On October 10th, 2022, the first full trailer for the movie, Wendell & Wild, was released. My first impression was that it would be absolutely phenomenal; I was so excited to see it. Seeing that Jordan Peele would be one of the producers (and a voice actor), along with Henry Selick (who worked on other stop motion films like Coraline and The Nightmare Before Christmas) made me even more anxious for its release. 

The movie features the main character, Kat Elliot (voiced by Lyric Ross), an orphan who lost her parents in a car crash. After her parent’s death, her character exhibits a lot of survivor’s guilt. I think seeing real problems, especially involving mental health, in film is really great. Especially, when it’s represented in a realistic and proper way, which Wendell & Wild does well. 

On the other hand, I don’t think they do a very good job of introducing the concept of the world surrounding the story-line or how the supernatural world and the demon world are connected to the ¨living world.” 

Sure, the film gives small hints to these things, like when Kat bites into the candy apple to find a two headed worm, and the carriage that Wendell and Wild ride in coming from underground, but the characters who are experiencing it, never seem to question any of it. I think this kind of breaks the world building aspect of the movie, but then again it’s fiction. It isn’t exponentially important for everything to be explained. 

Similarly to other Jordan Peele movies like Us and Nope, Wendell & Wild has absolutely phenomenal visuals that never fail to submerge viewers into the story. Even with the movie being completely stop motion, it still feels so easy to get lost in the plot, almost like it’s happening in real time. In my opinion, a lot of movies attempt to do this and fail, but this film does it effortlessly. 

Even the stop motion gets really creative. When watching the movie for the first time, I noticed a big chunk of the materials used like practical effects. Even these aspects make the movie super unique and so much more aesthetically pleasing, even if they seem miniscule. 

Piled on with all of these things, the movie is filled with representation from a number of different cultures and communities that often go misrepresented. For instance, the character, Raúl, is an amazing example of how to incorporate transgender characters and stories in a healthy way in film. As well as Ms.Hunter and her tattoos that are accurately depicted and representing the indigenous community and culture. 

All of these things make Mendell & Wild absolutely unique and masterly crafted. This film absolutely gets a 9/10 rating from me. It lived up to all my expectations. It is an absolute masterpiece and a piece of art made with love and beauty.