# LAIKA Makes Movies One Second at a Time

> LAIKA Studios' 16-year stop-motion film Wildwood creates life frame by frame in a world of AI automation.
- Title: LAIKA Makes Movies One Second at a Time · Vanity Fair
- Summary: LAIKA Studios' 16-year stop-motion film Wildwood creates life frame by frame in a world of AI automation. LAIKA Studios' Wildwood, a stop-motion film taking…
- Keywords: laika, wildwood, travis knight, stop-motion, coraline, puppet masks, 16 years, stop-motion animation, design museum, london film festival, Makes, Movies
- Source: Vanity Fair — https://vanityfair.com/photos/wildwood-laika-event
- Author: Bridget Arsenault
- Published: 2026-10-14T21:32:05.58+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: laika, wildwood, travis knight, stop-motion, coraline, puppet masks, 16 years, stop-motion animation, design museum, london film festival
## Wildwood Premiere
LAIKA Studios' Wildwood, a stop-motion feature taking 16 years to make, premiered at London Film Festival.

> It's a tour de force of great animation
## London Event
Travis Knight addressed a Design Museum audience in London's Kensington on Tuesday night.
## Exhibition Details
LAIKA's Wildwood exhibition showcases handmade costumes, puppets, props, and miniature sets.
## Wildwood Story
Wildwood is a YA book by Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis, adapted into a film about grief and empathy.
## Production Scale
Wildwood required 1,000+ creatives to produce 140,000 puppet masks and 130+ sets across 100,000 square feet.
## Frame-by-Frame Process
Stop-motion animators create life frame by frame, with one full day producing just one or two seconds of film.
## Voice Recording
Peyton Elizabeth Lee recorded all dialogue before puppets and props were created for Wildwood.
## Audition Challenge
Lee auditioned via voice memo in her bedroom before being selected for Wildwood.
## Knight's Vision
Knight emphasizes Wildwood's emotional depth over technical spectacle in an AI-dominated era.
## Exhibition Warning
Knight warns visitors not to touch exhibits, as moving anything makes them temporary animators.
## Key takeaway

LAIKA Studios' Wildwood, a stop-motion film taking 16 years to make, creates life through meticulous frame-by-frame animation in an AI-dominated era.