By Did you know that The Decemberists lead guitarist and frontrunner, Colin Meloy, wrote a children’s book? Well, neither did I until this morning! Laika, the animation studio behind Tim Burton’s Coraline, has optioned the rights to create a feature length movie out of the book, titled Wildwood. Wildwood takes place in an alternate universe in Portland, Oregon where “a young lady must confront a world filled with magic and danger after her younger brother is kidnapped, forcing her to enter the Impassable Wilderness.”
The book is supposed to be the first in a trilogy, and Laika president Travis Knight has big dreams for the adaption saying, “It’s a story in the grand tradition of Tolkien, as big as Lord of the Rings with a wonderful contemporary quality as well. Nothing of its kind has been attempted in our medium. You have these epic scenes alongside very nuanced character moments, which are the two hardest things to do in stop-motion. It’s exciting to imagine how this might all come together.” Sounds cool enough, though I sure hope that they end up having Meloy work with them on it, since I’m sure he would bring a special vision and authenticity to the project.
[Via Collider]