The “Hidden Worlds: The Films of LAIKA” exhibit is at the Museum of Pop culture in Seattle, Wash., open now through the summer of 2024.
MoPOP, short for the Museum of Pop Culture, is a nonprofit museum that highlights pop culture monuments, exhibits, events, and more.
LAIKA Studios, founded in 2005 and located near Portland, Ore., is a film animation studio known for their films “Coraline” and “Kubo and the Two Strings.”
The exhibit holds LAIKA Studios’ unseen artifacts, set displays, and character interactive activities from the films “Coraline,” “Kubo and the Two Strings,” “The Boxtrolls,” “Missing Link,” and “ParaNorman.”
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Pieces of Coraline’s clothing before and after use in production.
“Coraline” is about a young girl named Coraline Jones who discovers a small secret door in her new apartment that sends her into the perfect world, except people have buttons as eyes. Despite the utopian world of her dreams coming to life, the ‘other’ mother decides she would like to keep Coraline there for as long as possible. Coraline is then faced with the challenge of returning home while also freeing the souls lost in the so-called perfect universe.
“Kubo and The Two Strings” is about a young boy named Kubo who sets out on an adventure to beat his mother’s evil twin sister and solve the mystery of his own father, all while uncovering his magical powers.
“The Boxtrolls” is about a human boy named Eggs who was raised among the trash boxes known as “Boxtrolls” and struck with the journey of saving them from an exterminator in town.
“Missing Link” is about the one and only bigfoot creature on Earth, Mr. Link, who wants to know where he came from and belongs. With the help of Sir Lionel Frost, the “world’s best” discoverist of monsters and adventurer Adelina Fortnight, the three set out on an adventure to find where Mr. Link’s home and family stand in the world.
Teyah Lopez/THUNDERWORD
Agatha Prenderghast, nicknamed as Aggie, was an alleged witch from “ParaNorman.”
“ParaNorman” is about a young boy named Norman who can see and talk to dead people. As a result of his superpowers, Norman finds himself on a wild adventure to uncover the town’s secrets from the young ghoul whisperer.
One MoPOP attendee, Veronica Meza said she enjoyed her experience at the exhibit and was fascinated at the amount of work involved to develop each film from LAIKA Studios.
“It was a great experience seeing how much detailing and time go into making an animated film,” she said. “What really blew me away was that every move the characters made had to be paused during each filming segment to scalp every movement the characters made on set.”
The Hidden Worlds exhibit will also have their new upcoming animated feature film called “Wildwood.”
“‘Wildwood’ is a tale of love, loss, sacrifice and secrets, and of the magic you can find on your doorstep, if you’re willing to look for it,” said MoPOP’s website.
Tickets range from 30 to 40 dollars depending on the day you decide to attend. The event will be open every day (except some Wednesdays) from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The earlier you buy tickets, the cheaper they will be.
Tickets include admission to the special exhibit, as well as general admission to MoPOP’s remaining 11 exhibits, including: “Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop,” “Nirvana: Taking Punk to the Masses,” “Infinite Worlds of Science Fiction,” “Indie Game Revolution,” “Pearl Jam: Home and Away,” “Fantasy: Worlds of Myth and Magic,” “Scared to Death: The Thrill of Horror Film,” “Hendrix: Wild Blue Angel,” “Science Fiction + Fantasy Hall of Fame,” “Guitar Gallery,” and “Sound Lab.”
To buy tickets, you may click here: Hidden Worlds: The Films of LAIKA Tickets.
For more information on the on-going exhibit, you may click here: MoPOP Hidden Worlds: The Films of LAIKA.