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Few people knows that, but ‘Coraline’ is my favorite animated movie of all time, I love that movie in many ways, and so when I heard that the same director (Henry Selick) from that movie will return for another animated stop motion horror movie (‘Wendell & Wild’) I just went crazy, this can’t go wrong right? It’s literally what Henry does good, he’s on his area, it’s very hard to fail, and yes, he didn’t failed AT ALL.
‘Wendell & Wild’ tell the story of Kat, a very rebellious girl that had her parents dead when she was just a kid, and she feels guilty for it. Soon after, Kat is sent to a girls’ school, where it will basically be her new home, but this school was located in the same city where her parents died and which today was a deserted city… skipping most of the details to preserve your experience, let’s skip to the main part, Kat is a Hell Maden, she has two demons that she summons when they promise her that they will indeed bring her parents back from the dead, but I mean… can we actually trust demons?
The movie is a gift for every stop motion fan, the movie has many references to ‘Coraline’ and ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’ which I loved it, the soundtrack is dark, we sometimes get nervous to know what to expect, you will always keep your head full of questions on the beginning of the movie and by the end they will all be answered and I really enjoyed how the movie does that. All the settings, the designs, backgrounds, are all amazing and we can actually see the love of the creators in this project, is a movie that I’m really looking forward to rewatch it.
The characters are well developed, and with very interesting characteristics, Kat is a rebellious girl, that deals with trauma, she saw her parents dying in her front so it’s something not easy to get over. Raúl is maybe my favorite character this movie, is a transgender boy which is always prepared to help Kat when she needs it, and all the representation of the LGBTQ+ community here is well shown, not being something forced but something natural in the storytelling of the movie. Wendell and Wild are goofy, they are the perfect comic relief for all the dark moments, they know when it’s time to make jokes, and they are a essencial part of the story as expected. Sadly, the biggest issue of this movie are probably the villains, not that they’re bad, but they’re definitely not good, I feel they good have done more terrible actions in this movie to make us feel how bad they are, and their development is something that could be improved also. I didn’t want to compare but I will, the villains in this movie can’t reach the quality that the fake mother in ‘Coraline’ has.
Jordan Peele actually RULED as voice casting Wild, the whole cast actually did, every voice was well fitted with its character. The movie does not have many blood, but we have very dark murderers moments that will definitely scare the kids watching it, I watched ‘Coraline’ for the first time when I was like 8 and damn I was so scared watching that movie that I still couldn’t get over it.
‘Wendell & Wild’ is one of the best animated movies of the year. A dark and creepy adventure full of demons and the dead with characters that will definitely make you laugh, cry and stay always on the edge of your seat.
Rating: 92%
