Wildwood: An imaginative masterpiece

Wildwood (2026) • View trailerFive stars (out of five); rated PG-13, for strong fantasy violence, bloody images, dramatic intensity and brief profanityAvailable via: Movie theatersBy Derrick Bang • Published in The Davis Enterprise, 11.1.26 This film amazes, captivates and surprises on countless levels. Chris Butler’s script — lovingly adapted from the 2011 illustrated fantasy novel by Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis — is a touch of L. Frank Baum by way of J.R.R. Tolkien. The 13-year-old protagonists face all manner of good and evil magical characters, some of them not what they initially seem, with everyone engaged in what becomes an ultimate battle that can leave only one side standing. As they initially enter the Impassable Wilderness — known by its inhabitants asWildwood — Prue and Curtis are astonished by the enormity of its forests. Sadly,they'll soon be too scared to appreciate all this splendor...All that said, this film’s true magic involves the way it was created. It comes from…