Editing Meadowlight (film)

{{Short description|2026 animated fantasy film}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2026}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2026}}

{{Infobox film
| name           = Meadowlight
| image          = Meadowlight 2026 poster.png
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = Lena Darrow
| producer       = Keaton Rymer
| writer         = {{Plainlist|
* Lena Darrow (story)
* Felix Wren (screenplay)
}}
| starring       = {{Plainlist|
* Florence Pugh
* Jacob Tremblay
* Mahershala Ali
* Kelly Marie Tran
}}
| music          = TBA
| cinematography = (animation)
| editing        = Sera Hollis
| studio         = Aurora Animation Studios
| distributor    = Lighthouse Pictures
| released       = {{Film date|2026|3|6|United States}}
| runtime        = 121 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $145 million
| gross          = $618.4 million
}}

Meadowlight is a 2026 American computer-animated fantasy adventure film produced by Aurora Animation Studios and released by Lighthouse Pictures. Directed by Lena Darrow from a screenplay by Felix Wren, the film follows Liora, a young mapmaker who discovers that her drawings can stabilize fading landscapes in a world slowly losing its color and memory. She joins a wandering storyteller, a disgraced knight, and a shapeshifting guardian to restore the ancient Luminar Wells that once sustained the land.

The film premiered in the United States on March 6, 2026, and received acclaim for its animation, themes, voice performances, and emotional depth. It grossed more than $618 million worldwide.

== Plot ==
The land of Aralen is slowly dying. Colors fade, memories disappear, and entire regions fall into a gray, hollow state. In the remote village of Evershade, young mapmaker Liora discovers that her hand-drawn charts can preserve places that are beginning to vanish. During a collapse of the last living valley, known as the Meadowlight, she uncovers a cavern beneath its roots containing memory fragments once tied to the world’s magic.

Inside the cavern, Liora awakens Koryn, a shapeshifting guardian who reveals that the world is powered by ancient reservoirs called the Luminar Wells. A corrupt force known as the Gloam has been consuming these Wells, erasing emotion and history as it spreads.

Liora forms a reluctant team with Taren, a wandering storyteller who remembers tales no one else does, and Sir Vaelen, a disgraced knight seeking redemption. Together with Koryn, they attempt to reactivate the Wells by charting their lost paths. Liora’s maps begin to reshape fading territories, but the Gloam manifests illusions that force the group to face forgotten events and difficult truths.

In the final confrontation, Liora sacrifices her last map, containing her own memories, to restore the central Well beneath the Meadowlight. The world regains color and memory, though Liora awakens with much of her past vanished. Her friends reaffirm that she helped rebuild the world and that she is free to start anew.

== Voice cast ==
* Florence Pugh as Liora, a young mapmaker whose drawings stabilize fading landscapes.
* Jacob Tremblay as Taren, a roving storyteller immune to memory decay.
* Mahershala Ali as Sir Vaelen, a disgraced knight searching for purpose.
* Kelly Marie Tran as Koryn, a shapeshifting guardian of the Meadowlight.
* Shohreh Aghdashloo as the Archivist, caretaker of lost history.
* Brian Tyree Henry as the Gloam, a corrupted echo left behind by the Wells.

== Production ==

=== Development ===
Aurora Animation Studios announced the film on July 9, 2024, under the working title Project Greenfall. The studio confirmed that Lena Darrow would direct her first solo feature after previously writing and co-developing several Aurora projects. Darrow stated that the story concept arose from a desire to explore how cultures decide what is remembered and what is forgotten.

Felix Wren joined as screenwriter in late 2024. Early visual development drew from Scandinavian meadows, Mongolian folklore, and historical mapmaking techniques. According to Darrow, the film's theme centers on the relationship between memory, identity, and collective restoration.

=== Casting ===
In April 2025, Florence Pugh was announced as the lead voice actor for Liora. Jacob Tremblay, Mahershala Ali, and Kelly Marie Tran were confirmed between May and June 2025. Shohreh Aghdashloo and Brian Tyree Henry were added later in the year.

=== Animation ===
Animation was produced using Aurora's ARIA rendering pipeline, which allowed for extensive volumetric lighting, shifting hues, and color-decay algorithms. The Meadowlight sequences used a layered illumination system designed to mimic botanical bioluminescence. Over 400 unique plant species were modeled for background environments.

=== Music ===
The composer was not announced prior to release. The score emphasizes soft choral textures, analog synth layers, and environmental soundscapes intended to reflect memory loss and restoration.

=== Release ===
Meadowlight was released theatrically in the United States on March 6, 2026, by Lighthouse Pictures. It later premiered internationally throughout March and April 2026.

== Reception ==

=== Box office ===
The film grossed $618.4 million worldwide, including $205 million in the United States and Canada and $413.4 million in other territories. It became one of Aurora’s highest-grossing films.

=== Critical response ===
Meadowlight received widespread acclaim. Reviewers praised the film’s atmosphere, cinematography, emotional storytelling, and themes of memory and identity. Critics highlighted Florence Pugh's performance as one of the strongest in Aurora's filmography.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a score of 93 percent based on 312 reviews. On Metacritic, it holds a score of 88 out of 100, indicating universal acclaim. Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an A grade.

== See also ==
* Aurora Animation Studios filmography
* Starforged
* The Last Harbor

== References ==
{{reflist}}