LAIKA’s Wildwood gets a voice cast

LAIKA President & CEO Travis Knight announced the voice cast for Wildwood, the Oscar®, BAFTA® and Golden Globe® winning animation studio’s next feature film.

The cast includes Oscar® nominee Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman), Oscar® winner Mahershala Ali (Moonlight), Peyton Elizabeth Lee (Andi Mack), Jacob Tremblay (Room), Awkwafina (Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), Oscar® nominee Angela Bassett (What’s Love Got to Do With It), Jake Johnson (Jurassic World), Charlie Day (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Horrible Bosses), Amandla Stenberg (The Hate You Give), Emmy® nominee Jemaine Clement (The Flight of the Conchords), Maya Erskine (Pen15), Tantoo Cardinal (Wind River), Grammy® winner Tom Waits and Oscar® nominee Richard E. Grant (Can You Ever Forgive Me?).

Wildwood, based on the series of novels by Colin Meloy, lead singer for The Decemberists, and illustrator Carson Ellis is currently in production at LAIKA Studios outside Portland, Oregon.

Knight, who won the BAFTA for directing LAIKA’s Kubo and the Two Strings and also directed Paramount’s hit movie Bumblebee, directs from a script by Chris Butler (ParaNorman, Missing Link). Six-time Oscar® nominee Caleb Deschanel (The Passion of the Christ) is the cinematographer with Arianne Sutner, LAIKA’s Head of Production and Oscar®-nominated producer of Kubo and Missing Link, producing alongside Knight.

“That is one helluva cast,” said Knight. “Collaborating with these exceptional actors has been a humbling and inspiring experience. Their committed performances elevate Wildwood, and are a remarkable gift for LAIKA’s animators. I’m in awe of them all.”

Beyond Portland, Oregon’s city limits lies Wildwood. You’re not supposed to go there. You’re not even supposed to know it exists. But Prue McKeel is about to enter this enchanted wonderland. Her baby brother Mac has been taken by a murder of crows into the forest’s depths, and she – along with her hapless classmate Curtis – is going to get him back. Prue might think she’s too old for fairytales, but she’s just found herself at the center of one. One filled with strange talking animals, roguish bandits, and powerful figures with the darkest intentions. Wildwood is a tale of love, loss, sacrifice and secrets, and of the magic you can find on your doorstep, if you’re willing to look for it.

LAIKA was founded in 2005 in Oregon by President & CEO Travis Knight. The studio’s five films Coraline (2009), ParaNorman (2012), The Boxtrolls (2014), Kubo and the Two Strings (2016) and Missing Link (2019) have all been nominated for the Academy Award® for Outstanding Animated Feature. Kubo and the Two Strings won the BAFTA® Award for Best Animated Film and received an additional Oscar® nomination for Visual Effects. Missing Link was awarded the Golden Globe® for Best Animated Film. LAIKA was awarded Scientific and Technology Oscar® in 2016 for its innovation in 3D printing. The studio is in development on The Night Gardener, an animated film from an original idea by Bill Dubuque, creator of the hit series Ozark as well as its first live-action feature film based on the action thriller novel Seventeen by screenwriter John Brownlow.