Wendell and Wild, without a doubt, was one of my most anticipated movies of the year. Especially because it combined the talents of stop-motion maestro Henry Sellick and Jordan Peele. It also marked the reunion of Peele and Keegan Michael Key on the tenth anniversary of their sketch show Key and Peele. I can safely say that it lived up to the hype — in fact, it might have even exceeded it! The reason lies in the new approach Sellick takes to his animation style and the script he co-wrote with Peele.
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Key and Peele play the titular Wendell and Wild, a pair of demon brothers forced to clean the body of their father, Buffalo Belzer (Ving Rhames). They find unlikely salvation in Kat (Lyric Ross), a teenager who’s bounced from place to place after the death of her parents. When Kat is chosen as a “Hellmaiden,” Wendell and Wild strike a deal with her: if she helps them get to the Land of the Living, they will resurrect her parents. Soon Kat finds herself tied up in a plot involving the school, the demon brothers, and a conglomerate that’s slowly been buying up her old hometown.
The thing that stands out the most about Wendell and Wild is the animation style. It takes a slightly darker and more mischievous turn than Sellick’s previous work, especially where the Underworld is concerned. Worms pour out of skulls. Belzer torments lost souls in numerous ways, putting them through a hellish carnival. And there’s a stuffed demonic teddy bear. Not even the human characters escape this treatment. A pair of nuns that follow Kat around look less like women of God and more like mummified heads that a witch doctor might carry around. Animation aficionados will likely find a treasure trove of details while watching due to how rich and lived-in the film’s world feels.
In a growing tradition for projects that Peele has written and/or produced, there are plenty of scares and layers of themes underneath the story. Chief among them: dealing with trauma. Kat lost her parents at a young age, and that loss led to her hardening her heart under layers of anger and punk rock. Yet as time passes, she learns how to confront that trauma and come to terms with it. It’s rare for a project featuring a Black female lead to tackle these themes, let alone with the sensitivity needed for said themes, but Peele and Sellick succeed wonderfully.
The two filmmakers have also wrangled a talented voice cast, with Ross at the center of the action as Kat. She has all the necessary layers needed to bring this character to life. Anger at the world, grief at losing her parents, and skepticism at forming a deal with demons. Other standouts include James Hong as a shifty priest and Angela Bassett as the mysterious Sister Helly. But of course, the major draw is Key and Peele as Wendell and Wild. The duo slip back into their comedic back and forth like an old coat, trading hair-brained schemes all throughout the film. This time around, Key plays Wendell as the straight man while Peele lends a childlike simplicity to Wild’s worldview. And when it’s time to bring the scares, the duo shift from bumbling to barbaric on a dime.
Wendell and Wild is a hellishly entertaining, well-crafted animated experience that succeeds on multiple levels—having Key and Peele withdrawals? It’s for you. Looking for the next great Halloween movie? It’s for you. Animation fan? It’s DEFINITELY for you. Hopefully, this isn’t the only project that Sellick and Peele work together on. Much like the titular demons, they’re a match made in heaven — or in this case, hell.
Wendell and Wild will premiere in select theaters on October 21. It will be available to stream on Netflix on October 28.
