WILDWOOD Interview: LAIKA Lead Animator Rachelle Lambden on Bringing the Film to Life
We caught up with Rachelle Lambden, lead animator at LAIKA, to talk about bringing WILDWOOD to life, the studio’s ambitious new stop-motion animated film from the creators of Coraline. Having spent six years working on the film, including nearly three years on a single scene, Lambden shares why WILDWOOD feels like the culmination of everything LAIKA has learned over the years. In this interview, she takes us behind the scenes of the animation process, explains how her background in theatre and acting at Toronto’s York University influences the way she brings characters to life, and discusses the film’s special connection to Portland, Oregon, where the original novel was inspired and the movie was created. She also reflects on the dedication behind the production and why she hopes audiences walk away with a message of resilience, perseverance and love.
TEM (The Extra Mile): What makes Wildwood different from anything Laika has made before?
Rachelle: It feels like everything that came before was in preparation for the story we’re about to tell, and on all levels, from the story to the music to the performances. Everything that we’ve built, everything is coming out in this film. All of the skills that we’ve learned, everybody is bringing their A-game and has worked for years, day after day, to pour their heart and soul into it. I know that might sound a little bit cliché, but it actually is true. I worked on this film for six years, and I worked on one of my scenes for almost three years alone. Watching my colleagues, who are incredibly talented, put their best work forward is really inspiring. I think that feeling travelled across everybody on the crew. You’re seeing work that nobody has achieved before. I mean, people have done incredible work, but the bar is definitely set really high, and it makes you want to do your best, too. Cumulatively, we’re creating this epic fantasy that we’re really excited to share with the world.
TEM: How did the process come together when you started creating the flm and bringing everything to life with the cast?
Rachelle : It started with the novel Wildwood by Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis. The incredible thing about that is that the book was actually written and inspired in Portland, and that’s where we’re making the film. At its core, it feels like the right place to be telling this story, looking out into the forest that exists and wondering about the impossible wilderness that’s also in the story. It has a kind of mystery and magic to it.Once the script began and the characters and actors were cast, the story really started to take shape.For me as an animator, we work on the character development of each character. My personal journey was originally in acting and directing in theatre. I studied here at York University. Because of that, I always approach the characters with an acting background. I look at them through the lens of what their intentions are, what they want, what their character traits are, and what their relationships are. I do research in that way to try to create the character and really understand it. Ultimately, animation became the medium that we used, but Travis Knight’s intention is to create naturalistic performances and transcend the puppet itself, getting people to feel like they’re actually watching somebody in front of them who’s living, breathing and thinking. It’s not just the novelty of having something animated and moving. I mean, that’s cool when you see it, but everything has to have intention behind it. Across the board, when everybody started doing that, the bar was raised really high. That’s why it took so long.
TEM: What’s one thing you want the viewers to take away from the film?
Rachelle : I think it’s a story of inspiration, recognizing resilience and hardship. It’s worth working through, and you’re defined by the decisions that you make. Things can be hard, but they’re still something that you can persevere through. Ultimately, this is a story about how far you’ll go for someone that you love.
VVS Films released Wildwood in theatres Oct 23rd, 2026