Jordan Peele Brings Horror and Heart to Animation with Wendell & Wild

 

Life is hard and it’s especially compounded with pressure associated with trying not to slide into a grief stricken coma due to the loss of a loved one.

Acclaimed stop-motion animation filmmaker Henry Selick  has joined forces with  horror maestro Jordan Peele to compose a hilariously delightful macabre tale of two mischievous demon brother and their shenanigans as they wreak havoc in the Land of the Living.

While Key and Peele reunite lending their voices to these fraternal hell raisers dreaming of defying their demon dad Buffalo Belzer (Ving Rhames), audiences are also treated to vocal prowess of Angela Bassett (Sister Helley), Lyric Ross (Kat) and James Hong (Father Bests).

At first summoned to the depressed town of Rust Bank in order to resurrect the parents of young Kat Elliot, a troubled goth teenager (Lyric Ross) with unknown supernatural abilities, Wendell & Wild inadvertently fall in cahoots with the town’s corrupt socialites who’re conspiring to transform the community into a private prison for profit and exploitation. Yet, this only scratches the surface of the film’s intricate weave of diversely eccentric characters and a charmingly twisted plot.

The stop animation alone is historic, intricate and uniquely Afrocentric, which will make it an instant classic. From Selick’s carnivalesque, family-friendly frights to Peele’s inspired satirical digs which, welcomingly promote the importance of protest and resistance in the face of institutional corruption and oppression. Kat is unapologetic about the her style and is dogmatically clear about her mission making her an animated heroine of epic proportions.

While leaving us with a message of no matter how old you become, nothing can take the place of a single hug from your Mom and Dad – an unconditional love that builds a bridge to an eternity never to be shattered.  Yet, also conveying no matter how unfair life may seem, there’s always a lesson lying underneath that’s meant to be held for a reason, season or a lifetime.

Magic hair cream, booger subterfuge, one adorable baby goat and a showdown against a small army of slapstick skeletons make Wendell & Wild a recipe of animated madness that will delight midnight movie fans, young and old.