Adventure Calls From the Forbidden Forest in Laika’s “Wildwood” Trailer

It has been far too long since we have been able to step into a brand-new world from Laika.

The stop-motion studio behind “Coraline,” “ParaNorman,” “Kubo and the Two Strings” and more has spent years creating some of the most distinct animated films around, blending fantasy, emotion and just enough darkness to make every adventure feel a little dangerous.

Now, after six years away from the big screen, Laika is ready to open the doors to another strange and magical world.

And this time, the forest is calling.

The first trailer for “Wildwood” has arrived, introducing us to Prue, voiced by Peyton Elizabeth Lee, a young girl who suddenly finds herself on a desperate mission to rescue her baby brother after he is carried away by a murder of crows.

Joined by her classmate Curtis, voiced by Jacob Tremblay, Prue ventures into a forbidden forest outside Portland, Oregon, where the world quickly becomes much stranger than anything waiting back home.

Talking animals.

Bandits.

Powerful figures.

And a magical world hidden just beyond the familiar.

At the heart of the trailer, however, is something considerably more emotional.

Prue made a promise to protect her little brother, and that promise becomes the force pushing her deeper into a place she was never meant to enter.

Which is exactly where things get interesting.

Because this is Laika.

And Laika has never been afraid to let its young heroes step into worlds that are beautiful, unsettling and emotionally complicated all at the same time.

“Wildwood” is based on the novel by The Decembrists frontman Colin Meloy, with illustrations by Carson Ellis, and Laika is already calling the film its most ambitious production to date.

That certainly seems to track with the scale of what has been built behind the scenes.

The film features 136 locations, many large enough for crew members to physically walk through, along with 231 practical puppets and 54 hero characters. Each one has been individually engineered and costumed, continuing the painstaking handcrafted approach that has always made Laika’s films feel unlike anything else in animation.

Travis Knight returns to direct after previously helming “Kubo and the Two Strings,” while the voice cast goes well beyond Lee and Tremblay.

Carey Mulligan, Mahershala Ali, Angela Bassett, Richard E. Grant, Awkwafina, Amandla Stenberg, Tom Waits and Charlie Day are all lending their voices to the adventure.

And judging by the first trailer, there is going to be plenty waiting for them inside this forest.

From fast-moving action and strange creatures to a grieving mother willing to tear through the enchanted world to get what she wants, “Wildwood” looks ready to lean into that balance of wonder and danger that Laika does so well.

It also marks a major return for the studio itself.

Laika’s last feature film was “Missing Link” back in 2019, meaning an entire generation of younger animation fans may be getting their first brand-new Laika movie in theaters.

For longtime fans, however, this feels like a welcome return to a studio that has always believed family animation can be beautiful, strange, emotional and just a little bit scary.

“Wildwood” arrives in theaters on October 23.

So grab your courage and stay close to the path.

Because once Prue steps into the forest, there may be no easy way back out.