‘Wildwood’ movie review: Alluring forest tale withers away into meandering shadows

All the wonder in the visuals of ‘Wildwood’ is lost due to an overbearing languidity in the screenplay and a surprising lack of urgency in the editing.

Published - November 13, 2026 07:40 pm IST

A still from ‘Wildwood’ | Photo Credit: LAIKA Studios/YouTube

Wildwood begins with a darker reckoning, deep in a mysterious forest called The Impassable Wilderness, as seen by those staying out of it. The opening is troublesome, with visuals of a boy, Alexei, jumping off a balcony and his grief-stricken mother, Alexandra (Carey Mulligan), wailing from the loss. The sweeping sequence promises a twisted tale, with the lurching shadows and screeching crows. All of that gets broken in an instant, as the fatal, rain-drenched night of the woods makes way for a cheerful, sunlight-ridden morning at a dining room of a cozy house in Portland. This is not just a story of grief, but also of joy and wonder.

Adapted from the gigantic world built in the 2012 novel of the same name, director Travis Knight (Masters of the Universe) creates an expansive, wild landscape inspired by Forest Park in Portland. The opening portions have some local flair as Prue (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) takes her toddler brother, Mac, on a bicycle trip to the city, visiting popular real-life locations and striking an unlikely friendship with the geeky neighbourhood kid, Curtis (Jacob Tremblay), along the way. Trouble comes, as does in such fairy tales, with a murder of crows abducting Mac and taking him to the woods beyond the mist as Prue and Curtis follow the mystical St. Johns bridge that connects the eccentricities of the city with the magic and mystery of the forest.

It is not entirely a bad place after all, as the visuals take its allure to an epic scale, replete with colorful flowers, blooming trees, and vast green and yellow fields. LAIKA Studios’ animation style has a splendid, lifelike quality, blended with a dreamy touch that ably transforms the novelistic scope of the story into a grand cinematic pull. Despite the beauty, however, Wildwood cannot escape its overtly familiar narrative beats. Its characters fail to be charming, often getting lost in the magnificence of the visuals. For instance, the glorious eagle, General, voiced sweetly by Angela Bassett, gets a memorable introduction, only to be conveniently forgotten in the second half.

There’s little likeability even in Prue, who is constantly deemed to be someone special, but the story doesn’t quite reveal the appeal of her abilities. The unrelenting flashbacks dissolve the plot, following the arc of a straightforward fairy tale without any room for subversion. Within the story, there is space for some subtexts that point towards the destruction caused by war, the ethnic cleansing of the forest’s original inhabitants, and even a biblical hint in the climax about the sacrifice of the toddler. But the writing doesn’t enhance these observations into strong emotional metaphors. The wonderful visuals are undone by a languid screenplay and a surprising lack of urgency in the editing, making the proceedings generic.

A still from ‘Wildwood’ | Photo Credit: LAIKA Studios/YouTube

With the journeys of characters not as well-established, a similar monotonousness is felt in the voice acting. Peyton Elizabeth Lee tries to bring vulnerability and composure while embodying Prue’s frailties, but her performance fails to connect with the character. On the other hand, Jacob Tremblay brings curiosity and awe in imagining Curtis, displaying a lived-in rigor to his quirks and sensitivities. The character has a parallel track with Prue, and his arc has unrealised potential as the narrative treats him as a side-kick. Wildwood fails to cross this major hurdle. The film falters while breathing life to its humans, as it works overtime to sell the forest’s magnanimity. It spends more time building the mythology behind an ancient, magical tree. But what about the beats of people resting under its shadow?

Wildwood is currently running in theatres

Published - November 13, 2026 07:40 pm IST

English cinema / entertainment (general) / arts, culture and entertainment / cinema / cartoons and animation / The Hindu MetroPlus

Terms & conditions | Institutional Subscriber

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.