Wildwood Set to Open 40th AFI FEST With U.S. Premiere in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES — September 9, 2026 — The American Film Institute announced Wednesday that Wildwood, the latest stop-motion feature from LAIKA Studios, will make its U.S. premiere as the opening-night film of the 40th AFI FEST in Los Angeles.

The selection gives one of the year's anticipated animated releases a prominent place at a milestone edition of the long-running film festival. Wildwood is scheduled to open AFI FEST on Wednesday, October 21, bringing the film to American audiences following its international festival exposure.

Directed and produced by Travis Knight, Wildwood continues LAIKA's tradition of handcrafted stop-motion filmmaking while expanding into an ambitious fantasy story adapted from the novel by Colin Meloy.

A Major Opening for AFI FEST

AFI FEST has long served as a showcase for films from established filmmakers as well as emerging voices from around the world. Selecting Wildwood as the opening-night presentation places animation at the center of the festival's 40th edition.

Knight, an Academy Award-nominated filmmaker, previously directed LAIKA's Kubo and the Two Strings and the live-action film Bumblebee. He also served as producer on several of the studio's stop-motion projects.

The screenplay for Wildwood was written by Chris Butler, another Academy Award nominee whose previous work includes ParaNorman and Missing Link. Veteran cinematographer Caleb Deschanel, whose career spans decades of American filmmaking, served as cinematographer on the production.

Together, the creative team brings considerable experience in animation and traditional filmmaking to a project designed on a large visual scale.

An Expansive Voice Cast

The film also features a large ensemble of recognizable performers. Peyton Elizabeth Lee and Jacob Tremblay lead the voice cast, with Carey Mulligan, Mahershala Ali, Angela Bassett, Awkwafina, Jake Johnson and Charlie Day among the supporting performers.

Additional cast members include Amandla Stenberg, Jemaine Clement, Maya Erskine, Tantoo Cardinal, Tom Waits and Richard E. Grant.

The combination of established award-winning actors and younger performers gives the production a broad range of voices for its fantasy setting.

Wildwood is based on the 2011 novel written by Colin Meloy and illustrated by Carson Ellis. The book launched a fantasy series centered on a mysterious wilderness and the young characters who venture into it.

Translating that world into stop-motion animation represents a substantial undertaking, particularly because the filmmaking method requires physical sets, puppets and meticulously controlled frame-by-frame movement.

Continuing LAIKA's Stop-Motion Tradition

LAIKA has developed a distinctive position in modern animation through movies including Coraline, ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls, Kubo and the Two Strings and Missing Link.

While computer-generated animation dominates much of the contemporary theatrical market, LAIKA has continued to emphasize stop-motion production. The technique involves photographing physical characters and environments one frame at a time, with animators making small adjustments between photographs to create the illusion of movement.

That process can make stop-motion filmmaking particularly time-intensive, but it also gives the finished films a recognizable physical quality.

The selection of Wildwood to open AFI FEST offers the studio an important platform to present its latest work to U.S. audiences and members of the film industry.

AFI FEST Reaches Its 40th Edition

The announcement is also significant for the American Film Institute as AFI FEST celebrates its 40th edition.

Over the years, the Los Angeles event has screened films spanning major studio releases, independent productions, documentaries, international cinema and short films. Its location in one of the world's most prominent filmmaking centers has made the festival an important gathering for filmmakers and movie audiences.

The 2026 festival is scheduled to run from October 21 through October 25. Opening night with Wildwood will begin several days of screenings and festival programming.

AFI's selection also arrives during the busy autumn film season, when studios, filmmakers and distributors introduce projects that may remain part of the entertainment conversation through the end of the year.

Why the Announcement Matters

For movie audiences, the September 9 announcement provides an early look at one of the major animated films entering the fall festival circuit.

It also highlights the continued presence of stop-motion filmmaking in an industry increasingly shaped by digital production. LAIKA's commitment to the technique has helped keep the format visible in mainstream theatrical entertainment while allowing filmmakers to combine traditional craftsmanship with modern visual technology.

For AFI FEST, choosing an animated fantasy to launch its 40th edition demonstrates the festival's broad approach to cinema. Animation can serve as both mainstream entertainment and an elaborate filmmaking discipline involving design, cinematography, performance and storytelling.

When Wildwood arrives in Los Angeles on October 21, its U.S. premiere will therefore represent more than the debut of another animated feature. It will also open a milestone edition of one of America's established film festivals while providing a major showcase for the continuing evolution of stop-motion cinema.