Laika (animation)

Laika is an animation studio specializing in stop-motion. They made 6 movies: Coraline, ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls, Kubo and the Two Strings, and Missing Link. A sixth film called Wildwood is planned for 2026 as well as The Night Gardener and Piranesi.

In the past, Laika had two businesses: Laika/house for commercial material and Laika Entertainment for feature films. The studio broke off the commercial division in July 2014 to focus completely on feature film production. HouseSpecial is the new autonomous commercial division's name.

Nike, Inc. owner Phil Knight, whose son Travis Knight worked at the studio as an animator, made his first investment in 1998. In 2002, Phil Knight bought the financially troubled Will Vinton Studios to pursue feature-length productions. The following year, Henry Selick, director of The Nightmare Before Christmas, joined the studio as a supervising director. In the late 1990s, Will Vinton Studios, known for its stop-motion films and commercials, sought funds for more feature-length films and attracted outside investors, including Nike.