LAIKA’s Wildwood, directed by Travis Knight, is the Best Animated Feature of the 2026 Tampa Animation Festival.

Wildwood opened the festival on Thursday, November 5, introduced by LAIKA Head of Animation and University of Tampa alumnus Brad Schiff to a full house at the Charlene A. Gordon Theater. Demand ran so high that we added an encore screening on closing night, Sunday, November 8.

Congratulations to Travis Knight, Brad Schiff and everyone at LAIKA, and thank you for bringing Wildwood home to Tampa.

See all of the 2026 award winners →

More about Wildwood →

The Tampa Bay Times featured the 2026 Tampa Animation Festival on Saturday, November 7, in a story by Neha Seenarine and Christian Blauvelt.

The piece follows the festival from its opening night with LAIKA’s Wildwood to submissions from animation schools on six continents, and asks whether Tampa could become a world-class animation hub.

“There’s something really special about this festival… Tampa is such a fantastic city. It just seems like it’s ripe to grow.” Brad Schiff, LAIKA Head of Animation, in the Times

Read the full story at the Tampa Bay Times →

More coverage of the festival is on our Press page.