Coraline is a favorite movie in this household. When we heard that Henry Selick, the writer and director of Coraline, was releasing a new stop-motion animated movie with Jordan Peele, I knew we had to watch Wendell & Wild.
Kat (Lyric Ross) is a young teenager that blames herself for the death of her parents. When she is enrolled in an all-girls school in her old hometown of Rust Bank, Kat finds out that she is a “Hell Maiden.” Two demon brothers - Wendell (Keegan-Michael Key) and Wild (Jordan Peele) - are trying to make a fairground for souls, one that is better than the one their father, Buffalo Belzer (Ving Rhames), uses to torture souls. However, the brothers need money to create their dream. They convince Kat to summon them to the mortal world, where they make an agreement with the evil Klaxons, Irmgard (Maxine Peake) and Lane (David Harewood). The demons will resurrect the deceased members of the town council so they can vote in favor of the Klaxons demolishing Rust Bank. But Wendell and Wild also promised that they would bring back her dead parents, which the Klaxons don’t want. Who will win the fight for Red Bank and will Kat ever forgive herself?
As I said, Coraline holds a special place in our hearts. A lot of people will compare Wendell & Wild to Coraline but they are very different movies. The music in Coraline is catchier and there isn’t quite as much humor in it. Instead, W&W is more punk rock. I did expect it to be a little scarier, since horror king Jordan Peele helped write the script but it doesn’t quite make it. It lies in this weird middle ground where it’s not family friendly enough for small children but it’s not scary enough for older teenagers. W&W seems to be aimed at a very specific demographic - pre-teens who are looking to figure out who they are apart from their parents. Or people who really like stop-motion animation.
I do think Wendell & Wild is worth watching. Almost all of the cast is made up of people of color, which is amazing. But, as such, it’s not getting as much publicity from Netflix as it deserves. The more people that tune in, the most Netflix will realize this is what people want to see. And, I mean, Key and Peele are always magical when they are together. You may not walk away singing the songs but you will walk away loving the characters and hoping for more. Oh, and stick around after the credits. There’s a little scene with Selick and Kat that is adorable.