Wildwood
Wildwood (2026) Christian Movie Review · Rated PG-13 · Starring Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Jacob Tremblay, Carey Mulligan
📖 SUMMARY
Directed by Travis Knight from Laika, the studio behind Coraline and Kubo. Prue is a teenage girl in Portland, and one day her baby brother Mac gets carried off by a flock of crows. She goes after him with her classmate Curtis, and they cross into a hidden magical forest called the Impassable Wilderness, which is in the middle of a war between talking animals, coyote soldiers, birds and bandits. The villain, the Dowager Governess, is a mother who lost her own son, and baby Mac is part of her plan to get him back. Rated PG-13 in the US (PG in Manitoba), 2 hours 10 minutes.
👶 AGE RECOMMENDATIONS
💛 HOW IT MADE ME FEEL
I knew going in that Wildwood would have a dark vibe, being from the same makers as Coraline, but I was pretty shocked at how graphic, dark and harsh this movie was considering it's geared toward kids. The very first scene is a good example. A young boy walks out toward a balcony, naked, and you can see his bottom. He rips out his heart, which turns out to be a gear, and falls to his death, and that's before you even meet the main character. As an adult, I thought the story was well done. It explores grief, and caring for your family and your community, and it's beautiful to look at, because Laika's stop-motion always is. But between the opening scene, the satanic symbols and the amount of violence, there's a lot in here parents need to know about before they buy tickets.
The Popcorn & Prayers Movie Filter
CONTENT
No real romance. The opening scene shows a boy naked from behind, from a few angles. Prue and her dad talk about baby Mac getting married one day, and the dad says something like whether it's a she, he or a "they." There's also a quick kiss between two characters during the battle.
Violence is the headline for this one. Besides the opening suicide scene, people are shot while they're helpless, hanging in cages. There's a big intense battle near the end where people are shot, stabbed, bitten and blown up, and some characters you know die. During the battle the Governess cuts a man's head off while riding her horse, and you see the head fly in the air. Evil coyotes chase people, a little character gets chomped on by a coyote, and the villain runs a wounded man through with a sword. The villain's plan also involves sacrificing a baby, and she has a sacrificial knife that the baby plays with.
A couple of mild swear words, and God's name is misused several times.
It's scary and intense for most of the runtime, between the war, the coyotes and the villain. There's also some crude humor with the coyote soldiers, and a sleeping powder slipped into somebody's tea.
Don't let the cute stop-motion poster fool you. Even though it's rated PG here in Canada, I'd still treat it like a PG-13 movie. The scene I most wanted parents to know about is the one with Prue's parents. Before she was born, they wanted a baby so badly that they went to a witch for help. They walk into her tent, there are satanic symbols all over it, and the dad even says something like, "Those are definitely satanic symbols, not a good sign." And then they go in and see her anyway. That deal is where the whole story comes from. Prue is born from that magic, and later the witch comes back to collect.
CELEBRATION
I would say family. Prue goes into a dangerous place to bring her baby brother home, and she doesn't give up on him. It also cheers for community, because a lot of the forest characters put themselves at risk to help her, and Curtis risks his life for her too. And it takes grief seriously. The villain is a picture of what happens when grief takes over your whole life, and the movie shows you that's a dead end. I also appreciated that at the end, Prue sheds tears for the Governess for what she went through losing her son, even though she made bad choices in her grief.
CONSCIENCE
For me, the hard parts are the opening death scene, the parents walking into a tent covered in satanic symbols and making a deal with a witch, and how much violence there is for a movie that looks like it's for kids. Romans 14 says each of us has to be convinced in our own mind, so you might land somewhere different, and that's allowed. But I'd want every parent to know about those scenes before they decide.
FRUIT
This movie is pretty heavy, but it did have a happy ending. With all of the turmoil you're faced with, ending on a positive note meant it didn't sit negatively with me afterward. But if a little kid sees this and finds it frightening, it may cause nightmares.
WORLDVIEW
Wildwood is a story about grief, family and community, set in a world full of magic. The magic isn't just background, though. The whole story starts with Prue's parents going to a witch for a child, and the movie treats that deal as the thing everything else grows out of.
