Laika Studios has once again captured the public's attention during the Annecy Festival, where it presented previews of its upcoming film Wildwood. The company, known for titles such as Coraline and Kubo, also set up an exhibition of its characteristic puppets and scale sets. This move confirms that Laika maintains its firm commitment to stop-motion animation, a handcrafted process that contrasts with mass digital production. Additionally, the announcement of re-releases of its classic films in theaters, accompanied by special events, seeks to remind the public of the value of handmade cinema.
The meticulous process behind each Wildwood puppet 🎭
Wildwood, based on the novel by Colin Meloy, will require a level of detail similar to Laika's previous productions. Each puppet is an engineering piece with internal metal armatures that allow precise movements. Added to this are natural sets built with materials such as silicone and resin to simulate organic textures. Lighting is controlled with miniature LED light systems to avoid unwanted shadows. This process, which can take years, moves away from computer rendering, offering a tangible visual result that the audience can appreciate in every frame.
Stop-motion: the perfect excuse not to use Photoshop 🛠️
While other studios strive to make their characters look real through polygons, Laika prefers its puppets to have the texture of a forgotten sock in a drawer. In Wildwood we will see talking animals and lush forests, but the important thing is that someone had to paint each leaf by hand. Of course, if a character blinks incorrectly, it's not the software's fault, but the animator's who had to move the same eyebrow 24 times. In the end, the audience pays to see the artisanal sweat, not a soulless render.