New 140-Minute Fantasy Epic Officially Makes Studio History With First Ever PG-13 Rating

Published Aug 31, 2026, 12:26 PM EDT Grant Hermanns is a TV News Editor, Interview Host and Reviewer for ScreenRant, having joined the team in early 2021. He got his start in the industry with Moviepilot, followed by working at ComingSoon.net. When not indulging in his love of film/TV, Grant is making his way through his gaming backlog and exploring the world of Dungeons & Dragons with friends. Laika is setting multiple new records with Wildwood. Based on Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis' 541-page novel of the same name, the fantasy epic centers on Prue McKeel, a young girl in Portland whose life is forever changed when her toddler brother is kidnapped by a swarm of crows working for the mysterious Alexandra, leading her and one of her classmates into an enchanted forest to save him. Helmed by Laika boss Travis Knight, Wildwood includes an all-star ensemble cast, including Doogie Kameāloha, M.D.'s Peyton Elizabeth Lee, The Life of Chuck's Jacob Tremblay, three-time Oscar nominee Carey Mulligan and two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali. With just under two months remaining until the film's release, the official MPA rating has been revealed for Wildwood, per the movie's website. The fantasy epic adaptation has been rated PG-13 for "Strong fantasy violence/bloody images, thematic material, suicide-related material, brief partial nudity and language." This officially makes studio history for Laika as their first-ever film to secure the PG-13 rating. Since officially kicking off with their 2009 adaptation of Coraline, the stop-motion-focused Laika has generally situated itself with stories that entice both older and younger viewers. From the similarly horror-centric ParaNorman to the more lighthearted adventure of Missing Link, the studio has rarely stayed in one lane as they've evolved and expanded upon their five-time Oscar-nominated animation style. Even still, across their 21-year history, Laika has generally stayed consistent in two ways with its films, the first being that they land in the PG rating, and generally don't go beyond the 100-minute runtime, with the sole exception for the latter being Kubo and the Two Strings' 102-minute runtime. Interestingly, their other films did feature elements that could be deemed more mature, particularly Kubo's more melancholy-heavy story, and yet all retained the more family-friendly rating, as seen in the chart below: Title Rating Reason Coraline (2009) Thematic elements, scary images, some language and suggestive humor ParaNorman (2012) Scary action and images, thematic elements, some rude humor and language The Boxtrolls (2014) Action, some peril and mild rude humor Kubo and the Two Strings (2016) Thematic elements, scary images, action and peril Missing Link (2018) Action/peril and some mild rude humor It's also worth noting that the PG-13 rating isn't the only way that Wildwood is making Laika history, as it's also officially the studio's longest movie ever, clocking in with a 140-minute runtime. The longer runtime does ultimately make sense, given the source material is 541 pages long, more than double the likes of fellow fantasy classic The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, thus requiring an appropriately extensive scope to authentically translate Meloy and Ellis' novel for the screen. What remains to be seen now is how the combination of the longer runtime and PG-13 rating will affect Wildwood's chances at the box office. Laika previously set a record with Missing Link being the most-expensive stop-motion film of all-time with its $100 million production budget, only for it to bomb with its $26.6 million haul, and reportedly losing the studio over $101 million. Given Wildwood's bigger scope, it's sure to eclipse the studio's previous budget record, and its October 23 release date puts it up against the likes of Street Fighter, Clayface and Klara and the Sun, making for a very tricky road ahead if families aren't enticed. Release Date October 23, 2026 Director Travis Knight Writers Chris Butler, Carson Ellis, Colin Meloy Cast Peyton Elizabeth Lee Prue McKeel (voice) Jacob Tremblay Curtis Mehlberg (voice) Carey Mulligan Alexandra (voice) Wildwood follows Prue McKeel as she ventures beyond Portland into an enchanted forest to rescue her kidnapped brother. Producers Travis Knight, Arianne Sutner Main Genre Animation