Attention everyone (it’s time for stop-motion): on the occasion of the film adaptation by LAIKA, Salani invites us to rediscover the first volume of the Wildwood Chronicles – The Secrets of the Forbidden Forest by Colin Meloy (with illustrations by Carson Ellis and translated by Valentina Daniele).
A middle-grade novel with ecological inspiration, to tell the difficult transition into adulthood and to raise awareness among readers about environmental themes and about respecting interspecific relationships (those connections formed between organisms of different species within the same biological community).
Because there was a time, in the Wildwood, when plants, animals, and humans still lived in perfect harmony, and this stayed true until an unexpected coup threatened the natural order of things.
But we won’t dwell too long (the novel is from 2012 and many of you will have already read it); with BookTok buzzing for the new edition and the blockbuster just released in theaters, it seems better to linger on the most curious frames of the work, those that allowed the novel to spread far beyond the literary perimeter in which we have always seen it prosper.
First, though, a bit of plot.
Wildwood – The Secrets of the Forbidden Forest
When little Mac McKeel is kidnapped by a flock of ravens during a walk with his sister Prue, the poor girl has no choice but to go search for him in the Impenetrable Land: a wooded zone in the St. John’s neighborhood from which, as the tale goes, no one has ever returned.
The reason is soon told: inhabited by every kind of speaking animal (humans included) and subject to the Boundary Magic (which fences it off from the outside world), the forest near home is now at the center of a heated clash over who, among the contenders, is truly legitimate to govern it. Choosing which side to take will not be easy even for Prue (as everyone seems to have their own reasons); deceived by those who think themselves her ally (such as the ex-Governor Alexandra) and aided by those she never expected (like the Enver the sparrow or her classmate Curtis), the young explorer must therefore awaken her own abilities as a “messenger” to try to save her brother and ultimately uncover one of the many mysteries that brought them to the forbidden forest.
A Ritual of Exchange Magic
Only those from the enchanted realm can, after all, access it or return; raised in Portland (Oregon) in a family that loves her dearly, nothing seems to connect the twelve-year-old Prue to the supernatural aura that surrounds the forest. Except, perhaps, a ritual of exchange that her parents would have carried out even before her birth: to fulfill her greatest dream, Prue’s mother would have turned to the spell of a witch to whom she promised in exchange something she would later regret.
In this sense, both Prue and Mac are parties to a magical pact made without their knowledge; born by the intervention of the enchanted world, the two siblings are thus not mere “Outsiders” — to whom entry to the Impenetrable Land would be denied without proper authorization — but rather true half-blood children, allowed to cross the border because they belong to the forest by birthright.
A Clear Example of Folk Fantasy
Wildwood, indeed, is a clear example of folk fantasy literature: set in one of the largest urban forests in America (Portland’s Forest Park, which in the novel becomes the Impenetrable Land), it pairs the Celtic whispers of the Little People with a narrative structure that sits well within the European fantasy tradition (from the Grimm Brothers’ fairy tales to the cycle Le Roman de Renart).
In this regard, the protagonist Prue McKeel will have to deal not only with a multitude of anthropomorphic creatures (such as the Aviary Owl Rex or the aggressive coyote soldiers), but also with the North Woods Mystics, a druidic community that guards the secrets of natural magic. Specifically, they are the ones who maintain the balance between the worlds; led by the elder Iphigenia — their spiritual authority — and protected by the Tree of the Great Council — a kind of mycelium that connects and senses everything — they step in to support the heroine during the Battle of the Plinth that sees her clash with the Wildwood army.
Alexandra, an Old-School Villainess
Determined to give Prue a hard time throughout the course of the novel, the treacherous Alexandra is an old-school villainess; introduced almost as a Norse deity — stunning, with electric copper-red hair and braids adorned with eagle feathers — she is driven by a mix of anger and despair that truly makes her a fierce antagonist. For she is a mother who has lost a son and a queen who has lost a throne; exiled to the Wildwood for having resorted to a necromancy spell just to maintain control over the Southern Forest, the Widow Governor (so nicknamed as the wife of the late Regent Grigor Svik) leads a band of wolves and coyotes, unleashed to sow panic and devastation. And her dominion continues to grow: she has indeed roused from slumber an ancient invasive ivy, ready to dry up the Land once she receives what has been tributed to her.
Curtis Mehlberg, from Outsider to Bandit
Fortunately — or by the will of the Forest — to step onto the field is also the clumsy Curtis Mehlberg, a Prue’s classmate obsessed with superhero stories and with an unmistakable outcast vibe. He ends up in the Land purely out of curiosity (he heard Prue musing about how to retrieve her brother and decided to accompany her despite his friend’s objections); as soon as he crosses the border, he is captured by Alexandra’s army, who initially enroll him among her ranks — an “Outsider” (half-blood?) can always be useful in battle — and then throws him in a jail (because the boy opposes her methods of command).
And it is precisely during his captivity that Curtis meets the Wildwood Bandits, a group of rebels who, rejecting any form of domination, live in close contact with nature and fight for equality among species. Impressed by the courage he showed during his daring escape — and by the bond he shares with Prue — the Bandit King Brendan invites him to become a Bandit himself and to be trained according to the code of the rebels in view of a future clash with the Widow. Who knows if Curtis will accept the offer, leaving behind his insecurities and starting anew right there in the Wildwood…
From the Novel to the Cinema, an Intermedial Work
Without spoilers (the ending is moving and worth reading and rereading), what matters to highlight is the intermedial character of the work; known for the quality of its plot — which Michael Chabon describes as “(…) the heir to the great tradition of adventure for kids” — Wildwood actually takes shape as a hybrid narrative experience, in which Colin Meloy’s fantastical universe is realized also thanks to the illustrations by his wife Carson Ellis. A (family) fusion of words and pictures that perfectly conveys the retro fairy-tale atmosphere that permeates the entire narrative.
Wildwood
WILDWOOD IMPERIUM
Wildwood. Nelle profondità del bosco proibito
Born as a joint effort in homage to Portland’s forest landscape (the Oregon city where their creative and romantic partnership began), the saga also benefits from the contribution of Hank, their son, who, thanks to his remarkable early reading abilities, helped inspire the parents in shaping the Chronicles. But that’s not all: as the frontman of the indie-rock band The Decemberists, the author also contributed to the film’s soundtrack with original songs, alongside the score composed by Oscar winner Dario Marianelli. A fully animated adaptation — to complete the circle — directed by Travis Knight for the LAIKA studio, the same outfit behind the success of Coraline (from Neil Gaiman’s novel).
The Other Titles in the Saga
After an adventure in the Impenetrable Land, returning to everyday routine is not easy at all (especially when your best friend is missing). Yet while days drift by with homework and the gray Portland sky overhead, all the plants in Prue McKeel’s life begin to speak: a summons from the forest that intensifies until it becomes impossible to ignore. It is then time for the protagonist to venture into Nelle profondità del bosco proibito, the second volume of the saga, where the meddling of Professor Thennis (a new science teacher too curious for her own good) will be joined by the threat of Joffrey Unthank, a magnate of the forestry industry who aims to profit from the Land by means utterly deplorable. And that’s not all: in the final volume of the Chronicles Wildwood – Imperium, our explorer will have one last mission to complete: to remedy a mistake by Zita — the May Queen of the Spring celebration in Southern Forest — who, during a spell, inadvertently evoked an old villainess we know. An occasion, more epic than conclusive, to bid farewell to old and new allies (from the talking bear Esben to the orphans of the Lost Place) but not to us, readers.
That we shall return to the forbidden forest, and always with great emotion.
