Coraline arrives on Blu-ray/DVD after becoming the second biggest box office grosser for stop-motion. All images © Focus Features.

View clips and trailers of Coraline on AWNtv!

With this week's release of Coraline on Blu-ray and DVD (Universal Studios Home Ent.), we thought it would be a great opportunity to catch up with Travis Knight, the talented animator who was recently promoted to president/CEO of Laika, the Portland-based studio. Knight was one of the Coraline animation leads and got to work with his idol, Henry Selick. Coraline has grossed $75.2 million (second in history after Chicken Run). Knight sits on the Laika board and had been the studio's animation head since 2007. He is the son of Laika owner and Nike founder Phi Knight. Additionally, Coraline producer Claire Jennings (Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit) was appointed to the newly-created position of president, entertainment.

Bill Desowitz: So what's it been like taking over Laika? It must be like your own toy factory now.

Travis Knight: That's exactly what it's like. No, it's an interesting transition as I've gone over the different permutations and roles at the studio over the years. At first it was very unusual for me to be in this role…

BD: Well, you've been an artist all these years.

TK: Yeah, right. But I think when you get to the bottom of what it is we actually do I think it makes perfect sense to have an artist at the head of the company. And who better than me, Bill? Don't answer that.

BD: Well, you could flip a coin with Henry, but I'm sure he doesn't want that job. So, first of all, tell me what the success of Coraline has meant to Laika and impacted any decision making?

TK: Well, frankly, one thing has nothing to do with the other: I think there was some misperception that everything was riding on the success of Coraline, and that actually is not even remotely true. Of course, were thrilled at the critical and box office success of Coraline. I mean it really is great vindication for the people who believed in the promise of the film and people who took a chance on the film and actually got it, including our partners at Universal and Focus. It's a very unconventional film, particularly going back years ago when we were getting started on it. The flavor of the day as far as what was acceptable for mainstream animation was all fuzzy creatures and pop gags. And this was certainly not anything like that: it was this kind of weird, creepy, anachronistic, stop-motion horror movie for kids. But we saw the potential there and, fortunately, like-minded people at Universal and Focus saw the potential there.

So I'm really pleased that on a world stage all the work of these incredible artists can be seen. You work in this insular bubble on these films for years and it all rides on this opening weekend -- and it's completely nerve wracking. But to have people respond in such positive ways really helps. But whether Coraline was a tremendous success or huge, devastating, emotionally crippling failure, we were going to move on. We're in this for the long haul. We have a number of projects in development and are in the process of winnowing it down. And I wish I could give you the world exclusive on that… but by the end of the summer we'll choose which film we're moving forward with and we hope to be in production by some point next year.

BD: And it will be stop-motion?

TK: I think it's safe to say that it will be a stop-motion film with CG elements. One of the things that distinguishes us from other studios is that we do stop-motion: it's a rare art form and something we do exceedingly well. But with Coraline, we were able to so some interesting hybridized things…

BD: I take it that the slate still includes Here Be Monsters (based on Alan Snow's book), The Wall and the Wing (based on Laura Ruby's book) and Paranorman (based on an original idea by Chris Butler, head of story on Coraline)?

TK: Yeah, we have a number of things. I'm really proud of the terrific range of the projects in terms of subject matter and concept source. It's one of the things that really becomes a defining quality of what a Laika film is. We're known for our variety and our range. But they're all unified by a singular vision. I think we really have a wonderful opportunity to continue that. I certainly don't want to have a house style. The projects we have in development have a wide range from broad comedies to tales of unspeakable horror.