Here is an early look at the stop-motion hit directed by Henry Selick and co-written by Jordan Peele, Wendell & Wild, before it hits Netflix. For this film, Peele reunites with his old comedic collaborator Keegan-Michael Key to portray the demonic twins who need the aid of the tough-as-nails 13-year-old Kat Elliot (Lyric Ross) to return to the world of the living. The three go on a crazy adventure filled with mayhem and hilarity when she begs for something in exchange.
Selick’s slapstick humour at Father Bests’ expense is on full display in the new footage, demonstrating the former (James Hong). Kat enters the office of Father Bests, the headmaster of her new school and home, and he tries to greet her while still jogging on the treadmill, which is a really bizarre setting. Kat is not eager to shake Best’s hand since he is very forward with his hand. In a great display of Selick’s stop-motion artistry, the pastor trips as he reaches out further to grab her hand, causing his treadmill to speed up to the point where it flips him over the front. In addition to being hilarious, the sequence also hints at a darker side to Father Bests.
In spite of all indications that Kat is just being permitted to stay so that she can continue forking over money, he tells her that she is not in danger of being booted out when he recovers from his nearly back-breaking tumble. Clearly, Father Bests has patched up the window behind him, and he is doing everything he can to make Kat happy and convince her that she should continue working at the school. She confronts him about their desperate financial situation, and he presents the situation as a “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” arrangement.
Kat is given a second chance at life, and the school receives much-needed funding. Wendell & Wild is director Henry Selick’s first picture since the stop-motion horror blockbuster Coraline, and it has an ensemble cast as impressive as its predecessor. Starring Angela Bassett, Tamara Smart, Natalie Martinez, Tantoo Cardinal, Gabrielle Dennis, Igal Naor, David Harewood, Maxine Peake, Ramona Young, Sam Zelaya, Seema Virdi, Gary Gatewood, and Ving Rhames, among others.
The Academy Award nominee directs from a screenplay written by Jordan Peele based on an unpublished novel written by Henry Selick and Clay McLeod Chapman. The film’s score is written by Bruno Coulais, with whom Selick has previously collaborated. The premiere of Selick’s newest work was a smashing success at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it received a 91% approval rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. According to Chase Hutchinson of Collider, “When it all comes together, Wendell & Wild ends up feeling freeing, both visually and philosophically, with top work by everybody involved.” Hutchinson gave the film an A- and called it “yet another brilliant stop-motion production from the maestro himself.”
A short run in cinemas precedes Wendell & Wild’s October 28 arrival on Netflix, just in time for the Halloween holiday.