Kubo and the Two Strings hit theaters this past weekend to ecstatic praise from critics and audiences alike, giving the many artists in Kubo’s closing credits cause to celebrate. But there is one notable filmmaker whom close watchers of the animation world will notice is not in those closing credits: Henry Selick. The celebrated animation director (known for The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach) helmed Coraline, the first feature from Kubo stop-motion studio Laika. That film put the unique company on the map. After Coraline’s success, Selick was expected to work on more Laika films, but he departed the Oregon-based studio about half a year after the movie’s release. According to a 2009 Variety report, the filmmaker moved on after his contract expired, as no new project emerged at Laika. A rep for Selick confirmed this account to HitFix. (Now the days of Laika...
- 8/26/2016
- by Emily Rome
- Hitfix
Gifted youngster Kubo is in a tough situation. He and his pals (a stern macaque and a goofy horned beetle cursed to assume the shape of a man) need to cross a turbulent ocean. There's no seafaring vessel in sight. It appears that all is lost, but the boy, unshaken, begins plucking out a tune on his magical shamisen, a traditional Japanese stringed instrument. In mere moments, a mighty ship has materialized from thousands of sheets of origami paper, ready to go. The young hero and his cohorts climb aboard,...
- 8/19/2016
- Rollingstone.com
ParaNorman begins with one of the coolest and most unusual scenes ever to appear in what to all outward appearances is a kid's movie, a stop-motion zombie film-within-a-film that itself demonstrates the potential for the animation technique that has yet to be unlocked.
This is just one of many ways in which Laika’s latest production charms and deceives. Beginning with Henry Selick’s award-winning Moongirl, (which played at Fantastic Fest in 2005) and continuing with Coraline in 2009, Laika is building a body of work that marks them as potentially doing for stop-motion what Pixar did for CGI while incidentally making them a much smaller, quirkier competitor.
Yes, ParaNorman is a family-friendly film, but with a sensibility and story that will appeal to adults as much as to their children. Dark humor and creepy moments abound, but the script is full of good chuckles delivered by a talented cast of newcomers...
This is just one of many ways in which Laika’s latest production charms and deceives. Beginning with Henry Selick’s award-winning Moongirl, (which played at Fantastic Fest in 2005) and continuing with Coraline in 2009, Laika is building a body of work that marks them as potentially doing for stop-motion what Pixar did for CGI while incidentally making them a much smaller, quirkier competitor.
Yes, ParaNorman is a family-friendly film, but with a sensibility and story that will appeal to adults as much as to their children. Dark humor and creepy moments abound, but the script is full of good chuckles delivered by a talented cast of newcomers...
- 8/18/2012
- by Mike Saulters
- Slackerwood
Laika, the producers of animated adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline and the stop-motion film ParaNorman, have reeled in their next animated property. The animated studio has snatched up Goblins, written by award-winning novelist Philip Reeve (Mortal Engines) and brought in an award-winning director, Mark Gustafson (The PJs), to helm the project.
Goblins is described as “fantasy with bite” by Travis Knight, President and CEO of Laika. In a world of magical creatures, all species must ban together to defeat the evil sorcerer. Knight talks about the book:
“Goblins is a thrilling, high energy swashbuckler teeming with wonderful surprises; at once hilarious and twisted, sincere and endearing.”
Director Mark Gustafson commends Reeve’s work:
“Philip Reeve has done a wonderful job of turning a familiar genre on its ear and creating a beautifully intricate universe unlike anything I’ve seen before.”
Check out the official press release below!
Press Release:
Laika Options Goblins,...
Goblins is described as “fantasy with bite” by Travis Knight, President and CEO of Laika. In a world of magical creatures, all species must ban together to defeat the evil sorcerer. Knight talks about the book:
“Goblins is a thrilling, high energy swashbuckler teeming with wonderful surprises; at once hilarious and twisted, sincere and endearing.”
Director Mark Gustafson commends Reeve’s work:
“Philip Reeve has done a wonderful job of turning a familiar genre on its ear and creating a beautifully intricate universe unlike anything I’ve seen before.”
Check out the official press release below!
Press Release:
Laika Options Goblins,...
