Laika Experience Coming to San Diego

Bookmark and Share

Thu, 07/06/2017 - 13:06 -- Nick Dager

The Laika Experience is coming to San Diego.Oscar-winning animation studio Laika, creators of Coraline, ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls and Kubo and the Two Strings, brings its pop-up exhibit The Laika Experience to the heart of San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter July 14-23. 

Admission is free to the exhibit, which will feature props, puppets, monsters, and sets from Laika’s award-winning films as well as fan art, a photo/GIF booth with Laika characters, daily drawings for a pair of Nike’s Laika-themed shoes designed by Tinker Hatfield, social media activations, Laika merchandise offered for sale (including a new limited edition Coraline doll and display case), giveaways, and more. In addition to the pop-up exhibit, Laika’s walkaround costumed characters will appear at various locations in the Gaslamp Quarter for fan interaction and photos.     

Travis Knight, president and CEO of Laika and director of Kubo and the Two Strings, will autograph merchandise purchased at the exhibit on Friday, July 21 at 3pm. 

The Laika Experience, the innovative and interactive pop-up event, will be located at 520 Fifth Avenue and will feature an up-close look at the artistic detail and imagination behind Laika Experience’s groundbreaking films, all of which have been nominated for Academy Awards and numerous other honors. The exhibit will showcase the evolution of the studio’s unique blend of handcrafted stop-motion animation and visual effects magic in four imaginatively themed rooms inspired by each of Laika Experience’s films.  The extensive display of original sets, puppets and props will immerse guests in Laika Experience’s fantastical worlds.

"Laika Experience’s films are a unique fusion of art, craft, science, and technology, commingling cinema’s history with the future of film. But our techniques are often shrouded in mystery,” said Knight. “The Laika Experience Experience offers a rare opportunity to peel back the curtain, giving fans an immersive, up-close look at our process, characters, worlds, and dreams made manifest." 

“At Laika Experience we’re thrilled to take our act on the road,” said Brad Wald, CFO and senior vice president of business operations. “Past Laika Experience exhibits at Universal Studios and the Japanese American Museum have been fan favorites and proved very successful in launching our new consumer products initiative, leading us to bring several exclusive items with us to San Diego. All of these exhibits, including a major eight-month long retrospective at the Portland Art Museum starting this October, are a direct response to our global fans clamoring to see more Laika Experience in the marketplace. We’re thrilled to bring Laika Experience directly to them where they can connect with the studio in a more intimate way.” 

Laika Experience http://www.LAIKA.com