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Inheritors of a Wonderful World

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Wildwood

by Hope Madden

Laika Studios don’t produce a lot of movies, but the films they make are remarkable. Kubo and the Two Strings has been the high-water mark, but Coraline set their path. The gorgeous stop motion, the perilous adventures, the emotionally rich and intelligent stories together mark each of the studio’s efforts.

The same goes for Wildwood, their latest, a hero’s journey set in the studio’s own back yard.

Prue (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) lives in Oregon with her parents and her toddler brother, Mac. Her overprotective, hippie parents don’t let Mac out of the house, but Prue thinks that’s dumb and takes him on his own wee adventure. Promptly, Mac is abducted by a massive murder of crows and carted off to the Impassable Wilderness. In an attempt to rescue her brother, Prue drags (inadvertently) the goofy Curtis (Jacob Tremblay) into said wilderness. But there’s a reason it’s impassable, and a reason Prue can get inside. What she finds in there is a magical quest.

“Magical quest” are not words that appeal to me. They’re not actually words that appeal to Prue, either, which is part of the reason Wildwood works so well.

The voice cast doesn’t hurt. Mahershala Ali, Angela Bassett, Charlie Day, Tom Waits, Jemaine Clement, Awkwafina, Carey Mulligan, Jake Johnson, Richard E. Grant, Blythe Danner and more bring this epic to vivid life.

Directed by Travis Knight (Kubo and the Two Strings, Masters of the Universe) and based on Colin Meloy’s beloved fantasy novel, Wildwood offers a beguiling tale masterfully articulated with stop motion animation and powerful performances. It is glorious to look at, the animation astonishing, the intricacy of the environment and the nuance in each character is just breathtaking.

And while the film is an immediate crowd pleaser, it is not meant to entertain the very young. There are battle scenes here worthy of a live-action period epic. Battle scenes mean violence and death, and these animators shy away from neither.

There’s humor, some of it cynical, and love, emotion and some great needle drops. The film is spooky at times, magical at times, breathless and beguiling. While every Laika film has been a treasure, Wildwood is probably their most polished jewel.

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Like There’s No Tomorrow

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The Tomorrow Man

by Rachel Willis

I’ve never understood people who prepare for the end of the world: those who stockpile supplies or buy secret caves in the wilderness (I knew a woman) to survive nuclear war or the zombie apocalypse. I’ve always thought if the world ended in some horrible way, I wouldn’t want to stick around. If we’re in a Thunderdome scenario in the future, count me out. 

However, in writer/director Noble Jones’s film, The Tomorrow Man, Ed Hemsler (John Lithgow) is readying himself for the inevitable end of days. Spending his time on online message boards, watching the news, and gathering supplies at the local grocery store, he’s as prepared as one can be. 

Into his well-organized life comes Ronnie (Blythe Danner). Ed immediately thinks he recognizes the signs of a fellow “prepper” and begins an unusual courtship to which Ronnie is receptive. 

The film suffers from an abundance of quirkiness. Jones seems to be trying for a vibe similar to Moonrise Kingdom, but where Wes Anderson wisely chose children to convey the magic of new love, Jones focuses on two elderly adults who act more like children than grown-ups. Watching the two characters connect brings more questions on the wisdom of them living independently than any sweet enjoyment of their budding December/December romance. 

Lithgow is endearing as the over-prepared Ed. Divorced and estranged from his grown son, it’s impossible not to root for Ed as he woos Ronnie. However, Danner seems as lost in her role as her character Ronnie is lost in life.

The supporting roles offer very little to the story, and no one is offered any opportunity to grow. These characters are the same people at the end of the film as they were at the beginning. Perhaps if Jones spent less time telling us about all of the characters’ various foibles, we’d get a meatier story. 

There are a few comedic moments, but not nearly enough to balance the tedium of watching two peculiar people try to build a relationship. Everything about that relationship, like the film’s idiosyncrasies, feels forced. It’s unfortunate when we’ve seen the formula work before. 

Sadly, The Tomorrow Man tries too hard to be something it’s not.