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‘Wendell & Wild’: a Netflix film review by Mark R. Leeper.

‘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 in the 12/09/22).

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.

There are definitely bits of humour like ‘holistic goat yoga’. The basic story is that 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. It also appears to have been heavily influenced by ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’. Well worth watching.

Rating: low +2 (-4 to +4) or 7/10.

(c) Mark R. Leeper 2022

‘Wendell & Wild’: a film review by Mark R. Leeper.
‘Wendell & Wild’: a film review by Mark R. Leeper.

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