WENDELL & WILD
(a film review by Mark R. Leeper)

WENDELL & WILD: WENDELL & WILD is the second of three stop-motion films from Netflix this year (the other two being THE HOUSE [reviewed in the 05/13/22 issue of the MT VOID] and GUILLERMO DEL TORO'S PINOCCHIO [reviewed below]). It is directed and co-written by Henry Selick, the same person who wrote and directed CORALINE. (The other co-writer is Jordan Peele, who wrote GET OUT, US, and NOPE). The stop-motion is well-done; for example; there is a nice effect of someone stepping into a frozen-over pothole. And there are definitely bits of humor ("holistic goat yoga"). The basic story--evil villains are trying to take over a town--has elements of IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, though here we have demons rather than angels interfering. (The similarities between the Villainous Klaxons and a certain recent First Couple are no accident, according to Selick. Even the name is a pun.) And it also appears to have been heavily influenced by THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS. Well worth watching.

Released 28 October 2022. Rating: low +2 (-4 to +4) or 7/10

Film Credits: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5181830/reference

What others are saying: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wendell_and_wild

					Mark R. Leeper
					Copyright 2022 Mark R. Leeper