As the film industry grapples with how to use AI and computer-generated imagery becomes more of a crutch, it is rare to find a movie that is almost entirely handcrafted.

Thankfully, mercifully, studios like Laika exist and every few years audiences are graced with a new film made using a technique of animation that is tragically dying: stop-motion.

From the brains trust that gave the world movies like Coraline and Kubo and the Two Strings, Laika’s new film Wildwood has finally hit cinemas after 14 years in development.

The almost entirely stop-motion film follows Prue (Peyton Elizabeth Lee), a teenage girl who lives a fairly sheltered life thanks to her superstitious parents.

Reluctantly, Prue is tasked with babysitting her baby brother, Mac, with the condition that they must stay at home.

In typical teenage fashion, Prue ignores this direction and instead rides her bike into the city with her brother trailing on the back.

The siblings run into Prue’s classmate Curtis (Jacob Tremblay), who tags along on their adventure. During a stop at the playground, Mac is picked up and carried away by a magical murder of crows that take him into the mysterious forest on the outskirts of town.

After passing the fog, Prue and Curtis enter a mythical new world called Wildwood, which is filled with talking animals, strange tribes and warring factions.

It’s here they learn of the former Dowager Governess of Wildwood, Alexandra (Carey Mulligan), who has turned to using dark magic and threatens to destroy Wildwood.

Now, that is a lot of synopsis to give away, but it’s all information learnt in the first 15-20 minutes of the film and it’s all important to understand just how grand this movie is.

Clearly taking inspiration from Narnia and Lord of the Rings, Wildwood is epic in every sense of the word.

The world it creates is fantastic. The characters range from wacky to wonderful and the scope of adventure is truly awe-inspiring.

All of these points are only amplified by the complete artistry of the film’s model work and stop-motion technique.

I have seen more than 2500 movies in my life and even still, I can’t begin to understand how this thing was made.

Upon researching, over 1000 artists worked on the film. More than 142,000 face models were created, over 200 puppets were designed and over 1150 days were spent filming each individual frame.

It is a true marvel of animated filmmaking and is unlike anything ever made before it from a production standpoint.

In addition to the incredible animation, the movie has a fantastic score orchestrated by Dario Marianelli. It never lets up throughout the two hour plus runtime.

For my fellow gamers out there, it took me back to the newer God of War games with its almost Nordic sound and sweeping use of strings and horns.

The voice acting is also top-notch. Lee and Tremblay prove why they are actors to watch for the future and Mulligan turns in a performance akin to the White Witch from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

While the production side of things might be perfect, there are some slight issues with the film’s structure.

The middle act has some pacing issues, relating mainly to how information is delivered and how characters move from point A to point B.

It’s very minor, especially in a film as grand as this, but it’s worth pointing out. When a movie is as methodical as Wildwood is during its first half, it gives a bit of a whiplash effect when people are forced around quickly.

It’s rectified by the film’s final act, with the last 30 minutes being the best sequence I’ve seen in a movie this year.

There are also issues with the characterisation of Prue’s parents. There is a reveal at the start of the final act that contextualises a lot of what is going on, but the way Prue’s parents react to this information felt unreasonable given how they were presented prior to this moment.

With that said, these issues almost mean nothing when the film shoots back into full gear. It’s emotional, inspiring and probably the most visually stunning thing you’ll see on a movie screen this decade.

Wildwood is a true masterpiece of artistic filmmaking and unless you’re actively looking for critiques, you won’t find any.

I pray people will go out and see this film to keep the art of stop-motion alive, but if it’s opening weekend box office haul of $11 million on a $100 million budget is anything to go by, it sadly doesn’t look great.

Wildwood is showing in cinemas across the country. Please go and see it on the biggest screen you can!