Shades of Lord of the Rings & Narnia in stunning new fantasy epic movie

The film has a 99% Rotten Tomatoes score and is being tipped as an Oscar contender.

Set in modern-day Portland, the story follows teenage girl Prue (Peyton Elizabeth Lee), whose baby brother Mac is abducted by a flock of crows. The birds fly away with Mac while the siblings are out on a walk.

Wildwood

Venturing into the nearby woods to find him, Prue discovers a strange hidden community. There, humans and anthropomorphic animals live side by side, though often in conflict with each other. The teen meets each of these different warring factions as she embarks on a quest to find her baby brother.

Directed by Travis Knight (Kubo and the Two Strings, Masters of the Universe), from a novel by The Decemberists' frontman Colin Meloy, Wildwood is that rare thing: a modern fantasy story that feels like an out-of-the-gate classic.

There are shades of Narnia to its world-building, and of The Lord of the Rings to its epic battle scenes. Though there is slightly too much expositional dialogue, you don't care when the stop-motion animation looks so gorgeous and painterly, while still feeling incredibly tactile.

Watch the trailer for Wildwood right here:

The creature designs are striking; the representation of contemporary Portland is funny and lived-in; the villain of the piece (voiced by Carey Mulligan) is terrifically three-dimensional and tragic.

All of this combines to make Wildwood feel like its own beast entirely, even with the influences mentioned above. We think the Oscar for Best Animated Feature next year will be between this and Coyote vs. Acme.

Wildwood is in cinemas now