LAIKA Stop-Motion Animation Company to Adapt WILDWOOD Kids Book

Movie Animated by Joey Paur

The stop-motion animation company LAIKA, who developed the film Coraline, has optioned the rights to the children's novel Wildwood written by The Decemberists lead singer Colin Meloy, with art by Carson Ellis. LAIKA plans to adapt the story for the big screen. The story sounds really good, and there's no doubt it should make for a entertainingly fun stop motion movie, and it's a perfect fit for LAIKA's filmmaking style. Check out the details below and tell us what you think!

Here's the Synopsis:

Wildwood, the first book in an epic middle-grade fantasy series full of magic, wonder and danger set in an alternate version of modern-day Portland, tells the story of Prue McKeel, whose ordinary life is changed forever when her younger brother is abducted by a murder of crows and taken to the Impassable Wilderness, an enchanted and forbidding forest on the edge of the city. 

No one's ever gone in – or at least returned to tell of it. Within this secret world, Prue and her friend Curtis embark on a rescue mission and find themselves entwined in a violent struggle for freedom amidst warring creatures, peaceable mystics and powerful figures with the darkest intentions.

Here's the press release with all of the little details:

"'Wildwood' is a marvel, an exquisite, staggering and lyrical work of art," said Knight. "It's an uncannily perfect fit for LAIKA, commingling the time-honored qualities of classic fantasies and fairy tales with a bold, contemporary sensibility. Colin's captivating, melodic prose and Carson's gorgeous, spellbinding illustrations form a rich bounty of ideas, language and imagery. 'Wildwood' is a wonderful work of literature, and LAIKA is fully committed to honoring it with an exceptional, groundbreaking film. 

"Wildwood," filled with 85 intricate and beautiful illustrations by artist Carson Ellis, was published on August 30, 2011 by HarperCollins' Balzer + Bray imprint. You can view the animated trailer created by LAIKA/house for the book below.

"Hands down, there is no other movie studio in the entire world beside LAIKA that I would entrust 'Wildwood' to," said Meloy. "Carson and I were prepared to stonewall any and all suitors for the movie rights, so close was this book to our hearts. However, when LAIKA came calling, our defenses promptly came down. There is no doubt in my mind that they will come to this story with the passion, imagination and general awesomeness required to make this book into a truly beautiful animated film."

"I'm a stop-motion enthusiast," said Ellis, "and I've been a fan of LAIKA since we saw Coraline a couple of years back. When we visited the studio and saw all the brilliant creative work happening there – someone building a waist-high New England village in painstaking detail, someone else sewing pinhead-sized rivets on tiny blue jeans – we were won over completely. It's an amazing place staffed by patient, meticulous, super-talented people who wouldn't work there if they didn't love stop-motion animation. I'm so excited to see what Wildwood will look like in their hands."

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