Even if you don’t know Henry Selick by name, there’s a good chance his films could have an impact on you. Selick is the director behind groundbreaking stop-motion masterpieces Nightmare Before Christmas And the Coralineas well as a whimsical childhood favorite James and the giant peach. That’s as good as running three movies as you’ll see from any director, and Selick’s work in motion mode has taken the format to new heights. For the first time in over 13 years, Selick is finally releasing a new movie. it’s a Wendell and Wildwhich is just as scary and adorable as the rest of Selick’s movies.
Wendell and Wild It is a Netflix original movie based on an unpublished book written by Selick with Clay McLeod Chapman. Selick penned the script with Get out And the no Writer/director Jordan Peele, who also played the producer and stars as one of the titular characters. The film tells the story of a 13-year-old orphan named Kat (Lerik Ross), who deals with the lasting trauma of her parents’ death (which she believes they caused) and the complete shutdown of her hometown. After inadvertently becoming Helmaiden, Kat is persuaded to summon demons Wendell (Kegan-Michael Key) and Wilde (Bill) to the surface to bring her parents back. Little do you know, they have plans of their own, which include quite a few people who are raised from the dead.
This movie is exactly what you’d expect when you think about what Henry Selick and Jordan Peele would make together. It’s painful, fantastical, horrific, and absolutely terrifying. It also has a lot to say about the state of the world we live in and the way we love those around us. Family trauma, gentrification, the prison system, capitalism, trans rights, the failed state of education – there are so many things that this movie tackled. All of them are relevant to the story and each point packs a punch when you get to the end of it, but causes the text to be a bit overcrowded. between everything Wendell and Wild He wants to say and the very unique world he’s building from the ground up, there’s a lot going on at any given time. Fortunately, while this can be a little frustrating, all of these things work to help each other, so the busy nature of the story rarely rules out its effectiveness.
The tale itself is fascinating, full of interesting directions and characters that feel like they’re living like any other live-action movie. Kat is tough around the edges but has so much that it takes a couple of hours to really get to know her as she wants. Sam Zelay’s Raul is a sympathetic hero and Angela Bassett’s sister Hailey is a scene stealer. However, it is the demons after whom the movie is named that are shedding light and attention.
Wendell and Wild he is key & bell A reunion, with old official comedy partners portraying a pair of demon brothers with theme park dreams. They’re cocky and cheerful to the ninth degree, in a way that they both feel like equal parts Jack Skellington and Oogie Boogie. Both are by nature silly and optimistic spirits, but they are also a bit sinister and sadistic. They will make you laugh and want to vomit, often in the same scene.
The Key and Peele shows shine with these characters, but they wouldn’t carry the same weight without the impeccable character designs made by the sculptors and puppeteers. This really gets to the core of what makes the entire movie as magical as it is. The world is built for Wendell and Wild It is amazing, and so are the characters that inhabit it. Every ounce of this design was executed to perfection, making it the most memorable project of Selick’s career. Days after watching it, I still have very vivid and specific memories of many different stills, most notably an amusement park built on the belly of a huge demon in the underworld. You will see things in Wendell and Wild You’ve never seen it in a movie before, and you’ll need to rewind on more than one occasion just to try to take it all in.
Wendell and Wild It has its flaws, but everything is right overshadowed by it. Both Selick and Peele offer something that only one can do, a film full of heavy hearts and dark humor that can satisfy longtime horror fans and serve as a gateway for young viewers who haven’t dived into the genre. There’s nothing quite like it that makes me want to watch it again, and this is one of the highest compliments I think a movie can earn.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Wendell and Wild It will be shown in select theaters on October 21, followed by a worldwide Netflix release on October 28.
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