LAIKA: The Magic Behind a Stop-Motion Dream Factory

LAIKA was founded in 2005 in Oregon by President and CEO Travis Knight. The studio s five films Coraline (2009), ParaNorman (2012), The Boxtrolls (2014), Kubo and the Two Strings (2016), and Missing Link (2019) have all been nominated for the Academy Award for Outstanding Animated Feature. LAIKA was awarded a Scientific and Technology Oscar in 2016 for its innovation in 3D printing. Ozzy Inguanzo is a Writers Guild Award winning screenwriter, filmmaker, and consultant whose creative contributions include studio features such as Air (2023), Ford v Ferrari (2019), Logan (2017), The Wolverine (2013), and the original Spider-Man trilogy (2002 2007). He is the author of Ghostbusters: Afterlife: The Art and Making of the Movie, Zombies on Film: The Definitive Story of Undead Cinema, and Constructing Green Lantern: From Page to Screen. Mark Salisbury is a New York Times best-selling author, journalist, and screenwriter.

"Laika, the beloved Portland, Oregon-based stop-motion animation studio, is expanding it’s partnership with Rizzoli, the publishing powerhouse behind some of the finest coffee-table books, for a five-project collaboration, beginning next year." — THEWRAP."For a technically inclined readership, LAIKA’s digital pipeline is of particular interest. The studio combines model-based effects with additive manufacturing: heads and facial segments are 3D printed in finely graduated variants to enable lip-synced animation with minimal tolerances. Color management and texture fidelity play a central role, through high-resolution printing processes and subsequent painting. The books promise insights into part series, swap mechanisms, and material selection—from photopolymer plastics for detailed faceplates to more robust blends for load-bearing structures. This is complemented by engineering drawings showing how magnetic anchor points, threaded inserts, and internal guides precisely position the interchangeable components." — 3PRINTR.COM"Laika, the beloved Portland, Oregon-based stop-motion animation studio, is expanding its partnership with Rizzoli, the publishing powerhouse behind some of the finest coffee-table books, for a five-project collaboration, beginning next year." — BUZZFEED MEDIA"First up is LAIKA: The Magic Behind a Stop-Motion Dream Factory, set for release March 10, 2026. This expansive and gorgeously designed hardcover illustrates the story behind the studio and the hundreds of artists, craftspeople and technicians who brought its films to life, detailing every aspect of their creative process. Script development, puppet-making, 3D printing technology, storyboards and early sketches — from each of their feature film projects — converge into the definitive monograph on the “LAIKA Dream Factory.” — THE ANIMATION MAGAZINE"The first release in the partnership will be “Laika: The Magic Behind a Stop-Motion Dream Factory,” set for release on March 10, 2026. The book will illustrate “the story behind the studio and the hundreds of artists, craftspeople and technicians who brought the films to life, detailing every aspect of their creative process.'" — VARIETY.COM"With stop-motion animation studio Laika celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, it's making plans to come to your bookshelves. The studio is collaborating with publisher Rizzoli Universe to produce a series of books about the studio, offering never-before-seen glimpses into the production of its wondrous films...The first book is a hefty tome chronicling the entire history of the studio: Laika: The Magic Behind a Stop-Motion Dream Factory: Two Decades of Groundbreaking Animation from Coraline to Wildwood will be released on March 10, 2026. It will cover the studio's entire twenty-year history, from its first film, the eerie Coraline, to next year's Wildwood. It is written by Ozzy Inguanzo, and will tour Laika's studios and delve into their archives." — COLLIDER.COM"Laika: The Magic Behind a Stop-Motion Dream Factory will illustrate “the story behind the studio and the hundreds of artists, craftspeople, and technicians who brought its films to life, detailing every aspect of their creative process,” from script development to puppet-making to 3D printing technology, storyboards and early sketches. And, of course, you’ll get all of this for every one of Laika’s films." — THEWRAP."In March, Ozzy Inguanzo will release through publisher Rizzoli Universe, LAIKA: The Magic Behind a Stop-Motion Dream Factory: Two Decades of Groundbreaking Animation from Coraline to Wildwood profiling the stop-motion/visual effect studio and the work they’ve been creating. The oversized 240-page hardcover promises to tour through each aspect of the studio’s development process from pre-vis to final shooting while interviewing prominent staff members along the way." — CARTOON RESEARCH"I am absolutely blown away by the scope of this book with full-page and double-page photo-spreads, sketches, art, puppet construction, lighting, special effects and absolutely every aspect of stop-motion animation [....] I am in stop-motion animation heaven!" — BOYCE MCCLAIN COLLECTOR'S CORNER"LAIKA: The Magic Behind A Stop-Motion Dream Factory is sure to be required reading for animation enthusiasts and movie lovers of all stripes." — EMPIRE"A perfect pickup for film and booklovers alike." — @PERUSEPROJECT VIA TIKTOK"This book is such a great source of inspiration." — @PRACTICALPECULIARITIES VIA INSTAGRAM"This book is a must-have for any die hard Laika studios fans." — @THEREALPROFESSORX VIA INSTAGRAM