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LAIKA: The Magic Behind a Stop-Motion Dream Factory
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LAIKA: The Magic Behind a Stop-Motion Dream Factory: Two Decades of Groundbreaking Animation from Coraline to Wildwood

Author Ozzy Inguanzo, Foreword by Mark Salisbury

An unprecedented look behind the curtain of the preeminent stop-motion studio, this comprehensive volume is brimming with exclusive artwork, photography, and interviews with key creatives.

In this rare glimpse at LAIKA’s 500,000-square-foot dream factory, read how the visionaries of the renowned stop-motion studio bring LAIKA’s handcrafted films to life one frame at a time. Stunning new puppet photography, never-before-seen artwork, and interviews with the studio’s community of storytellers take readers on an unforgettable tour through the studio’s key people, places, and processes, from script development to production design, puppet fabrication, 3D face printing, animation, and visual effects. Featuring a double-page gatefold measuring nearly three feet wide, this expansive illustrated publication on the illustrious studio reveals LAIKA’s innovations in stop-motion filmmaking over the last two decades, from Kubo and the Two Strings to ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls, Coraline, Missing Link, and Wildwood.

Copyright © 2026 LAIKA, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

About The Author

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. A former editor of Empire magazine, he has written more than twenty books, including F1: The Movie, The Insider’s Guide to Inside No. 9, Burton on Burton, No Time to Die: The Making of the Film, The Moviemaking Magic of Star Wars: Creatures & Aliens, and Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride: An Invitation to the Wedding. He also executive-produced the BBC documentary Inside No. 9: The Party’s Over.

LAIKA, founded in 2005 in Oregon, has produced five films --Coraline (2009), ParaNorman (2012), The Boxtrolls(2014), Kubo and the Two Strings (2016), and Missing Link (2019), all of which 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.

  • Publish Date: March 10, 2026
  • Format: Hardcover
  • Category: Performing Arts - Film - Genres - Animated
  • Publisher: Rizzoli Universe
  • Trim Size: 9 x 11
  • Pages: 240
  • US Price: $45.00
  • CDN Price: $60.00
  • ISBN: 978-0-7893-4613-1
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Reviews

"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." — THE WRAP

"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