Travis Knight says WILDWOOD (2026), LAIKA’s first PG-13 film, refused to shy away from the brutal realities of violence, loss and grief. The director believes modern cinema often underestimates younger audiences, arguing that children deserve stories that take their emotions seriously rather than shielding them from every difficult subject. “Modern cinema generally tends to talk down to young audiences. But young people experience loss. They know what it’s like to feel afraid.” Knight says the violence was never meant to be glorified, but to show its traumatic consequences. The goal was to tell an honest story that earns its moments of hope by confronting darkness rather than watering it down. (Via: nytimes.com/2026/10/24/movie…)