Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
Two scheming demons strike a deal with a punk rock-loving teen so they can leave the Underworld and live out their dreams in the Land of the Living.
Wendell & Wild is a visually stunning stop-motion spectacle from Henry Selick, bursting with gothic imagination and tactile craftsmanship that puts it in rare company. The character design and underworld aesthetics are genuinely distinctive, blending punk sensibility with Day of the Dead iconography in a way that feels wholly singular. Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key bring energy to the demon duo, and the voice cast is solid throughout. However, the plot tries to juggle too many themes — grief, gentrification, systemic injustice, demonic scheming — and ends up feeling overstuffed and unevenly paced. The ending struggles to land emotionally given how much the narrative has spread itself thin, resolving threads in a somewhat rushed and unsatisfying manner. Still, as a visual and tonal achievement, it's one of the more distinctive animated films of recent years.