Wildwood

Wildwood opens in Stoke-on-Trent today, Friday 6 November, at both Cineworld on Quadrant Road and Odeon on Etruria Road. It's an animated adventure that follows Prue and her classmate Curtis, who find themselves drawn into a magical forest full of enchanted creatures, loyal allies and formidable adversaries. When Prue's baby brother is abducted by a murder of crows led by a mysterious woman called Alexandra, the two stumble upon a secret world of warring creatures, peaceable mystics and powerful figures with dark intentions. What starts as a rescue mission grows into a struggle for the freedom of the wilderness the locals call Wildwood.

Behind the animation is a voice cast that pulls from a few different worlds. Peyton Elizabeth Lee and Jacob Tremblay lead the way, with Carey Mulligan, Mahershala Ali and Arthur Knight adding their voices to the mix. It's directed by Travis Knight, who's known for Kubo and the Two Strings, so the whole thing sits in that animated tradition of building a world from the ground up rather than just sticking to a few familiar tropes.

It's a fair bit longer than your average animated feature, running 132 minutes, so you'll want to clear a good two and a half hours for it. It carries a BBFC 12A rating, which means it's fine for younger viewers as long as they're accompanied by an adult. Both cinemas are running morning screenings at 09:30 and 10:30, so you can catch it early and still have the rest of your Friday open.