splits apart. She finds allies and takes flight on a giant eagle, while Curtis winds up dressed as one of Alexandra’s soldiers and locked inside a cage.

Laika Returns to the Dark Fairy-Tale Woods

The premise brings Laika back to the eerie territory that made Coraline so memorable: a determined girl, a dangerous parallel world, and a powerful mother figure whose grief has curdled into control. There is also a touch of Labyrinth in the journey to recover a baby from a magical ruler, though Wildwood trades the Goblin King’s maze for wolf armies and the forests outside Portland.

The Kubo Team Builds a New Realm

Director Travis Knight and writer Chris Butler previously collaborated on Kubo and the Two Strings, another stop-motion adventure shaped around a fractured family. Peyton Elizabeth Lee voices Prue, with Jacob Tremblay as Curtis and Carey Mulligan as Alexandra; Mahershala Ali, Awkwafina, Angela Bassett, and Charlie Day round out the cast.

Wildwood arrives through Fathom Entertainment on October 23. For Laika fans, it looks like a long-awaited return to handcrafted fantasy with real shadows under its leaves.