ANIMATION IS FILM (AIF), whose mission is to champion animation as a cinematic art form on par with live action, has announced that it will present a special screening of LAIKA’s epic new film, Wildwood on Monday, October 19th at the Academy Museum’s Geffen Theater. Wildwood director and LAIKA President & CEO Travis Knight will engage in a one-on-one conversation post screening with filmmaker Jason Reitman (Juno, Thank You for Smoking) about the studio’s 15-year journey to bring this film to the big screen — from the beautiful artistry of its stop-motion animation to the creative vision behind LAIKA’s most ambitious production to date.

Directed and produced by Travis Knight (Kubo and the Two Strings, Masters of the Universe), Wildwood opens exclusively in theatres across the United States on October 23, 2026. Tickets for Wildwood are now available at WildwoodMovie.com. Fathom Entertainment is distributing the film theatrically in the United States. International sales are handled by FilmNation Entertainment.

After her baby brother is abducted by a murder of crows, headstrong teenager Prue McKeel (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) launches a desperate rescue mission into the Impassable Wilderness — an enchanted forest hidden just beyond Portland, Oregon. Joined by her hapless but loyal classmate Curtis Mehlberg (Jacob Tremblay), Prue navigates a world of talking animals, bandits, and powerful figures driven by grief and ambition. As the pair is drawn into a conflict threatening the balance of the forest itself, Prue must find a way to save her brother while confronting forces that could determine Wildwood’s future. 

Inspired by the acclaimed novel written by Colin Meloy and illustrated by Carson Ellis, Wildwood brings an expansive fantasy world to the screen through LAIKA’s singular approach to stop-motion filmmaking. Characters, environments and intricate details are physically crafted and animated by hand, frame by frame, creating a world that feels both fantastical and unmistakably tangible.

Wildwood features a voice cast led by Peyton Elizabeth Lee as Prue McKeel and Jacob Tremblay as Curtis Mehlberg, alongside Academy Award® nominee Carey Mulligan (Shame), Academy Award® winner Mahershala Ali (Moonlight), Academy Award® nominee and Emmy Award® winner Angela Bassett (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever), Awkwafina (Crazy Rich Asians), Jake Johnson (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse), Charlie Day (The Super Mario Galaxy Movie), Amandla Stenberg (Bodies Bodies Bodies), Jemaine Clement (Avatar: Fire and Ash), Maya Erskine (Mr. & Mrs. Smith), Tantoo Cardinal (Killers of the Flower Moon), Tom Waits (Seven Psychopaths) and Academy Award® nominee Richard E. Grant (Can You Ever Forgive Me?).

“Each year, Animation Is Film returns to Hollywood to champion the notion that animation, as an art form, repeatedly redefines what we think cinematic storytelling is capable of,” said Animation is Film director Matt Kaszanek. “We can think of no greater example of that mission than Travis Knight’s Wildwood. A new LAIKA film is a reason to celebrate for every person who loves great films, and we are so proud to be part of its journey.” 

“Animation Is Film and LAIKA share a belief that animation is cinema in its fullest sense, capable of telling stories with extraordinary emotional and artistic ambition,” said LAIKA Chief Marketing & Operations Officer David Burke. “Wildwood represents 15 years of imagination, craftsmanship and commitment from hundreds of artists, so there could be no more fitting place to celebrate its journey to the screen than with AIF.”

An award-winning director/producer and President & CEO of LAIKA, Travis Knight makes all key creative and business decisions for the studio. He was lead animator on Coraline and held that position as well as producer on ParaNorman and The Boxtrolls. He was nominated for an Academy Award® and won the Visual Effects Society Award and BAFTA® Award for Best Animated Film for Kubo and the Two Strings. Under his leadership, LAIKA has garnered worldwide distinction for its melding of the age-old craft of stop-motion with the most cutting-edge cinematic advances and manufacturing techniques. As a result, every LAIKA film has been Oscar®-nominated for Best Animated Feature. Knight made his live-action directorial debut in 2018 with Paramount’s Bumblebee and is the director of the Amazon/MGM 2026 release Masters of the Universe. He sits on the Board of Directors for LAIKA, NIKE and the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. 

Jason Reitman is an Academy Award® nominated filmmaker who most recently directed Saturday Night. Reitman made his feature film debut with the 2006 Sundance hit Thank You for Smoking. He earned Academy Award® nominations for directing Juno and Up in the Air.He has collaborated with screenwriter Diablo Cody on four critically acclaimed films, including Young Adult, Tully, and Jennifer’s Body. As a producer, Reitman oversaw four seasons of the Hulu comedy series Casual. He also produced the Academy Award®-winning film Whiplash and Jean-Marc Vallee’s Demolition. In 2020, during the height of the COVID pandemic, Reitman created and directed the Home Movie: The Princess Bride, raising over a million dollars for World Central Kitchen. In 2021, Reitman directed and co-wrote Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and in 2023, produced and co-wrote its sequel, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. In early 2024, Reitman assembled 35 prominent film directors in order to save the Westwood Village Theater.

Recently, the Animation Is Film Festival announced its ninth edition, taking place October 16-19, 2026, with the main program running at TCL Chinese 6 Theatres in Hollywood. AIF will premiere many of this year’s most celebrated titles, including Louis Clichy’s Iron Boy, winner of the Un Certain Regard Special Jury Prize at Cannes and the Jury Award and Audience Award at Annecy, and selected for the Toronto and New York Film Festivals; Leah Nelson’s Tangles, a phenomenal film that has earned enormous critical acclaim; and Julián, the latest feature from Ireland’s animation powerhouse Cartoon Saloon. The festival is a one-stop shop for films in contention for Oscar® consideration this awards season.