Wildwood: Magic Is Something We Create With Our Hands

“This movie not only reminded me what it means to believe in magic, or to dream; it reminded me to dream big, and magic is something we create with our hands.”

The film is a masterpiece: visually stunning, creatively cohesive, and emotionally powerful. The action and storyline are heavy and real enough that it doesn’t feel like a little kid’s movie, but careful enough that young kids will still (hopefully) get the point.

The fact that people even committed to telling this story this way, with stop-motion, is one giant, defiant “f*ck you” to the AI industry in the art space. Which, at the time of starting, they probably didn't even realize or expect until today.

In some ways it’s also a cautionary tale about how grief is often what makes a villain, and how we can all be heroes, if we only choose to do what is right, and what is necessary, when the time comes.

It’s an incredibly powerful film, beautifully written, animated, directed, edited, and wholly created, and it deserves way more recognition than it will probably get. I think its creators know that, but that’s not why they made it, and you can tell in the painstakingly beautiful craftsmanship of every single frame.

As someone who fell in love with film because of stop-motion, and who knows firsthand the skill, patience, and passion it takes to make a film at even 1/10,000th of this scale, I see this film as a powerful roar into the void of artificial creativity that will resonate with every single creative person who watches it.

The only reason I’m not giving it a 10/10 is that there were a few points of the story I wish they’d wrapped up a bit more. But like some of the greatest films, leaving you wanting a bit more might just be the point.

Final rating: 9.5/10.