Film Review: "Wendell & Wild" (2022).

From the director of The Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline comes Wendell & Wild. This stop-motion horror comedy film directed by Henry Selick, adapted by Selick and Jordan Peele, and based on Selick and Clay McLeod Chapman's unpublished book of the same name. The film is the story of Kat, a troubled teen haunted by her past, who must confront her personal demons, Wendell & Wild to start a new life in her old hometown.

In early November 2015, it was reported that Selick was developing a new stop-motion feature with Peele and Keegan-Michael Key, based on an original story by Selick. Selick used Charles Addams cartoons, The Twilight Zone (1959), Ray Harryhausen's stop-mo monsters, The Night on Bald Mountain, The Night of the Hunter (1955), and Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) as inspiration for this movie. In mid March 2018, the film was picked up by Netflix. Pablo Lobato was hired to serve as the lead designer on the stop-motion puppets. In early November 2018, Netflix announced the film was scheduled to be released in 2021. In late July 2019, Key announced the film was planned to be released in late 2020. In early June 2020, Bruno Coulais was confirmed to compose the film's score. In mid January 2021, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos revealed that the film's release would be moved to "2022 or later", to meet Netflix's criteria of releasing six animated features per year. By February 2021, production on the film was ongoing in Portland. The production was being done remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. In mid March 2022, the cast was revealed by Netflix on YouTube.

The film stars the voice talents of Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Lyric Ross, Angela Bassett, James Hong, Ving Rhames, Tamara Smart, Natalie Martinez, and David Harewood. It's the performances and the stop-motion figures themselves who steal the show. They're so vivid and expressive, in both body and facial movements, that they cease being mere puppets and take on a life all their own.

The film is a weird and wonderful story, with stunning stop-motion visuals, and haunting music that really heightens the already eerie atmosphere. There's a lightness to every scene of their films, even the emotionally-scarring moments, which pulls you in deeper to the story. Insanely inventive characters and a generous helping of darkly macabre visuals permeate every facet. The film is imaginative, daring and intelligent filmmaking devoid of Hollywood manipulations and greeting card sentiments. It pitches the increasingly creepy dynamic that defines its fantasy world at a level that does not condescend to its children audience, nor seem too diluted for its adult audience. Entertaining, funny and surprisingly suspenseful a times, the film is the perfect movie for your little one and for the child in all of us. All involved in this production deserve praise for turning the film into a triumph of storytelling and cinematic technology. Whether you're young, middle-age or older, you'll adore it. A stunning visual delight, this beautifully-made animated adventure will thrill children of about eight and above.

Simon says Wendell & Wild receives: