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Wildwood opens

Pop culture · Heat 6.0 / 10 · 2 shows · 28m airtime

Laika released Travis Knight's stop-motion adaptation of Colin Meloy's Wildwood in theaters on October 27, 2026. Reporting has established that the film cost $100 million, that Laika optioned the novel before it was published, and that production took 16 years. The Decemberists perform songs on the soundtrack, and Mark Evan Jackson voices the governor. The discussion has moved from the film's hand-built visuals and its status as the longest stop-motion animated film ever made to its awards prospects, after Coyote vs. Acme was ruled eligible for Best Animated Feature, putting Wildwood's frontrunner status in doubt.

How 2 podcasts covered it

  1. Pop Culture Happy Hour, 2026-10-27 (0:15 to 8:28)
    Reviews the hand-built visuals and runtime
    Reviews Laika's Wildwood with critic Monica Castillo: the hand-built visuals, the dark stakes and the two-hour-plus runtime that makes it the longest stop-motion film ever made. Enthusiastic, but it stays inside the review.
    New angle: Wildwood was directed by Travis Knight, who also directed Kubo and the Two Strings.
  2. Pop Culture Happy Hour, 2026-10-27 (9:48 to 16:35)
    Walks through the Portland texture and soundtrack
    Walks through the film's Portland texture - Powell's Books, Voodoo Donuts, a wagon labeled Malloy Flyer - and the tired-eyed character design, then weighs the Decemberists' soundtrack against Meloy's sensibility. Adds a few production details to the review.
    New angle: The Decemberists perform songs on the Wildwood soundtrack, and Mark Evan Jackson voices the governor.
  3. The Big Picture, 2026-10-30 (44:09 to 48:05)
    Debates who a $100 million stop-motion film is for
    Reviews Wildwood and debates who the film is for, weighing its $100 million budget and the compression of a long 2011 novel into one film. The audience question is the segment's own argument; the budget figure is the one new fact.
    New angle: Wildwood is a $100 million stop-motion film.
  4. The Big Picture, 2026-10-30 (59:19 to 1:04:32)
    Weighs the Coyote ruling against the frontrunner
    Turns from reviewing Wildwood to the Best Animated Feature race, where the weekend's eligibility ruling for Coyote vs. Acme complicates Wildwood's frontrunner status. Notes the hybrid-animation precedent and Bauza's death in passing.
    New angle: Coyote vs. Acme was ruled eligible for Best Animated Feature, putting Wildwood's frontrunner status in doubt.
  5. The Big Picture, 2026-10-30 (2:01:49 to 2:06:09)
    Recaps the 16-year path from manuscript to screen
    Knight tells the origin story of the adaptation: Laika optioned Colin Meloy's novel before it was published, he read a 133-page manuscript, and the film took 16 years to make, with each earlier Laika film serving as R&D.
    New angle: Laika optioned Wildwood before the novel was published, and the film took 16 years to make.
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