Are you familiar with the concept of patronage as concerned with the arts? It was a model where wealthy individuals, or institutions like the church or government, would provide financial support, housing, and commissions to artists, musicians, etc. While their generally was a request regarding quality of materials or dimensions or subject matter, there was no expectation that the patron would obtain money from the artist's work. Instead, the reward was prestige: art was used to display wealth, influence, or even piety for the patron and the artist had their status elevated over time and were eventually considered respected intellectuals.
While patronage has changed over the years - nowadays it is primarily the government or corporations that do the patronage - the value of it is incalculable, as many great works are the result of it, and we have a modern masterpiece from Laika in the form of Wildwood, their newest movie. Laika is the passion project of Travis Knight, son of Nike cofounder Phil Knight, and this combination of nepotism and patronage has already given us multiple stop-motion animated classics, with Travis Knight directing this $100 million dollar movie that will likely never make that money back, but will hopefully be remembered as one of the best movies of 2026, if not the best movie of 2026.
And my God, do you see every single dollar of that 100 million on the screen. This movie is beautiful in a way that harkens back to the best of hand-drawn Disney animation From the mysterious opening in the home of the Dowager Governess Alexandra (Carey Mulligan, almost giving the movie its best vocal performance, coming in second amongst a plethora of excellent voice acting), to the titular Wildwood our main characters find themselves in, to the modern streets of Portland, Oregon, the amount of detail that went into every single scene more than justifies the price tag.
The movie is epic in the traditional sense. We go on a hero's journey with Prue (Peyton Elizabeth Lee, giving the best vocal performance of this talented group) as she seeks to save her brother Mac (Arthur Knight) after a murder of crows absconds with him into the Wildwood. With her is Curtis (Jacob Tremblay), a not-quite-friend who inadvertently ends up on his own journey within the wood after going with Prue into the forest.
I won't talk about the plot beyond that - this film is far more rewarding going into it blind - except to say that while this is an animated movie, it earns that PG-13 rating. There is violence, and several scenes that likely would terrify the younger crowd (a brave parent brought a child that looked to be 5 or 6 and there were several parts where the child climbed practically on top of him due to fright). It explores mature themes in the same way that the best Pixar movies do: confronting adulthood in all of its confusing contradictions with tenderness, without condescending to the younger audience. It trusts them to get through the darker parts with a better understanding of the world.
I've mentioned previously that the voice acting in this movie is topnotch: all of the mentioned actors are wonderful, as are Mahershala Ali, Richard E. Grant, Angela Basset, Blythe Danner, and Awkwafina (finding a better use for her talents than the misguided Raya and the Last Dragon). There's not a single one that feels out of place, and even the more joke-prone characters are only there to add a touch of brightness as we navigate this grand adventure - and it is grand, with the movie running over two hours. Rest assured, every minute is worth it.
I don't have criticisms for this film. The best I could muster is maybe a 'I might've done [ABC] instead of [XYZ] in this part' and that might is load-bearing. This movie doesn't make any missteps while still exploring the tropes common to this genre while adding subversions along the way. Everyone should see this movie.
10 out of 10
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