Wendell & Wild

Very little charm, not scary or creepy, and lacking any heart. This was wholly disappointing. I had trouble connecting with any of the characters, although I tried my best to! Kat, the movie's protagonist and an orphan, should've been SO much more sympathetic than she was. Even the titular characters Wendall & Wild were pretty one-dimensional.

The story lines also felt very jarring and disjointed. The only thing keeping me engaged was the stop motion and the occasional laugh, but even that wasn't enough to make me care. There's something seriously wrong with this movie. It should've been amazing, but ultimately, there's no magic to be had here.

As a fan of stop-motion animation as well as Keegan Michael-Keys and Jordan Peeles electric chemistry I was greatly anticipating this film when it was announced.

However I was overhyped for its release. The only aspect that is truly outstanding about this movie is stop motion animation.

The story is chaotic and introduces lore without a hint of context. The finale? Condensed. The solutions? Convenient. And for a movie called "Wendell & Wild" the title characters do not get as much screen time as you might imagine. Which is a shame because Key and Peeles voice delivery is stellar.

As a movie? It's middle of the road. As a stop motion movie? It's kinda bad.

'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.

The idea of Key&Peele as stop-motion characters was enough to draw me in, the problem with the movie is they're not the main characters even though the title says Wendell & Wild, the main character is the school girl Kat, and because her life's trauma left her cold, she hard to like, the animation has high production value, it looks good, but the story is about too many different things, and the title characters fade into the background, Kat is supposed to be some kind of hell something lol, and her mentor played by Angela Bassett has the same powers but it's not fleshed out enough to understand what the purpose of those powers are, overall a cute Halloween movie for a family to watch, parents turn off your brain and let the kids enjoy the animation.

When I first saw the trailer, I was really excited for this movie. Henry Selick has made two all-time animated classics with "Nightmare Before Christmas" and "Coraline". Having him team up with Jordan Peele, sounds like a match made in heaven. Ironic comparison given the subject of the movie.

The animation is very distinct. It catches you off guard at first, but you get used to it fairly quick. The movie has a lot of fun and unique characters and create a fascinating world. The characters, animation and moments of humor all work, where does it falter?

The story simply has way too much going on. As the movie tries to juggle these different story points, characters make stupid decisions or unprovoked changes solely for the purpose of moving the story towards a conclusion. And I may have complimented a lot of the characters, but I will say that the villains in this are awful. They are the same old tired villain cliché we've seen a hundred times, with nothing clever or funny to make them stand out.

I like the themes and morals the movie addresses, but just because I like the message, doesn't mean that I liked the way it was presented.

It's a shame because there's a great movie in here, it just doesn't come to its full potential. A good film with just one too many demons holding it back.