WILDWOOD: Inside the Performance Gives TIFF 2026 a Behind-the-Scenes Look at LAIKA’s New Film

One of the coolest things about TIFF is getting the chance to see what goes into bringing a film to life beyond what we eventually see on screen. During TIFF 2026, we stopped by WILDWOOD: Inside the Performance, a special exhibit celebrating LAIKA’s upcoming stop-motion animated film WILDWOOD.

From LAIKA, the Oscar-nominated studio behind Coraline, WILDWOOD is a new stop-motion adventure centred around love and sacrifice. The film also features an all-star voice cast, including Canadian actor Jacob Tremblay.

The WILDWOOD: Inside the Performance exhibit gave us a behind-the-scenes look at the incredible amount of work that goes into creating a stop-motion film. Visitors could get up close with some of the actual puppets created for the movie while learning more about the animation and craftsmanship used to build the world of WILDWOOD.

And honestly, seeing the puppets in person makes you appreciate stop-motion animation so much more.

There are so many tiny details that you might never notice while watching the finished movie, but when you actually see everything up close, you realize just how much work goes into every character, movement and scene. After growing up with movies like Coraline, it was really cool getting to see some of that process firsthand.

The TIFF 2026 exhibit also brought some of the people behind the film to Toronto, including voice actor Jacob Tremblay, LAIKA Head of Animation Brad Schiff, and animators Rachelle Lambden and Tom Carey. Lambden also has a Canadian connection, originally coming from Ottawa and graduating from York University.

WILDWOOD: Inside the Performance was presented at Portland Square Gallery in Toronto during TIFF, giving both festival attendees and the public the opportunity to step inside the world of the film before its release.

If the exhibit is any indication of the amount of detail going into the finished movie, I’m definitely excited to see how the world of WILDWOOD comes together on the big screen.

Check out the trailer for Wildwood below

VVS films release LAIKA film to date opens in theatres on October 23, 2026