By Brian Hoop
Laika Studios, the Hillsboro-based stop gap animation studio, is in production on their next movie based upon the 2011 children’s novel “Wildwood,” a fantasy tale set in a magical version of Linnton’s environs of Forest Park, the St. Johns Bridge and industrial wastelands along the Willamette River.
The book was illustrated by former Linnton resident Carson Ellis and authored by her partner Colin Meloy, lead singer for the Portland based band The Decemberists.
“Wildwood” is the story of a girl named Prue McKeel whose brother, Mac, is taken into the forest by a murder of crows. She and a classmate go on the adventure into the forest inhabited by rival bands of talking animals, bandits and magical figures to retrieve him.
From the adjoining map you can see many neighborhood landmarks populating Wildwood including the Ghost Bridge (St. Johns Bridge), the Long Road (Leif Erickson Drive through Forest Park), and the tank farms (Industrial Wastes).
Memorable scenes take place in multiple nearby “industrial wastes” landmarks including the now demolished historic NW Natural Gas building that was located North of the St. Johns Bridge.
“With ‘Wildwood,’ I have the opportunity to tell a madly ambitious story of magic, wonder, and danger set in the place I grew up,” Laika’s CEO, Travis Knight, said in a statement. “My very own Portland will join that pantheon of unforgettable fantasy realms, with a stirring epic that will kindle imaginations, lift spirits, and break hearts.”
Linnton is also home to Nelson Lowry, Laika’s Senior Production Designer for the movies ParaNorman, Kubo and the Two Strings, and Missing Link.