I grew up adoring Rankin/Bass — all those little characters moving on the screen and swishing through snow. So imagine my delight when LAIKA Studios came into being: this was my childhood wonder on steroids. AiPT! got an inside look into the world of LAIKA Studios on preview night of San Diego Comic Con.
LAIKA knows how to roll out the red carpet and make you feel like a VIP. As we walked through the entrance we were met by characters from Kubo and the Two Strings, ParaNorman, Box Troll and of course, Coraline, who is celebrating her tenth anniversary.
Media Manager David Brooke poses with Kubo
Writer Lisa Allison getting some love from mother and a wary Coraline.
After a few snaps we made our way past the abundant cheese selection (I mean crazy amounts of delicious cheeses), cupcakes and mango desserts, and we began a behind-the-scenes tour of the brilliance that is LAIKA Studios. On display were complete sets, a myriad of facial expressions, scale models, sketches and a sneak peek into the new movie Missing Link scheduled for an April 2019 release.
From sketch to completion, ParaNorman comes to life.
The many faces of Kubo.
There is not one single straight line in this set from Box Trolls.
When you view a movie such as Box Trolls or Kubo and the Two Strings you are drawn into the world so deeply that you forget these are small figures being manipulated by hand. After meeting with the master technicians this evening I can’t help but marvel at the movement and fluidity of the characters on screen. It is amazing to see just how many faces and different sets of hair are required to animate one character. In the new movie The Missing Link, the characters’ bodies will also have the ability to expand and contract with breath.
Set from the new LAIKA studios movie Missing Link starring Hugh Jackman, Zoe Saldana, and Zach Galifanakis as Mr. Link.
Just in case we were not impressed already LAIKA had one more surprise for the crowd. Coraline’s mother/other mother Teri Hatcher popped in to share her love for the film. Teri said (without the failing mic) “Coraline was the best thing I ever did!”
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