Laika

35 Things to Know About PARANORMAN From Our Set Visit; Plus Video Blog Recap and 30 Behind-the-Scenes Images

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: May 15th, 2012 at 12:56 pm

In the middle of February, I was able to visit LAIKA Studios in Hillsboro, Oregon to get an early look at their upcoming 3D stop-motion movie ParaNorman.  As a big stop-motion fan, it was incredibly cool to get a behind-the-scenes look at how it all comes together, and to see where they made their last film, Coraline.  While I assumed the process of making a stop-motion movie doesn’t change, when I visited LAIKA I learned that new technology is helping to make ParaNorman one of the most technically advanced stop-motion movies ever made, and some of what they’re using is straight out of an episode of Star Trek.  And the best part: the technology will soon be in everyone’s homes!  Hit the jump for more.

Wes Anderson and Animation Studio LAIKA Team up to Sell Smartphones

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: March 22nd, 2012 at 9:07 am

Director Wes Anderson and LAIKA (the animation studio behind Coraline) have teamed up to create commercials for Sony’s Experia smartphones.  The slogan for the phones is that they’re “Made of Imagination”, which is surprising since I thought phones were made of electronic components.  Silly me.  Kids, who are “the most imaginative people”, were asked what they thought made the Experia work.  Anderson then took their explanation and turned it into the narrative for a commercial.  Watching Anderson’s commercial, I wish it was for a real movie rather than something designed to sell phones.

Hit the jump to check out the teaser video, and Anderson’s take on one child’s explanation of the phone’s mechanics.

New Trailer and Poster for PARANORMAN

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: March 2nd, 2012 at 6:17 am

The new US trailer for the stop-motion animated film ParaNorman has gone online. From Chris Butler (Coraline) and Sam Fell (The Tale of Despereaux) comes the story of Norman, a mysterious and misunderstood boy with the ability to see and talk to ghosts. This new trailer gives us a much better idea of what the plot of ParaNorman will actually be about. It also gives us a good look at some other characters in the film and the famous voices associated with them. While the previous trailer did a good job of piquing my interest, the new one actually made me look forward to the summer release. It hits on all the right notes of comedy and charisma.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer and poster. The film features the voices of Kodi Smit-McPhee, Casey Affleck, Anna Kendrick, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Leslie Mann, Jeff Garlin, John Goodman, and Alex Borstein. ParaNorman opens in 3D on August 17th.

Laika to Adapt WILDWOOD, the Youth Novel by The Decemberists Lead Singer Colin Meloy

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: September 7th, 2011 at 8:12 pm

The Decemberists frontman Colin Meloy was always more storyteller than singer, so it’s about time he put down the guitar and try a full-on novel.  The wise folks over at Laika think it’s good—or at least good enough for a movie.  The animation studio behind Coraline has optioned the rights to Meloy’s young-adult fantasy novel Wildwood.  The story is set in alternate version of Portland, Oregon, where both Laika and The Decemberists are based.  The book is intended to be the first in a trilogy about Prue McKneel, “a young lady who must confront a world filled with magic and danger after her younger brother is kidnapped, forcing her to enter the Impassable Wilderness.”  Laika president Travis Knight hopes the movie will be the first in a trilogy.

Hit the jump for more from Knight (including a Lord of the Rings comparison) and a full synopsis of the book.

Jon Brion to Score Laika’s 3D Stop-Motion Animated Feature PARANORMAN

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: June 14th, 2011 at 1:09 pm

Musician Jon Brion has some great scores to his name.  He’s done subtle, moving music for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Synecdoche, New York, but can just as easily do light-hearted upbeat work like he did with Step Brothers, Other Guys, and my personal favorite, I Heart Huckabees.  Now Laika and Focus Features have sent out a press release annoucning that Brion will provide the score for their upcoming 3D stop-motion animated comedy Paranorman.  The film revolves around Norman (voiced by Let Me In‘s Kodi Smit-McPhee), a young boy who can speak to the dead and must use his abilities to save his town from zombies, ghosts, witches, and dim-witted adults.

Hit the jump for the press release, which includes a statement from Brion on why he decided to make Paranorman his first animated film.  Paranorman is due out August 17, 2012.

Focus Features Signs Two-Picture Distribution Deal with CORALINE Studio LAIKA; Will Release PARANORMAN Next August

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 4th, 2011 at 11:59 am

Focus Features will reteam with Coraline animation studio LAIKA for two upcoming pictures.  Focus will distribute the first film under the deal, ParaNorman, on August 17, 2012.  The film will be only the second stop-motion animated film to be released in 3D.  Directed by Sam Fell (Flushed Away) and Chris Butler (storyboard supervisor on Coraline), ParaNorman is a comedy thriller about a local boy (voiced by Kodi Smit-McPhee) who can speak with the dead, which comes in handy when his town becomes under siege from zombies, ghosts, witches, moronic grown-up, and a centuries-old curse.  The voice cast also includes Casey Affleck, Jeff Garlin, John Goodman, Leslie Mann, Christopher Mintze-Plasse, Bernard Hill, Tempestt Bledsoe, Elaine Stritch, and Anna Kendrick.

The yet-to-be-named second picture will be released by Focus in 2014.  Hit the jump for the full press release.

CORALINE Director Henry Selick Leaves Laika Studios

by David Corbin    Posted: October 6th, 2009 at 9:00 pm

Talk about a major free agent.  Henry Selick, the acclaimed director of “The Nightmare Before Christmas” is leaving Laika, the studio behind his latest success, “Coraline.”  The move is surprising since Selick’s work had almost singlehandedly built up Laika’s reputation as a premier producer of animation.  Selick arrived in 2004, right as Nike executive Phil Knight acquired Will Vinton studios and immediately began to turn around the studios fortunes.  2005 saw the award-winning short “Moongirl” and again this past year saw the critical and commercial success of “Coraline.”  To find out why Selick is moving on, frame by frame, hit the jump.

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