LAIKA’s Second Act: How the Stop-Motion Animation House Is Reintroducing Itself to Fans

It’s been six years since the merchandise of “Missing Link,” nan sixth stop-motion animated film from nan Portland-based animation location Laika. If you don’t retrieve it, that’s because nan $100 cardinal movie was a financial bomb, bringing successful only $26.5 cardinal globally. Prior Laika films were each budgeted successful nan $60 cardinal scope and were almost each accordant performers astatine nan container agency pinch astir $100 cardinal globally, but reports astatine nan clip estimated “Missing Link” could person mislaid complete $100 cardinal aft expenses.

The onset of COVID-19 successful early 2020 didn’t thief Laika bounce back. The pandemic severely hampered nan company’s expertise to activity by manus successful their tactile animation installation successful nan Oregon woodlands, specified that accumulation connected nan company’s next eager stop-motion epic, “Wildwood,” did not formally statesman until September 2021. The company’s founder, Travis Knight, successful nan meantime has been occupied pinch nan upcoming live-action “Masters of nan Universe” tentpole movie for Amazon MGM.

But Laika hasn’t been sitting idly successful nan six years that person passed. After nan nonaccomplishment of “Missing Link,” nan workplace has taken its clip to, conscionable arsenic they do pinch each of their films, rebuild portion by piece. They’re now aiming to fto a caller assemblage cognize who they are, each complete again.

“It hasn’t been a quiet shape for us,” David Burke, Laika’s CMO, told IndieWire. “It’s really been much a quiet build. It’s not america being dormant. We’ve been utilizing that clip to bespeak connected who Laika is and what nan assemblage needs from america now, and besides recognizing that nan manufacture is shifting. We’re not conscionable adapting. We’re reasserting what makes Laika singular.”

“Wildwood” is arsenic bully of a re-introduction arsenic any. The imagination movie is based connected nan first successful a trilogy of YA novels by Colin Meloy, amended known arsenic nan lead vocalist and songwriter for nan Portland-based indie stone set The Decemberists. But nan task is besides correct astatine location for Laika, arsenic it’s group successful a concealed wood conscionable extracurricular of Laika’s location successful Portland and follows a woman whose babe relative is taken into nan forest, only to observe an exotic world of talking animals and bandits. It sounds for illustration she might’ve stumbled connected Laika’s workplace facility.

‘Coraline‘Photo Credit: Courtesy of Focus

“Wildwood” was nan headliner arsenic portion of Laika’s Annecy presentation, successful which nan institution teased its upcoming projects — some animated and successful its caller live-action division — it has successful nan works. It besides reminded nan assemblage that a six-year layover didn’t mean audiences forgot astir them completely.

Last year, Laika successful business pinch Fathom Events re-released Henry Selick’s 3-D darling “Coraline,” raking successful $56 cardinal astatine nan container agency and making it one of nan astir successful re-releases ever. The institution will dream lightning strikes doubly and plans to re-release “ParaNorman” remastered and successful 3-D connected October 25 successful nan US, and it will besides beryllium accompanied pinch a caller short film, “ParaNorman: The Thrifting.”

That short is simply a bully illustration of really Laika is going beyond its roots, having outsourced immoderate of nan animation activity to a French institution called Passion Pictures, while keeping nan imaginative in-house. But successful summation to outsourcing, Laika has utilized nan clip to ramp up infrastructure internally and now has a beefy improvement slate. Considering Laika has successful its first 20 years since being founded successful 2005 only made six films to date, nan workplace appears to beryllium mounting themselves up to make a batch much movies successful its adjacent 20.

That intends live-action productions for illustration Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck taking connected a Taylor Jenkins Reid novel aliases Jon Spaiths making his directorial debut connected a sci-fi thriller. And it besides intends — crucially — nan expertise for Laika to nutrient aggregate movies astatine once, pinch some nan fantasy adjustment “Piranesi” and nan neo-noir folktale “The Night Gardner” some successful progressive development. The Annecy position besides teased caller projects successful nan useful from nan animator duo known arsenic Headless (Victor Maldonado & Alfredo Torres), Chris Butler, Sam Fell, and The Copeland Brothers.

“We’ve ever been astir pushing nan boundaries of what’s imaginable successful stop-motion animation, and now we’re taking that mindset and applying it to filmmaking successful general,” Burke said. “I deliberation what nan world will spot is that erstwhile ‘Wildwood’ is released and there’s much visibility astir our broader imaginative strategy, there’s going to beryllium a greater knowing astir nan expressions of that.”

But nan lengthy layover has meant Laika has to get much fierce successful positioning “Wildwood” to audiences, moreover earlier nan institution has secured a supplier to merchandise it (Burke said nan institution is successful progressive discussions pinch respective imaginable distributors for nan film). Theatrical would look to beryllium nan privilege since 4 of six of their films were released via Focus Features, while “Missing Link” was 1 of nan past wide releases from Annapurna Pictures and United Artists Releasing.

Laika has re-evaluated its arena strategy and user merchandise strategy successful nan caller years. It’s been moving connected marque affinity, deeper assemblage connections, and elemental consciousness for Laika’s films pinch younger audiences.

Laika and MoPOP ‘Hidden Worlds’ ExhibitionCourtesy of Laika and MoPOP

The “Hidden Worlds” grounds astatine Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture backmost successful 2023 was 1 cog successful that flywheel (it will move to nan Academy Museum successful December 2026 done September 2027), pinch Laika trotting retired existent puppets and sets for display. Other targeted TikTok trading featuring making-of reels for films for illustration “Coraline” and “The Boxtrolls” has been another. Burke says nan occurrence of nan “Coraline” re-release is nan merchandise of respective years of effort successful position of generating consciousness and not an overnight surprise. And nan doorway is unfastened for re-releases of its different titles too.

“We couldn’t conscionable benignant of trust connected accepted trading strategies to lead nan merchandise of ‘Wildwood,” Burke said. “We had to beryllium a small spot much intentional, a small spot much strategical and really return work for increasing nan assemblage successful location and put successful spot a number of strategical initiatives.”

Still, these movies request to make financial consciousness successful a measurement that “Missing Link” didn’t. Burke said nan extremity successful this play has been to create amended workflows, set their process, bring successful tech solutions, and go much efficient, each without sacrificing quality. He insists they’re doing that moreover arsenic Knight juggles galore projects astatine once.

It’s not conscionable Laika that is navigating a tricky spot successful animation. There’s arsenic overmuch request for kids and family films arsenic ever, but conscionable inquire Pixar astir nan challenges of launching an original spot successful theaters these days. Even Netflix, which has seen immense numbers licensing Illumination movies, hasn’t seen nan aforesaid results pinch its original animation forays.

So whether “Wildwood” and early Laika films make much consciousness for a streamer aliases successful theaters, Laika is relying connected “Wildwood” being nan look of an breathtaking adjacent section connected nan company’s journey.

“What we’re aiming to do is really eventize ‘Wildwood’ arsenic a destination movie for not conscionable Laika fans, not conscionable animation fans, but audiences successful general, and we consciousness we person thing that is genuinely unique, that is of nan culture,” Burke said. “There’s thing that’s really resonating correct now that feels correct for Laika, and I would opportunity that there’s each assurance for america to present connected an arena animation movie pinch ‘Wildwood.’ ‘Coraline’ underlines that we tin mobilize our fans and animation fans, but we tin besides mobilize caller audiences.”