Peyton Elizabeth Lee

In Wildwood (2026), Peyton Elizabeth Lee gives Prue McKeel a determination that suits a girl setting out on a rescue journey. Prue begins sceptically, and Lee's voice work leaves room for her to grow without making her confidence seem false. That ability to make a capable young person believable is Lee's chief strength. She is persuasive in material that asks a teenager to carry unusual responsibilities, while keeping the ordinary teenage concerns worth attending to.

The title role in Andi Mack (2017–2019) established her as a lead, with comedy and dramatic vulnerability both part of the job. Doogie Kameāloha, M.D. (2021–2023) made the contrast explicit by casting her as a teenage doctor, a role helped by her warmth and expressiveness. The polished Disney style can be restrictive, and the generic characterisation in Secret Society of Second-Born Royals (2020) gives her less to work with. In the teen romantic comedy Prom Pact (2023), her nuanced performance makes familiar material feel more credible.

Wildwood offers a more satisfying setting for those qualities. Director Travis Knight's expressive character animation gives its outsiders enough individuality for the kindness towards them to mean something. We were moved by that affection, because these characters are allowed more than a lesson in believing in themselves. Lee's performance benefits from a coming-of-age story mature enough not to lecture its family audience. The animation supplies personality as well as movement, so the voice is not left to do all the work.

The caveat is that Wildwood takes 132 minutes over an adventure whose storytelling remains familiar. Lee contributes to its warmth, but the film still gives its journey more time than it needs. We would like to see what she does with a less tidy character, outside the capable-teenager roles that have served her so far. Start with Wildwood for the performance and the care taken over its characters, provided there is no hurry to get to bed.