Henry Selick’s “Wendell & Wild”

Wendell & Wild (2022)

Surprisingly mature collaboration with Jordan Peele that puts style in service of story in a tale of loss, guilt, community and political intrigue which isn’t afraid to bare its teeth

What’s so refreshing about "Wendell & Wild” is its grounding in real world emotions and politics. Even before the titles, the film shows how dark it is willing to go with an opening that feels more akin to Claude Barras and Céline Sciamma’s “My Life as a Courgette” than any earlier collaboration Selick has done with Tim Burton. People bleed and get murdered in the name of greed while demons have dreams of creating enjoyable fun fairs in the afterlife.

Further into the film, it does fall back on conventions somewhat but we’re so invested in the characters by that stage that it hardly matters. The design and animation here feels in service to the story rather than the other way around and there’s quite a mature thread in the film about community and corruption as well as loss and guilt.

Probably not for younger kids, this sits roughly at the level of Sellick’s “Coraline” in terms of mature content. It’s a well made, enjoyable film that makes me hope for future collaborations between Sellick and Peele.