ECHOES OF THE GOSPEL
Spoiler warning for this section. Prue going after her baby brother reminded me of Luke 15, where the shepherd leaves the 99 sheep to go after the one that's lost. Prue goes into the dark place herself to bring him home, and that's a small picture of what Jesus does for us. The villain is the opposite of that. She lost her son, and her plan is to take somebody else's child to get hers back. God did the very opposite. He gave His own Son so that we could be brought home. John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son." And for the grief theme, 1 Thessalonians 4:13 says we grieve, but we don't grieve like people who have no hope. The villain is what grief looks like with no hope in it.
💬 FAMILY DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- Prue's dad saw the satanic symbols and went in anyway. Why do you think desperate people make choices they know aren't good?
- What does Deuteronomy 18 say about sorcery and mediums, and why do you think God warns His people so strongly about it?
- How is Prue going after her brother like the shepherd in Luke 15?
- The Governess let grief take over her life. What does it look like to grieve with hope, like 1 Thessalonians 4:13 talks about?
✨ POSITIVITY
- Prue goes into a dangerous place to bring her baby brother home, and she doesn't give up on him
- A lot of the forest characters put themselves at risk to help her, and Curtis risks his life for her too
- The movie takes grief seriously and shows that letting grief take over your whole life is a dead end
- At the end, Prue sheds tears for the Governess and what she went through losing her son, even though she made bad choices in her grief
- Laika's stop-motion is beautiful to look at
⚠️ THINGS TO NOTE
- The opening scene shows a naked young boy (his bottom is visible) rip out his gear heart and fall to his death
- Before Prue is born, her parents go to a witch for a baby, and her tent is covered in satanic symbols
- Magic runs all through the movie, and the whole story comes from that deal with the witch
- A beheading, people shot in cages, and an intense battle where characters you know die
- The villain's plan involves sacrificing a baby, with a sacrificial knife
- The dad's line about Mac marrying a she, he or a "they"
- Rated PG-13 in the US for strong fantasy violence, bloody images, suicide-related material and brief partial nudity
One more thing…
So, where do I land? As an adult, I thought the story about grief and family and community was well done, and it's a beautiful movie. But it's really graphic, dark and harsh for a movie geared towards kids, and between the opening scene, the satanic symbols and the violence, there's too much in it for me to score it any higher. Under 10, I'd skip it. For 10 to 13, I'd watch it yourself first or watch it with them and talk about it after, especially the opening scene. For 14 and up, it's more about whether you're okay with the dark magic and the violence. I'm giving it 2 out of 5.
💬 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Is Wildwood worth watching?+
Hailey gives Wildwood a 2 out of 5 on the Popcorn & Prayers Pop Score. Laika's new stop-motion movie follows Prue into a magical forest to rescue her baby brother. The story about grief, family and community is well done, but the opening suicide scene, a witch's tent covered in satanic symbols and a lot of graphic violence make it far darker than the poster suggests. I gave it 2 out of 5.
How much language, violence and sexual content is in Wildwood?+
Content notes for Wildwood — Romance — mild: No real romance. The opening scene shows a boy naked from behind, from a few angles. Prue and her dad talk about baby Mac getting married one day, and the dad says something like whether it's a she, he or a "they." There's also a quick kiss between two characters during the battle.. Violence — severe: Violence is the headline for this one. Besides the opening suicide scene, people are shot while they're helpless, hanging in cages. There's a big intense battle near the end where people are shot, stabbed, bitten and blown up, and some characters you know die. During the battle the Governess cuts a man's head off while riding her horse, and you see the head fly in the air. Evil coyotes chase people, a little character gets chomped on by a coyote, and the villain runs a wounded man through with a sword. The villain's plan also involves sacrificing a baby, and she has a sacrificial knife that the baby plays with.. Language — moderate: A couple of mild swear words, and God's name is misused several times.. Scary/intense — severe: It's scary and intense for most of the runtime, between the war, the coyotes and the villain. There's also some crude humor with the coyote soldiers, and a sleeping powder slipped into somebody's tea..
How does Wildwood portray faith and Christianity?+
Wildwood is a story about grief, family and community, set in a world full of magic. The magic isn't just background, though. The whole story starts with Prue's parents going to a witch for a child, and the movie treats that deal as the thing everything else grows out of.
What age is Wildwood appropriate for?+
Here's our age-by-age take for Wildwood — 0-9: Skip; 10-13: Maybe; 14+: Maybe. Overall we'd say it's best for 13+.
Is Wildwood OK for kids?+
It's rated PG-13 and we think it's best for 13+. On our 1–5 Pop Score, Wildwood earns a 2/5. I knew it would be dark, but I was shocked at how graphic and harsh it was for a movie geared toward kids.
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