Is Wildwood scarier than Coraline?

Its rating goes further than Coraline's: Wildwood is PG-13 and Coraline is PG, and Wildwood's rating names bloody images and suicide-related material. How the two compare on screen is a question for the full review, which follows our viewing.

When will TVI score Wildwood?

Wildwood opens in US theaters on October 23, 2026. We score by watching the whole film and judging it against the published methodology, never by reputation, and this page upgrades in place when the scored review is ready.

What is Wildwood's age rating?

Officially, Wildwood is rated PG-13 under the MPA film rating system, the official G, PG, PG-13 scale. TVI does not issue ratings. Our age-fit guidance, which is a different thing, arrives with the full scored review. What a careful reviewer can responsibly say today is on this page. The official rating is an industry classification; our guidance is a developmental read of who the title actually serves.

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TVI Kids · Context Brief · Not Yet Scored

Is Wildwood OK for Kids?The PG-13 Rating, What It Names, and Why It Is a First for LAIKA

A parent guide to LAIKA's new stop-motion film, before we have seen it: what the rating says, and the questions that will decide it for your family.

Official age rating: PG-13· MPA rating

Jordan Robinson, MD, MPH
Accountable editor · Built on the published TVI methodology; editorial guidance, not individualized advice

Not yet scored. TVI has not completed its scored review of this title, and we do not guess at numbers. This page is what a careful reviewer can tell parents today. The full scored review follows when it is ready, and this page upgrades in place when it does.

Official trailer. LAIKA Studios. Embedded from the official channel.

The short version: Wildwood is rated PG-13 by the MPA for strong fantasy violence and bloody images, thematic material, suicide-related material, brief partial nudity and language. It is the first LAIKA film rated above PG. We have not watched or scored it yet, and we do not guess at numbers, so this page is what a careful reviewer can tell you today. The rating names more than most animated films do, and one of its five categories, suicide-related material, is the one most parents will want to understand before deciding.

What the PG-13 rating actually says

The MPA's rationale names five things: strong fantasy violence and bloody images, thematic material, suicide-related material, brief partial nudity, and language. That is a long list for an animated film, and the word strong is the board's own.
PG-13 is a caution, not a restriction. In a US cinema a child of any age can be admitted. The rating tells you that some material may be inappropriate for children under 13 and leaves the decision with you.
The rating names suicide-related material without describing it. It could be a single reference or a central thread, and the rating line does not tell you which. We will say how the film handles it once we have watched it. Until then, it is a reason to learn more before a sensitive child sees the film, not a reason to assume the worst.

Why this LAIKA film is different

Every earlier LAIKA feature was rated PG: Coraline, ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls, Kubo and the Two Strings and Missing Link. Wildwood is the studio's first PG-13, so a family's experience with those films is a useful starting point and not a full answer.
Coraline is the closest reference point for most families. A child who found Coraline frightening, or who loved it, tells you something real. The new rating says Wildwood goes further in at least one direction, and its list includes bloody images, which Coraline's rating did not.
It is also long for a stop-motion film, a little over two hours.
The film is directed by Travis Knight from a screenplay by Chris Butler, adapting Colin Meloy's novel, illustrated by Carson Ellis. In the book, twelve-year-old Prue McKeel follows her baby brother into a forbidden forest outside Portland after crows carry him off. Films change their source, so treat the book as a guide to the story's shape and not its content.

What we can say now, and what we cannot yet

What we can say: the official rating and its five named categories, that it is LAIKA's first PG-13, its length, and the story it adapts.
What we cannot say yet: how intense the violence is on screen, how the suicide-related material is handled, an age-fit band, or a TVI Score. Those come from watching and judging the film, not from a rating line, and we will not assert what we have not seen.
The scored review follows when it is ready, and this page upgrades in place when it does.

Ask before you decide

Three questions do most of the work before you decide.

How did Coraline sit with your child? It is the closest reference point, and Wildwood is rated a step above it.
How does your child handle blood in animation, as opposed to peril? The rating names bloody images, which many families have not met in a stop-motion film.
Is anything going on at home or at school right now that would make suicide-related material land harder? The rating does not say how the film treats it. If the answer is yes, it is worth seeing the film yourself, or waiting for the full review, before your child does.

Common questions

Is Wildwood OK for kids?: Wildwood is rated PG-13 by the MPA for strong fantasy violence and bloody images, thematic material, suicide-related material, brief partial nudity and language. It is LAIKA's first film rated above PG. TVI has not scored it yet, so we will not put a number or an age band on it today; the rating's five categories and your child's experience with films like Coraline are the best guide until we do.
Why is Wildwood rated PG-13?: The MPA rated Wildwood PG-13 for strong fantasy violence/bloody images, thematic material, suicide-related material, brief partial nudity and language. Every earlier LAIKA feature, including Coraline and Kubo and the Two Strings, was rated PG.
Is Wildwood scarier than Coraline?: Its rating goes further than Coraline's: Wildwood is PG-13 and Coraline is PG, and Wildwood's rating names bloody images and suicide-related material. How the two compare on screen is a question for the full review, which follows our viewing.
When will TVI score Wildwood?: Wildwood opens in US theaters on October 23, 2026. We score by watching the whole film and judging it against the published methodology, never by reputation, and this page upgrades in place when the scored review is ready.
What is Wildwood's age rating?: Officially, Wildwood is rated PG-13 under the MPA film rating system, the official G, PG, PG-13 scale. TVI does not issue ratings. Our age-fit guidance, which is a different thing, arrives with the full scored review. What a careful reviewer can responsibly say today is on this page. The official rating is an industry classification; our guidance is a developmental read of who the title actually serves.

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