Wildwood director defends PG-13 violence, reveals new puppet muscle tech
Laika's upcoming stop-motion fantasy Wildwood has landed a PG-13 rating, a first for the studio. According to /Film, the Motion Picture Association cited strong fantasy violence, bloody images, and other mature themes for the rating. Director Travis Knight told the outlet the film contains battles and war, and showing the traumatic cost of violence was intentional.
Knight defended the rating, saying PG-13 signals the film is for families but suggests parents should be mindful of its intensity. He stated there was never a version where they would 'water this movie down,' as going to dark places was necessary to earn the story's light and joy, per /Film.
In a separate interview with /Film, Knight detailed the technological innovations required to make the epic film. He explained that Laika has historically integrated visual effects and tech from its beginning to keep the art form alive. For Wildwood, the team had to develop new techniques, including a novel way to fabricate a giant eagle puppet because traditional silicone would have been too heavy for animators to move.
One major innovation was creating puppets with internal muscles. Knight told /Film he asked the head of puppets if they could incorporate muscles, and after some initial shock, the team figured it out. This allows viewers to see muscles bulge when a character bends an arm, adding to the physical realism of the film's battles.
Collider reports that the production was massive in scale, building 130 sets to bring the fantasy world to life. Knight described the process as building railroad tracks right before the train goes over them, acknowledging it was stressful but necessary to achieve the film's ambitious vision.