- 4/19/2012
- by Lillian 'zenbitch' Standefer
- ScifiMafia
Read our exclusive interview with director Audrey Genevieve Holland, who recently released her new short film ‘The Snow Princess.’ Besides helming the seven-minute stop motion animation movie, which has been featured in over 30 film festivals worldwide and has won numerous awards and critical acclaim, Holland also wrote, produced and edited ‘The Snow Princess.’ Previously, Audrey worked for DreamWorks Animation Skg on several features including “Kung Fu Panda” and “How to Train Your Dragon”. As well as Laika Entertainment on “Coraline” and “MoonGirl”. Her short film “The Snow Princess” follows Gwyneira, the Snow Princess, who has longed dreamed of entering the Land of Spring, but once she has finally arrived [...]...
- 2/3/2011
- by karen
- ShockYa
Directed by veteran animator Kyle Bell, The Mouse That Soared is a six minute CG animated short with themes involving adoption, blended-families and nature vs. nurture. Its produce from the crew that worked at Laika Entertainment, the studio behind Coraline and Moongirl.
Step right up and behold the harrowing and hair-raising aerial adventures of a flying circus mouse! Witness the rise of our orphan foundling as he learns valuable lessons in life and flight from two well-intentioned adoptive songbirds! Fasten your safety belts as our little faux-feathered hero reflects on his unlikely beginnings on his flight path to becoming a coveted circus sensation! Come one, come all to this high-flying tale of overcoming adversity and beating near-impossible odds!
Check out the official site to view the concept art. You'll find the trailer embedded below.
Step right up and behold the harrowing and hair-raising aerial adventures of a flying circus mouse! Witness the rise of our orphan foundling as he learns valuable lessons in life and flight from two well-intentioned adoptive songbirds! Fasten your safety belts as our little faux-feathered hero reflects on his unlikely beginnings on his flight path to becoming a coveted circus sensation! Come one, come all to this high-flying tale of overcoming adversity and beating near-impossible odds!
Check out the official site to view the concept art. You'll find the trailer embedded below.
- 11/20/2009
- Screen Anarchy
Henry Selick (Coraline, James and the Giant Peach, The Nightmare Before Christmas) will not renew his deal with Laika, the Oregon-based animation studio that where he wrote, directed, designed and produced Coraline (2/6/09) and the short-film Moongirl, per The Oregonian. You may recall that Laika laid-off 60+ of its CG animation artists in September. Selick will continue to work closely with Laika and Coraline distributor Focus Features to continue to promote the movie during the forthcoming awards season. Coraline is based on the eponymous book by author Neil Gaiman. The studio, established by Nike co-founder Phil Knight after acquiring Will Vinton Studios in 2003, opened its doors in 2005 with the mission of developing both stop motion and CG animated feature films as well as content for other outlets. Selick joined Laika in 2004. Earlier this year, Laika named Travis Knight as President and CEO, he was a lead animator on Coraline and had also toiled for Vinton Studios,...
- 10/8/2009
- by gwen@cynopsis.com
Made in the time between him working on The Life Aquatic and Coraline, Moongirl is Henry Selick's first—and only—work using computer animation. It tells the story of a boy who is transported to the moon, where he meets a girl who lets him in on the secret of how the moon gets its light. After developing the short, the story was turned into an illustrated book, which was released as a package with the short on DVD.
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- 10/3/2009
- by Arya Ponto
- JustPressPlay.net
Animation Studio Laika, best known for the 3D stop-motion animated feature adaptation of Coraline, laid off 63 employees in its computer animation department. Laika was originally setup as an animation studio which would produce both stop-motion and computer animated feature films. But Laika has decided that they would rather specialize in stop-motion animated projects. Before Coraline, Henry Selick directed a computer animated short film for Laika titled Moongirl, which won the Short Film Special Jury prize at the Ottawa Film Festival. The short was a test for Selick, who originally planned to film Coraline as a computer animated feature. For those of you interested, you can watch Moongirl embedded after the jump. More information about the layoffs at Laika and the company's future plans, also included after the jump. According to Oregon Live, "today's layoff, which reduces Laika's work force from 243 to 180, is the second round of cuts in its ...
- 9/19/2009
- by Peter Sciretta
- Slash Film
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