50 Fun Facts About Laika Studios

Which Nike co-founder owns Laika?

He first invested in the studio's predecessor, Will Vinton Studios, in 1998.

In which Oregon city is Laika based?

It is part of the Portland metropolitan area.

What role did the owner's son Travis take at Laika in 2009?

He also directed Kubo and the Two Strings and Wildwood himself.

Laika is named after what?

The Soviet Union launched Laika in 1957.

Which studio was rebranded as Laika in 2005?

Vinton was famous for the California Raisins and Claymation commercials.

Which Nightmare Before Christmas director joined Laika as supervising director in 2003?

He directed Coraline before leaving in 2009 after failing to renegotiate his contract.

In which year did Laika release its first feature, Coraline?

It opened on February 6 and is now the third-highest-grossing stop-motion film ever.

Which cancelled CGI project caused Laika's 2008 layoffs?

Laika then dropped computer animation entirely to focus on stop motion.

What was Laika's spun-off commercial division renamed in 2014?

It had made ads for Apple, Fox Sports, ESPN and Coca-Cola.

Which Coraline author wrote the novella Laika adapted for its debut?

He invited Selick to adapt it after seeing The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Who voices Coraline Jones?

Teri Hatcher voices both her mother and the Other Mother.

Who voices the Other Mother, also called the Beldam, in Coraline?

Hatcher was then starring in Desperate Housewives.

Which Japanese illustrator shaped Coraline's muted-versus-vivid colour palette?

Selick sought him out for a look unlike most animation.

How many identical Coraline puppets were built for the film?

Each took three to four months and about ten people to build.

What did Coraline pioneer in stop-motion puppet making?

The crew used three Objet printing systems and over 200,000 face combinations were possible.

In which year did Laika's second feature, ParaNorman, open?

It arrived on August 17, three and a half years after Coraline.

Who co-directed ParaNorman with Sam Fell?

Butler went on to write and direct Missing Link and write Kubo and Wildwood.

Who voices Norman in ParaNorman?

Norman is an 11-year-old who can speak to the dead.

ParaNorman was the first stop-motion film to use what for faces?

Coraline had used black-and-white printers.

Which novel is The Boxtrolls based on?

Alan Snow's 2005 book featured five species of creatures; the film kept just one.

In which fictional hilltop city is The Boxtrolls set?

The city's ruling White Hats are obsessed with cheese.

Who voices the villainous exterminator Archibald Snatcher?

Snatcher craves a White Hat despite severe lactose intolerance.

Which Game of Thrones actor voices Eggs in The Boxtrolls?

He played Bran Stark; Art Parkinson (Rickon) later voiced Kubo.

Who directed The Boxtrolls?

It was nominated for Best Animated Film at the Oscars, Golden Globes and BAFTAs.

In which year was Travis Knight's directing debut, Kubo and the Two Strings, released?

He had been lead animator on the studio's earlier films.

Kubo and the Two Strings is set in which country?

Ink wash painting, ukiyo-e prints and origami inspired its look.

What instrument does Kubo play to bring origami to life?

It is a three-stringed Japanese lute.

Who voices Monkey in Kubo and the Two Strings?

Monkey is revealed to be Kubo's mother reincarnated as a macaque.

Who voices Beetle in Kubo and the Two Strings?

Beetle turns out to be the samurai Hanzo, Kubo's father.

Who voices the Moon King?

The Moon King is Kubo's grandfather, who stole his left eye.

Kubo was only the second animated film nominated for which Oscar?

The Nightmare Before Christmas was the first.

Which major award did Kubo and the Two Strings win?

At the Oscars it lost to Zootopia and, for effects, The Jungle Book.

Which 3D-printing firm lent Laika its newest technology for Kubo?

Laika gave feedback on the machines in return.

Who wrote and directed Missing Link?

It was his first solo directing credit after co-directing ParaNorman.

Who voices Sir Lionel Frost in Missing Link?

Zoe Saldaña voices his former girlfriend Adelina Fortnight.

What name does Mr. Link choose for himself?

He picked it up from a friendly prospector he once met.

Who voices Mr. Link?

Emma Thompson voices the Yeti Elder he travels to meet.

What distinction does Missing Link's $100 million budget give it?

It grossed only $26.6 million and lost about $101 million.

Missing Link was the first non-CGI film to win which award?

It beat Toy Story 4 and Frozen II in January 2020.

Which company distributed Missing Link in the US?

Laika's first four films had all gone through Focus Features.

Laika's sixth film, Wildwood, is based on a novel by which Decemberists frontman?

His wife Carson Ellis illustrated the 2011 book.

Wildwood's hidden forest lies near which city?

Prue McKeel ventures in to rescue her baby brother from the crows.

Which legendary cinematographer shot Wildwood?

He is the father of actresses Zooey and Emily Deschanel.

Which company was announced as US cinema distributor of Wildwood for October 2026?

Fathom also handled the 2025 ParaNorman re-release.

Which Susanna Clarke novel did Laika acquire in 2024 for Travis Knight to direct?

The announcement followed a BFI Southbank exhibition of the studio's work.

Which Ozark creator wrote the story for Laika's animated project The Night Gardener?

Travis Knight was announced as its director.

What was the first project announced by LAIKA Live Action in 2021?

It is based on John Brownlow's action thriller novel.

Under what name did Travis Knight briefly record as a rapper?

Hank Shocklee's Bomb Squad produced his debut album.

Which Transformers film was Travis Knight's live-action directing debut?

He later directed Masters of the Universe for Amazon MGM.

In 2015 Laika announced plans to expand its studio to produce how many films per year?

Missing Link in 2019 was still only its fifth film in a decade.