Laika has released Wildwood, a stop-motion fantasy film directed by CEO Travis Knight and based on a novel by Colin Meloy, whose rights were optioned in 2011. The production, Laika's largest to date, involved nearly 50 animators and over 200 puppets, and marks veteran cinematographer Caleb Deschanel's first stop-motion project. Knight says he worked on the project in some form for 16 years before production began roughly a decade after acquiring the rights.
theverge.com
· 2026-10-24
Travis Knight, director of Laika's new stop-motion film Wildwood and the studio's CEO, said generative AI is 'antithetical to everything that we are at this studio' in an interview ahead of the film's October 23rd premiere. Wildwood took five years to make, using over 230 puppets and 1,000 artists, and introduces new techniques like diaphragms for simulated breathing and improved limb musculature.
theverge.com
· 2026-10-22
Following Tippett Studios' closure in August and the sale of its props and archives at a two-day auction, an anonymous bidder known as 'TippettFan' purchased a folder of CD-ROMs and other discs from the sale. That person has since digitized and uploaded 90 key, non-duplicated discs from the studio's archives to the Internet Archive, making them freely browsable online.
filmstories.co.uk
· 2026-10-04
At TIFF, Laika crew members detailed technical advances behind their upcoming stop-motion film Wildwood, due in theaters next month. The studio credited digital frame-grabbers that let animators review recently shot frames for smoother movement, plus improved internal puppet mechanisms called breathers that simulate lifelike breathing in nearly all major characters.
theverge.com
· 2026-09-12
Aardman Animations is marking its 50th anniversary by putting a large collection of production artifacts, including original puppets used in its films, up for sale in a worldwide auction. The studio behind Wallace and Gromit is offering fans and collectors a chance to own pieces of its filmmaking history.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-09-06
Visual effects veteran Phil Tippett, known for pioneering stop-motion and CG creature work across four decades, has stepped away from filmmaking after selling Tippett Studio. The announcement came over the weekend, closing out a career that spanned classic effects films and influential animation techniques.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-08-30
Apple shared a short Instagram reel showing how its recent Mac mini with M6 commercial was made, featuring animators Justin Rasch and Scott DaRos and art director Josh Mahan. The clip highlights sketches, props, sculptures and stop-motion techniques used to build the ad's practical effects.
9to5mac.com
· 2026-08-25
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