Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture to Host Largest-Ever LAIKA Exhibition

Award-winning Oregon animation house LAIKA and the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle, Washington today announced a new exhibition that will showcase the creativity, artistry and innovation that make the studio a global leader in stop-motion filmmaking. Visitors will be immersed in the “hidden worlds” of LAIKA — both the magical settings the characters inhabit on screen and behind-the-scenes wonders.

“LAIKA tells original, enduring stories with meaningful themes and a commitment to filmmaking innovation,” said MoPOP’s Director of Curatorial, Collections & Exhibits, Jacob McMurray. “We can’t wait to give our guests a peek behind the curtain into the world of stop motion animation and how emerging technologies are fused with timeless techniques to create LAIKA’s state-of-the-art film masterpieces.”

Hidden Worlds: The Films of LAIKA, the largest exhibition that LAIKA has ever mounted, will open March 17 at MoPOP, spanning more than 7,500 square feet of exhibition space with immersive displays, film artifacts, and interactives spotlighting Coraline (2009), ParaNorman (2012), The Boxtrolls (2014), Kubo and the Two Strings (2016), Missing Link (2019) and Wildwood (forthcoming).

“LAIKA is a multifaceted community of dreamers, makers, storytellers, scientists, engineers and artists all committed to making movies that matter,” said LAIKA’s Chief Marketing Officer and SVP Operations, David Burke. “We believe that cinema is a profoundly important and fertile landscape in which we can tell stories that will speak to global audiences, both now and for generations to come. Film is a universally shared cultural language and it’s thrilling to be partnering with MoPOP, which celebrates the power of popular culture and the individuals who create that magic.”

• More than 7,500 square feet of exhibition space with recreations of six LAIKA worlds, including specialty lighting, original exhibition films and immersive scenic elements like a full-size version of the tunnel leading to the Other World in Coraline.
• Artifacts and sets from LAIKA films imbued with meaning by not only the stories they tell, but through all the artists and craftspeople who have brought them into existence.
• MoPOP signature interactive elements allowing visitors to take a “puppets-eye-view” of a LAIKA set or create their own stop-motion animation using themselves as the puppet.
• Content demonstrating LAIKA’s signature blend of traditional stop-motion animation paired with their technological advances in digital effects and rapid-prototype 3D printing.

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MoPOP members have the first opportunity to see the exhibition with a Member Preview Day on Friday, March 17. Memberships are available at MoPOP.org/membership. A public opening party will be held Friday evening, March 17, with tickets for the event on-sale mid-February. Saturday, March 18 is the first full day the exhibition will be open to the public.

For more information on Hidden Worlds and to purchase tickets, visit MoPOP.org/LAIKA. Learn about the films of LAIKA at laika.com.