Laika First Honoree Named for Gotham Anniversary Tribute — SkimNews
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- Laika will receive the Gotham Anniversary Tribute on November 20 at Cipriani Wall Street — the first tribute award unveiled for the 36th annual Gotham Film Awards, with more to roll out through the fall.
- Wildwood, directed by Laika president and CEO Travis Knight from a script by Chris Butler based on Colin Meloy's novel, hits theaters October 23 via Fathom Entertainment after its world premiere at the London Film Festival on October 11 and an opening-night slot at AFI Fest 10 days later.
- Wildwood's voice cast includes Peyton Elizabeth Lee and Jacob Tremblay as leads, alongside Carey Mulligan, Mahershala Ali, Angela Bassett, Awkwafina, Jake Johnson, Charlie Day, Amandla Stenberg, Jemaine Clement, Maya Erskine, Tantoo Cardinal, Tom Waits and Richard E. Grant.
- Laika has earned six Oscar nominations for stop-motion features since its 2005 founding, including for Coraline, ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls and Kubo and the Two Strings.
- The Gotham Film & Media Institute partnered with Laika earlier this year to launch the Laika x Gotham Animation Accelerator for creators developing animated short films, which Sharp tied to Laika's broader evolution.
- Laika is also expanding into a new vertical called Laika Live Action, per Gotham executive director Jeffrey Sharp, framing the tribute as a celebration of the studio's evolution rather than just a 20-year retrospective.
- Gotham nominations across 10 competition categories will be revealed October 27.
Why it matters: The tribute lands a high-profile industry platform for Laika's 20th anniversary push in the same window as Wildwood's October 23 theatrical release and one week before Gotham's competition nominations are revealed October 27 — effectively turning the ceremony into a marketing showcase for the studio's most ambitious film to date. It also formally spotlights two new ventures, the Laika Live Action expansion and the Laika x Gotham Animation Accelerator, both framed by Sharp as evidence of the studio's evolution beyond stop-motion.
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