The Portland, Oregon-based LAIKA has, in its first 20 years, become as identifiable an animation brand as Studio Ghibli or Pixar.
The studio is known for their handcrafted stop-motion-animated tales that flirt with the macabre and, while being (so far at least) for all audiences, never forgo their edge. And, in celebrating their 20th anniversary leading up to the release of their latest feature “Wildwood” next year, the company is pulling out all the stops, with a lineup of new product releases, partnerships, exhibitions and publishing initiatives. This includes everything from a redesign of the official site (by creative agency Monks) to new merchandise coming to the official shop to a series of videos from Devon Rodriguez (you can see an exclusive video below) to a Rizzoli coffee table book called “LAIKA: The Magic Behind a Stop-Motion Dream Factory.” For the next year, everything is truly coming up LAIKA.
TheWrap spoke to LAIKA’s chief marketing and operations officer David Burke, who we had just seen at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, where the studio celebrated its past while teasing “Wildwood,” which the studio is officially describing as “its most ambitious film yet” (and it certainly looks that way) and the live-action and animated projects to come in the years ahead, including an adaptation of Susanna Clarke’s “Piranesi,” written by Luca Guadagnino’s frequent collaborator David Kajganich and directed by LAIKA CEO (and lead animator) Travis Knight.
“The takeaway for us was that we should be leaning into what makes LAIKA unique and continue to focus on telling stories that have that emotional depth and artistic ambition,” Burke said of his experience at Annecy. “And I have to say, from a professional standpoint, I left more confident than ever with what we’re building across both animation and live-action. It does feel like everything’s arriving at exactly the right cultural moment.”
He said that, traditionally, LAIKA has been very closed off, so to mention stories that are in the embryonic stages of development was very new and scary. “Over the last several years we’ve worked tirelessly to establish a development team and a slate of truly original projects. Each of those projects will be [officially] announced in due course, and you want to give it the space and the attention that it deserves,” Burke said. But the slate does point to, as he said, “a bigger ambition.” “We want to produce multiple films at once and across multiple mediums – it’s not just stop motion, but it’s potentially CG and live-action. And we want to build out a pool of talent that are continuing to push projects forward constantly.”
Burke points to projects like “The Night Gardener,” an adult animated feature from “The Account” and “Ozark” creator Bill Dubuque and Knight, and the upcoming, untitled feature directed by Pete Candeland and written by John August about a high schooler who is in search of her missing mother. (Burke described the Candeland film as “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” crossed with “Moulin Rouge” set in the Louisiana bayou.) Burke also said that Victor Maldonado and Alfredo Torres, known collectively as Headless, are working on an epic that he described as blending fantasy and brutal realism set against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War. There are also features in the works from LAIKA regulars Sam Fell and Chris Butler (whose upcoming project is described as Mary Poppins meets Dracula – more on that in a minute), along with new LAIKA recruits Chris and Justin Copeland aka the Copeland Brothers. “They’re all actively developing projects. There’s a lot going on,” Burke said.
But before all of that, the 20th celebration must begin – with a theatrical re-release of “ParaNorman,” which was the studio’s second feature, following Henry Selick’s “Coraline.” It was last year’s re-release of “Coraline,” which earned a staggering $52.4 million worldwide, that made them particularly bullish about a re-release of “ParaNorman.” Like “Coraline,” “ParaNorman” will return to theaters in the Halloween corridor, in a new 3D remaster, and with goodies abundant – a new look at “Wildwood” along with a new computer-animated short film called “The Thrifting” that will see Anna Kendrick reprise her role from the film.
“It’s a strategic way to remind people how powerful this work is on the big screen and how they’re true cinematic experiences,” Burke said. “With something like ‘ParaNorman’ it’s about really reactivating that emotional connection, especially for younger audiences, who might know about the movie from TikTok clips but haven’t seen it projected.” Burke said that what excites him about the re-release is “creating the opportunity for a whole generation of fans who have discovered these films on other platforms, to see it on the big screen as they were intentionally created for.”
And, like everything else that is a part of the 20th celebration, it’s about “leveraging these opportunities to pave the road to ‘Wildwood.’” Burke said that the studio wants to make sure that audiences are reconnecting with LAIKA – with the visual language and the understanding of what makes the studio different. (They’ll be using extensive behind-the-scenes footage, too, to get that story of how the films are made across.)
When it comes to merchandise, Burke said, that this year is also all about “ParaNorman.” Next year they will focus on “Kubo and the Two Strings.” He prides himself on the official store’s relationship with the online communities that love LAIKA. When they were working on “Coraline” products, everybody wanted a cat plush or a squid plush. “At one point there was a 15,000 person waiting list for the ‘Coraline’ cat plush,” Burke said. The store doesn’t do big runs – their exclusivity is part of the appeal – which only adds to the excitement. For “ParaNorman” there was one item above all else – the zombie slippers, worn by Norman in the film. They will be coming.
The studio will continue to partner with local, Portland-based companies as well, like Pendleton and Cycle Dog, which has a history of using recycled materials for their pet products. It’s important that the companies that LAIKA partners with provide something that the fans want and that they align with the company’s values of quality and storytelling. “One of my favorite things is just to pop into the merch closet and see what they’re cooking up and make sure I don’t bring stuff home, because I would hoard, I’ve learned,” Burke said.
We had to inquire if “Missing Link,” the studio’s 2019 feature, would have a new physical release in 4K. So far, it’s the only LAIKA film to not get a 4K re-release on home video. Burke said yes, they are working on it. “It’ll definitely happen. It’s just a question of when,” Burke promised. Whew.
The crescendo of the 20th anniversary is the release of “Wildwood,” which LAIKA is still looking for a distribution partner for (Burke said that they are “deep into conversations with several interested distributors”). It’s based on a fantasy book written by Decemberists lead Colin Meloy, adapted by Butler and directed by Knight. Most importantly, perhaps, is the fact that the movie is set in a magical version of Portland. “Travis has described it as a love letter to Portland. And I really do think that when we release it, it’s really going to reaffirm Portland’s place on the Pacific Northwest map as a destination to come and visit, because there’s a lot of real-life locations featured in the movie and presented in a way that makes you want to go out there and check them out,” Burke. And, yes, they are pushing for a theatrical release – “this film really does warrant being seen on a big screen,” Burke said.
The idea is that, throughout the year-long celebration, all of the activations and products and rereleases will build “an awareness and excitement, making it a film that people are mad to see on the big screen, because I think we have something that’s incredibly special and it’s going to knock the socks off of people when it gets out.”
As for what Burke is truly excited about, he cites the upcoming Rizzoli book – “it’s a collectible, beautiful book with new photography that presents the studio in a way that is super exciting” and a series of LAIKA screenplays which will come out next year, one for every film released. And, per LAIKA’s history of secrecy, Burke promises there will be plenty more in the months ahead that they haven’t announced yet.
Additionally, Burke said, the Hidden Worlds museum exhibit will be headed to the Academy Museum next year, which is another thing that generates excitement for the brand and for the upcoming slate like, you know, Chris Butler’s Mary Poppins/Dracula movie. While he was hesitant to give details, Burke said the new movie, “combines a lot of things that [Chris] is really passionate about. His passion is infectious. It’s gathering a lot of momentum.” While he isn’t sure what feature will go into production once “Wildwood” is wrapped, he does promise that the next few might be announced, in quick succession, which speaks to his commitment to have multiple productions be going at once at LAIKA.
For stop-motion, things are moving very fast at LAIKA.
