We’ve got someveryexciting news from the folks at LAIKA, the studio behind the brilliant stop-motion animated filmsKubo and the Two Strings,ParaNorman,The Boxtrolls, andCoraline. LAIKA is poised to have a big presence at San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter during San Diego Comic-Con this year, setting up “The LAIKA Experience” from July 14th to July 23rd. Admission to the exhibit is free and includes props, puppets, monsters, and sets from all of LAIKA’s films as well as fan art, a photo/GIF booth with LAIKA characters, social media activations, LAIKA merchandise for sale, and daily drawings for a pair of Nike’s LAIKA-themed shoes designed byTinker Hatfield.
What’s that you say? LAIKA shoes? Oh hell yes.
In partnership with LAIKA, Tinker Hatfield, Vice President for Design and Special Projects and NIKE have created a limited-edition NIKE shoe to celebrate each of LAIKA’s animated features. All four shoes will be on display at The LAIKA Experience. One pair of either the ParaNorman Foamposites, Coraline Dunks or KUBO XVs, will be given away each day" (sizes randomly chosen).
There will be a daily drawing for one pair of shoes. Additionally, there will be a daily drawing for a pair of ParaNorman slippers.
For more information on how to enter, read the sweepstakes rules on theLAIKA website.
Speaking about the designs, Hatfield said in a statement that it all started withCoraline:
“Coraline was the first, and it was also, probably, the most ambitious of all the shoes. I was trying to bring together the parallel storytelling worlds of sneakers and filmmaking. That film, when I first saw it I thought ‘Wow, this is so unique’ so I knew we had to do something with the shoe that no one else had done in terms of storytelling and detail. “
He also discussed his inspiration for theParaNormanshoes:
“ParaNorman had an ‘other world’ quality to it that I loved. So immediately we thought of Eric Avar’s Foamposite as a great shoe for that project. The shoe itself it looks like something out of a sci-fi movie! We also did the Air Raid II. We went with that shoe because it felt like what LAIKA was doing with innovating in animated horror genre had some similarities to how we’d tried to innovate with the Air Raid in Basketball.”
you’re able to check out a bevy of images of the shoes below, but first, for those attending Comic-Con or in the San Diego area, here’s a rundown of what you can expect at The LAIKA Experience, including a signing by LAIKA CEO/KubodirectorTravis Knight:
THE LAIKA EXPERIENCE (July 14-23)
Location:520 Fifth Avenue, San Diego, CA 92101
What to See and Do:• Sets, puppets, monsters, props from LAIKA’s films:Kubo and the Two Strings(2016);The Boxtrolls(2014);ParaNorman(2012),Coraline(2009).
Hours of operation:
Additional Highlights:
Sunday, July 16:
Friday, July 21
ParaNorman
The Boxtrolls
Kubo and the Two Strings
