I've been wanting to watch Wendal & Wild since I first heard about it. I put it on my calendar and even set up notifications so I could watch it on release. The art is gorgeous, and I was curious to see what Jordan Peele could do with stop motion. Unfortunately, this film ended up being a beautiful disappointment.

After her parents' deaths, Kat finds herself stuck in the system. She is constantly moving around in group homes and detention centers because she finds it difficult to cope with the loss of her parents. Kat is given a second chance at a normal life when she is sent to a private school. Kat finds the school to be troublesome. People want to be her friends, and as hard as she pushes, they keep coming back. The guilt she feels for the loss of her parents makes Kat feel as if she doesn't deserve anything good in her life. To make matters worse, Kat discovers she is able to see the future and summon demons. Demons promise to bring her parents back to life, but there is always a catch. Now Kat finds herself in a fight to save the town from an evil couple who wants to tear it all down to make a for-profit prison. Will she and her new friends be able to save the town?

This movie had so much promise. The first half is great! The soundtrack is phenomenal, and the art is beautiful, but it all slowly fizzles out to a generic and disappointing ending. I lost interest around the time this became every other movie. What should have been a fantastical narrative full of magic and demons is just another generic save the town movie. They could have pushed boundaries and created something new, but instead, they decided to play it safe. Whatever they achieved through their art, they lose in their narrative. It isn't a bad movie, but it is a disappointing one.

I appreciate a lot of the work that went into this film. I loved the character design, the art of the sets, and how they handle magic. I just wish it were a better movie. You can watch it on Netflix if you have nothing else to watch, but don't go out of your way for it.

Set in the town of Rust Bank, troubled teenager Kat Elliot (Lyric Ross) is enrolled in Rust Bank Catholic (RBC) after she's deemed a candidate for a special program that enlists juvenile offenders in private schools. Since the death of her parents in the town some years back, Kat has hardened herself against any attachments and maintains an abrasive exterior preventing anyone from getting close to her. Meanwhile in the underworld, two demon brothers, Wendell (Keegan Michael-Key) and Wild (Jordan Peele) are stuck with the menial job of replanting their father's, Buffalo Belzer (Ving Rhames), hair following his discover of the duo's Dream Faire plans. The two discover Kat is a Hell Maiden who can summon them to Earth and contact cat in her dreams, while Wendell and Wild promise to resurrect Kat's long dead premise, the results are not so simple.

Wendell & Wild is the latest film from noted stop-motion animation director Henry Sellick of Coraline and The Nightmare Before Christmas. Selick began working on the film, an adaptation of his unpublished book of the same name, with Jordan Peele and Keegan Michael-Key in 2015 following Selick's brief stint at the Walt Disney Company where Selick's project Shadowmaker/The Shadow King was shelved following meddling from John Lasseter. The film was picked up by Netflix in 2018 with the film going through a lengthy production process that even went through the COVD-19 pandemic with some of the animation being done remotely. The end result of Wendell & Wild is undeniably entertaining, but it's also a very overstuffed movie that can feel a bit unwieldly with how much is going on.

As per usual, the animation on display in Wendell & Wild is quite amazing with the sets and models visually distinct and memorable with some eye-catching designs backed up by solid voice performances from its ensemble cast. The town of Rust Bank is a character in and of itself with the town being virtually empty and only kept alive by the few holdouts who keep the developers from coming in. Needless to say Key and Peele's chemistry is on point in their dialogue exchanges and their energy and passion is well suited to the realm of animation as anyone who saw their role in Storks can attest to. The movie also features a much more diverse cast than we've seen in previous films of this type but still very much makes the story its own. Lyric Ross is very good as Kat our protagonist, Sam Zelaya is also quite good as trans boy Raul, and Tamara Smart is also good playing a character named Siobhan who is played against conventions of being a popular girl stereotype in a refreshing change of pace. The movie also deatures strong supporting players rounding out the supporting cast in Angela Bassett, James Hong, and Ving Rhames and all bring some great life to their roles.

Where Wendell & Wild stumbles however is in its very overstuffed narrative as there are multiple antagonistic parties at work in this story with a company called Klaxon Corp trying to buy out the town, a life giving cream stolen by Wendell & Wild they plan to use to get money for their Dream Faire, James Hong's Father Bests character having a stake in things, and even a pair of demon hunters and there's so many elements stuffed into this story that it can feel a little overwhelming and it feels like the movie could've probably tightened itself a little by paring down or combining story elements to give something more cohesive. In terms of problems for a movie to have a movie with too many ideas is always preferrable to a movie with too few, but it is an issue that holds the film back from being at the same level as Coraline and The Nightmare Before Christmas, but I probably liked it about the same level as Selick's James and the Giant Peach.

Wendell & Wild is a welcome return for director Henry Selick, even if it doesn't reach the high benchmark he's set for himself with his prior work. The film features beautiful design work and solid voice work from its cast, but an overstuffed narrative keeps things from coalescing as much as they should, and the story probably could've benefitted from being streamlined. Overall this is a good film from Selick.

'Wendell & Wild (2022)' is adaptation of Henry Selick's own book about a troubled girl who meets her demons shortly after being enrolled at an all-girls catholic school in her home town. It's the director's first film since his much-loved classic, 'Coraline (2009)', and it features many of the hallmarks of his delightfully macabre style. Teaming up with Jordan Peele (who takes on co-writing, producing and acting as the titular Wild) seems like a match made in heaven - or, perhaps, hell - and a lot of the movie lives up to that potential. However, ultimately it's one of the weaker entries in either filmmakers' filmographies because it simply can't get a handle on what it wants to be. Straight away, something seems off with the pacing. The editing is very elliptical, even in the most straight-forward sequences, and the overarching structure is very unfocused. The piece bounces around between its various elements, never quite coming together as a cohesive whole. These elements are mostly excellent in isolation, but the fact that they never quite gel leads to an experience that's difficult to get fully immersed in. The flick deals with a lot of interesting ideas, touching on themes of family and guilt while commenting on important societal issues such as the prison-industrial complex, and it's also awash in positive representation (even though I could have done without the deadnaming of one of its characters). It's a bit heavy-handed, sure, but it mostly works and actively enhances the narrative. It's a shame that these subtextual, and even textual, aspects get a bit lost in the overall muddled nature of the affair. There are, I suppose, too many for any one of them to be fully fleshed out, leading to moments in which certain things pop up and affect the plot - despite never having been set-up properly - and then fizzle away just as quickly as they appeared. Despite its issues, though, the film is enjoyable throughout. Its aesthetic is distinct and and appealing, with its fluid animation combining with its colourful characters to bring its gleefully grotesque world to life. It has a tangible vibe to it, which is one of its most valuable assets. Regardless of how messy its story is, it's undeniably entertaining, and it conveys several good messages that are as expected as they are necessary. It often deals with familiar elements in an unfamiliar way, at its best when playing with its more subversive scenarios. The picture is a solid effort, even though it certainly has a few narrative issues. If it were more focused, it could have been great. Still, it's a good time overall.