Thematically sound, visually rich, and musically gifted, Wildwood is the type of movie that will leave teenagers exclaiming “OMG that movie was my whole childhooooooood!” in a few years. It’s live bait for critics and awards shows. Wildwood is not a bad movie by any means. It’s just got its weaknesses. And I mine. I couldn’t focus while writing this review, so just feel free to skip to the end.
It’s Laika Good Movie
Don’t get me wrong. Wildwood is fantastic. Really incredible stop motion work, imaginative designs, hugely imaginative, and a great soundtrack buoy the film to a truly stellar level. I’m not denying that this movie is great. It is. Even the voice actors were really great, from the protagonist voiced by Peyton Elizabeth Lee, to the dad voiced by Jake Johnson of New Girl fame, to even the rat. Voiced by Awkwafina. Yes. That one.
I also thought that the movie was very funny. Lots of great moments of humor, visual comedy, a bit of slapstick, and really clever adult jokes slipped in between some innocuous dialogue.
The stop motion art really was a standout. They captured fantastic little mannerisms and quirks and I haven’t seen that kind of organic animation since, honestly? Monster House. Just something about how they really captured and recreated how preteens are a little awkward and a little sarcastic. The dad character was really well animated too, with a lot of “blink and you’ll miss it” movements that feel oh so real. And all of that praise doesn’t even begin to cover their huge set pieces and chase scenes and action scenes. Wildwood is a ridiculous display of artistic creativity and ability.
Furthermore, I think that the central themes were very well captured in the writing and story of the film. Ideas of grief, loss, letting go, and losing one’s childhood, all of which felt so real and drove every event and scene of the film. Initially, I chalked that credit to the film’s writer Chris Butler, and felt that if the movie managed to accomplish the relatively difficult goal of driving an entire story by its themes, then perhaps some of the other writing flaws could be overlooked.
Then I realized Wildwood is based on a novel.
So all of a sudden the whole thing makes a bit more sense. The very climactic final battle, reminiscent of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, or even Harry Potter, with a few random hints of The Hunger Games, and the oft-neglected Spiderwick Chronicles– issabook! Issabook for young adults!
That also, then casts a better shadow on the bit that confused me about this film.
Coming of Age? Or Came of Age?
I did not really like the protagonist. Prue was… annoying. I get that her primary motivation was to get her brother back. I get it. But why did they make her repeat said motivation approximately fifty times? And, also, I feel like the first thing she said to everyone she met was, “please help me”. I mean, yes, eventually people do help her. Even the little nerd boy who she explicitly did not ask for help from. But it’s annoying. Shut up. Figure something else out.
There was also a bit of a plant-ex-machina. The big fight with the evil Dowager Governess was won because Prue had magic, and had to nicely ask the plants to help, and then to stop helping. Said key bit of information was shown and explained very late in the movie, during a bit of dialogue that was almost an afterthought. I get trying to hide the key reveal, but for a movie that featured plant magic and vines and whatnot, the idea that they can be talked to was not very prominent. Yeah, there’s a bit in the beginning when she talks to her plant in her room, and then it pricks her finger almost out of revenge, and then we see her blood has magic. So it’s not really a big complaint, but it is a little unearned.
There’s also the fact that the film adapted a novel, a book that’s allowed to pack in far more information and detail. The film is forced to cover all the major beats, but also skate past parts that probably needed a little more development? For example, by the end of the movie, you’re expected to realize that there are four main factions in this fantasy land. The South Wood, which is a teetering, failing bureaucracy, led by an inept Governor and a slimy guy who pulls his strings. There’s the Avian Principality, led by the prince, who for some reason lives in South Wood. There’s also the Bandits, who are humans that descended from some ancient people living in the ruins of their civilization. Then there’s the Dowager Governess, who I suppose used to run South Wood, but now leads the coyotes and crows. Also there’s scattered, peaceful anthropomorphic farmer animals, mystics, and a god tree. The god tree is unrelated to the vines. I think.
On one hand, it’s neat that they managed to get all of this in the movie. On the other hand, I think they could have just skipped the South Wood bit entirely, because the South Wood people are uninvolved in the greater conflict, and don’t really serve the themes of growing up and loss of childhood. Those farmer animals also got no development, but I get why they couldn’t be cut from the story. The bandits were properly fleshed out, but only because the other protagonist, Curtis, spent most of his story with them.
Adaptations are hard. I know they are. It’s really hard when you get something like, “underdog kid fights the political system”, with multiple political systems and factions. Tons of characters. Magic. Setting the rules of magic. You end up being forced to either simplify or omit portions of the original novel, all without sacrificing the central theme. So what goes?
Prue. The protagonist. The dialogue. Defining her personality and her arc. Don’t give me shit like, “I don’t believe in magic anymore!” when you’ve spent the last two film hours riding a giant bird and fighting talking coyotes. You just saw an old lady talk to a blackberry bush and then hand the berries to a rabbit family. Fuck off.
Conclusion
I’m just a whiney old man who let this discussion get away from me. I like whining, I like whinging, I like moping, I like complaining.
Wildwood is a good movie. A bit dark, a little unfocused at times, but overall just fine. You’ll enjoy it thoroughly. I think more people will put this movie on some “best of” list more often than not. It’s a great film. Wildwood is, undoubtedly,
GOOD
I saw Wildwood in theaters, and you should too! Support the arts!
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