^{Wildwood (Laika, Fathom Entertainment), Fantastic Mr. Fox (20th Century Fox)}

For a while, it seemed like Travis Knight’s Wildwood might skip the fall festival season. Supposedly, it hasn’t debuted yet because Laika is using every last minute to perfect the film, which has been in development since 2011 and in production since 2021. Wildwood will have a brief festival run ahead of its general release. This adaptation of Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis’ fantasy novel is making its world premiere at the BFI London Film Festival on October 11. It was also recently announced that Wildwood will have its North American premiere at AFI Fest, serving as the opening night film. Interestingly, Wildwood is mirroring the release path of another stop-motion animated feature based on a beloved book: Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox. 

Fantastic Mr. Fox premiered at BFI on October 14, 2009, then opened AFI Fest on October 30 that same year. Although numerous animated films have played at AFI Fest, Wildwood will notably be the first to open the festival since Fantastic Mr. Fox. The parallels don’t end there. Fantastic Mr. Fox officially opened in the U.K. on October 23, the same day that Wildwood will enter its general release in the States. Maybe I’m making too much of this pattern, but if Wildwood continues to follow this trajectory, it wouldn’t be surprising if it reached the same destination as Fantastic Mr. Fox: The Academy Awards. 

On the heels of its BFI and AFI screenings, Fantastic Mr. Fox solidified itself as an Oscar contender. Fantastic Mr. Fox not only went on to receive a nomination for Best Animated Feature, but one for Alexandre Desplat’s musical score, too. While many are predicting Wildwood to get into Best Animated Feature, it wouldn’t be surprising if it got a Best Original Score nomination as well. Its composer is Dario Marianelli, who previously won for Atonement. Coincidentally, Fantastic Mr. Fox was nominated against Laika’s debut feature, Coraline. Both lost Best Animated Feature to Pixar’s Up, which also won Best Original Score for Michael Giacchino. 

Up winning Best Animated Feature was an inevitability. Not only was Pixar on an Oscar hot streak, but Up became the second of only three animated films to be nominated for Best Picture. Even so, 2009 remains one of the category’s greatest lineups ever. Rounding out that slate were Disney’s The Princess and the Frog and Cartoon Saloon’s The Secret of Kells, the latter of which most people heard about for the first time on nominations morning. The fact that Hayao Miyazaki’s Ponyo wasn’t even nominated is a testament to what a banner year for animation 2009 was. 

2026 is proving to be an equally stacked year for animation. This time, though, Pixar might not have Best Animated Feature in the bag. Pixar does have two strong contenders this year with Hoppers and Toy Story 5. The latter blockbuster is their best bet, considering that Toy Story 3 and Toy Story 4 both won before. Pixar is no longer the Academy’s default pick, however. A Pixar film hasn’t won since 2020’s Soul, while Disney hasn’t triumphed since 2021’s Encanto. Since then, voters have been branching out with winners like Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, The Boy and the Heron, and Flow. Even KPop Demon Hunters, while the textbook definition of a commercial hit, stood out from other past winners. 

In 2009, the Academy wasn’t ready to give a film like Fantastic Mr. Fox or Coraline the win. 2026 is another story. Wildwood could very well do what the aforementioned films couldn’t: win the Best Animated Feature Oscar. Of course, it’s all speculation at this point. We won’t know if Wildwood is the Oscar contender some suspect until people see it at BFI and AFI. That said, Fantastic Mr. Fox sent a message to potential voters when it was programmed at those prestigious festivals. Wildwood is sending the same message.

Nick Spake is the Author of Bright & Shiny: A History of Animation at Award Shows Volumes 1, 2, and 3. Available Now!