LAIKA brings Wildwood and a making-of session to Manchester Animation Festival 2026

Manchester Animation Festival (MAF) has announced its 2026 programme, and stop motion features prominently. The festival runs November 8-12 at HOME and other Manchester venues. Cartoon Brew describes it as the UK's largest animation festival, and it is both Oscar- and BAFTA-qualifying. LAIKA is attending MAF for the first time. It will show Wildwood, Travis Knight's stop-motion feature and the studio's first since Missing Link (2019), at a special screening followed by an exclusive making-of session on the film's craft and production.

Aardman is also marking its 50th anniversary at the festival. Co-founder Peter Lord will talk with director and animator Will Becher and Nat McKay, creative director of IP development, about the studio's next 50 years of clay. The guest list also includes Angelica Lares, head of studio at El Taller del Chucho, the Guadalajara stop-motion studio backed by Guillermo del Toro. The Young Animator of the Year Awards cover stop-motion work alongside 2D and 3D.