Best known for “Coraline” and “Kubo and the Two Strings,” Laika has spent years innovating and refining the famously meticulous, time-consuming art of stop-motion animation. And after six years of production, it’s ready to release perhaps its most gorgeous-looking film, “Wildwood.”

Set in Portland, Oregon, “Wildwood” is a fantasy adventure film in the vein of “Narnia,” where ordinary children are suddenly transported into a magical world. The film follows Prue (voiced by Peyton Elizabeth Lee) and Curtis (Jacob Tremblay), two 12-year-olds who are drawn into a magical world hidden in a forest outside of the city where talking animals and humans exist side-by-side. There, Prue must go on a journey to save her younger brother Mac from crows led by a woman named Alexandra (Carey Mulligan), who captures Curtis and attempts to corrupt him for her own mysterious purposes. The trailer, set to a cover of “Wake Me Up” by Avicii, teases Alexandra’s tragic backstory involving the son she lost, and her quest for vengeance against the rest of the denizens of the forest.

The story is adapted from the 2011 children’s fantasy novel of the same name. Written by Colin Meloy, best known as the frontman of the band The Decemberists, the book featured illustrations from his wife and children’s book illustrator, Carson Ellis. Meloy has contributed a song to the film.

“Wildwood” is directed by Travis Knight, the lead animator and CEO of Laika, from a screenplay written by Chris Butler. The two previously worked together this year on the live-action “Masters of the Universe” film, after making “Kubo and the Two Strings” in 2016. The film’s large ensemble voice cast includes Mahershala Ali, Awkwafina, Angela Bassett, Jake Johnson, Charlie Day, Amandla Stenberg, Jemaine Clement, Maya Erskine, Tantoo Cardinal, Tom Waits, Richard E. Grant, Len Cariou, Marc Evan Jackson, and Rob Delaney. Caleb Deschanel serves as the film’s cinematographer, while Dario Marianelli composed the score.

Fathom Entertainment will release “Wildwood” in theaters nationwide October 23. The film notably serves as one of the company’s first non-event releases. Watch the full trailer for “Wildwood” below.

The Busan International Film Festival has selected Kim Jong-kwan’s The Table: Day and Night, a tender drama about four couples who experience romantic moments in the same Seoul cafe, as the opening film of its 31st edition. The drama will world premiere at the Busan Cinema Center on Oct. 6, the festival announced Wednesday. 

Kim has built his reputation in the Korean film industry with a flair for elegantly constructed short stories. He won the jury prize at the Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival for his 2004 debut How to Operate a Polaroid Camera, and has returned repeatedly to anthology work — directing segments of the Netflix series Persona (2019), which featured filmmakers building shorts around K-pop star IU, as well as Vestige (2022) and The Killers (2024).

Even his features have tended to operate like collections of interlaced shorts. The Table: Day and Night appears to be a loose follow-up to his 2016 feature The Table, a chamber piece featuring four women discussing their past and present romantic entanglements at the same table in a Seoul cafe over the course of a single day. That feature premiered at BIFF in 2016 and became one of his best-known works.

The Table: Day and Night follows four couples as they experience sparks of romance in a Seoul coffee shop over the summer and autumn months. Mostly conversation based, the film depicts a chance encounter between Yoo-jin (Kim Minha) and Hyeon-oh (Joo Jong-hyuk); an unexpected reunion between Sang-mi (Han Sun-hwa) and Young-min (Chang Ryul), who were friends in middle school and discover a fresh bond; a rush of creative chemistry between web novelist Hye-jin (Shim Eun-kyung) and indie filmmaker Dong-nam (Lee Hee-jun); and a bittersweet moment between idol trainee Na-kyeong (Jeon So-young) and her boyfriend Jong-su (Kim Dong-hwi). 

In its announcement, BIFF described its choice of curtain-raiser as “an elegant and assured film in which the cinematic interests, style, perspective, and world that Kim Jong-kwan has persistently explored as a filmmaker reach a provisional culmination.”

“Without relying on excessive setups or dramatic turns, it greatest merit lies in how thoughtfully it captures the unique inner voices and emotions of its characters, as well as the subtle shifts in their relationships,” the festival added. 

One of the film’s stars, Kim Minha of Pachinko fame, will also host Busan’s opening ceremony, where Michelle Yeoh will be honored as the event’s Asian Filmmaker of the Year, Ann Hui will receive the Chanel-backed Camellia Award, and Kim Dong-ho, the festival’s own founder, will be presented with the Korean Cinema Award. The 31st Busan International Film Festival runs Oct. 6-15, with the Asian Contents & Film Market held Oct. 10-13.