Academy Award-nominated animation studio LAIKA has announced their next feature film, the “gritty neo-noir folktale” called The Night Gardener. The studio, best known for stop-motion movies Coraline, ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls, Kubo and the Two Strings and Missing Link, revealed the feature today which is directed by CEO & President Travis Knight (Kubo and the Two Strings, Bumblebee) from a script by Ozark creator Bill Dubuque. An official description for the film revealed that it centers on “a young man in rural Missouri fighting to keep his family together in the wake of a tragedy. The film will paint an unflinching portrait of sacrifice, self-reliance and revenge.”
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“The Night Gardener is a beautiful and timeless story that quickens the pulse as often as it breaks the heart,” Knight said in a press release. “Bill is a masterful storyteller. He’s crafted a lyrical world layered with complex characters, provocative ideas, and keenly felt emotion. It’s gonna be one helluva movie.” Dubuque added, “I’m delighted that Travis Knight saw in The Night Gardener a story worthy of the time intensive process and collective talent of LAIKA’s in-house artisans. LAIKA’s creativity and dedication to detail is, in my opinion, as close as one can come to conjuring storytelling magic.” Check out the teaser image for the film below
LAIKA is in the midst of production on Wildwood, their previously announced feature film which Knight is also directing. That film is based on the fantasy novel written by Colin Meloy, lead singer and songwriter for the rock group The Decemberists.
The Night Gardner will join a rich ensemble of animated movies from LAIKA, literally all of which have been nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the Academy Awards, though sadly without any wins so far. Kubo also secured a second nomination, Best Achievement in Visual Effects, as wel.
It was previously reported earlier this year that Laika would produce their first live-action movie, an adaptation of the upcoming novel Seventeen, which remains in development at the studio. Between Wildwood, The Night Gardener, and Seventeen, it’s unclear which project from the fan-favorite studio will be released first, but the former certainly has a head start on all the others.
An official description for Wildwood reads: “Beyond Portland’s city limits lies Wildwood. You’re not supposed to go there. You’re not even supposed to know it exists. But Prue McKeel is about to enter this enchanted wonderland. Her baby brother Mac has been taken by a murder of crows into the forest’s depths, and she – along with her hapless classmate Curtis – is going to get him back. Prue might think she’s too old for fairytales, but she’s just found herself at the center of one. One filled with strange talking animals, roguish bandits, and powerful figures with the darkest intentions.”
