The exhibition will open on March 17 at Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture.
Fans of the artisanal animation studio LAIKA will get to experience the “magical settings” of its films in an immersive new exhibition, conducted in collaboration with the Museum of Pop Culture. “Hidden Worlds: The Films of LAIKA” will be the largest exhibition that the studio has ever mounted, and will open on March 17th at Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture.
Films that will be spotlighted across the 7,500 square feet of exhibition space are Coraline, ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls, Kubo and the Two Strings, Missing Link, and the upcoming Wildwood. The exhibition will include “immersive displays, film artifacts, and interactives” that will engage fans in the meticulously crafted settings of these movies, as well as the “behind-the-scenes wonders” of producing them.
Across more than a decade now, LAIKA has established itself as an industry-leader in producing stop-motion films, alongside perhaps Aardman. While each of the studio’s five movies has been acclaimed, not all of them have been commercially successful. LAIKA’s last feature, Missing Link, was received enthusiastically, but could only muster around $26 million worldwide against a reported budget of $100 million. The studio will return with Wildwood, an adaptation of Colin Melloy‘s children’s fantasy novel, to be directed by CEO and President Travis Knight. The studio is also developing The Night Gardener, an animated film from an original idea by Bill Dubuque, as well as its first live-action feature film based on the action-thriller novel Seventeen by screenwriter John Brownlow.
With a newfound interest in stop-motion after the success of Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio last year, even casual fans might be interested in exploring the wonders of LAIKA’s films. Jacob McMurray, the MoPOP’s Director of Curatorial, Collections, and Exhibits, said that he is excited to give fans a “peek behind the curtain” into how LAIKA produces its movies. In his own words:
“LAIKA tells original, enduring stories with meaningful themes and a commitment to filmmaking innovation. We can’t wait to give our guests a peek behind the curtain into the world of stop-motion animation and how emerging technologies are fused with timeless techniques to create LAIKA’s state-of-the-art film masterpieces.”
David Burke, LAIKA’s Chief Marketing Officer and SVP Operations, highlighted the artists who work tirelessly on the studio’s films. Stop-motion is a famously elaborate animation technique, which requires careful attention to detail and great precision. In his own words:
“LAIKA is a multifaceted community of dreamers, makers, storytellers, scientists, engineers, and artists all committed to making movies that matter. We believe that cinema is a profoundly important and fertile landscape in which we can tell stories that will speak to global audiences, both now and for generations to come. Film is a universally shared cultural language, and it’s thrilling to be partnering with MoPOP, which celebrates the power of popular culture and the individuals who create that magic.”
MoPOP members have the first opportunity to see the exhibition with a Member Preview Day on March 17. Memberships are available at MoPOP.org/membership. A public opening party will also be held on the same day. Tickets for the event will go on sale mid-February, and are available at MoPOP.org/LAIKA. The exhibition will be opened to the public on March 18. You can check out the exhibition highlights below:
- More than 7,500 square feet of exhibition space with recreations of six LAIKA worlds including specialty lighting, original exhibition films, and immersive scenic elements like a full-size version of the tunnel leading to the Other World in Coraline.
- Artifacts and sets from LAIKA films imbued with meaning by not only the stories they tell, but through all the artists and craftspeople who have brought them into existence.
- MoPOP signature interactive elements allowing visitors to take a “puppets-eye-view” of a LAIKA set or create their own stop-motion animation using themselves as the puppet.
- Content demonstrating LAIKA’s signature blend of traditional stop-motion animation paired with their technological advances in digital effects and rapid-prototype 3D printing.
You can watch our interview with Knight here:
