It’s been a long 13 years since we’ve gotten a new stop-motion animated movie from Henry Selick. The filmmaker behind some of the most notable and acclaimed claymation films of the last three decades, including The Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach, and Coraline, has taken his time getting back into moviemaking — which is understandable, as stop-motion animated movies take a fair amount of time. But Selick is finally back, and is set to debut Wendell & Wild, a spooky and surely kooky buddy adventure-comedy that will hit select theaters on October 21st, then premiere on Netflix starting October 28th.
The release date news came from the streaming service today, as they’re in the midst of announcing the premiere plans for some of their most promising titles for the second half of 2022. Even in a year filled with notable animated features, including Turning Red, The Bad Guys, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, and the site’s own Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood and The Sea Beast, Netflix’s output stands out for its stop-motion animated titles in particular, including January’s The House and this December’s Pinocchio, from director Guillermo del Toro. Given that it’s increasingly rare to see this genre flourish, it’s a credit to the streaming service for not only distributing but producing a handful of sure-to-be-beautiful hand-made animated movies. Certainly, Wendell & Wild will stand out as one of the most anticipated animated movies of the year — especially given the sheer amount of talent involved.
Wendell & Wild serves as a rambunctious collaboration between Jordan Peele and Selick. The directors wrote and produced it, and Peele will also voice one-half of the titular duo. Providing the voice of Wild, along with his frequent Key & Peele collaborator Keegan Michael-Key lending his voice to the role of Wendell, the upcoming animated romp follows two scheming demon brothers who enlist the help of a troubled 13-year-old teenager to summon them into the Land of the Living. But when Kat Elliot, the aforementioned teen, voiced by Lyric Ross, has a high asking price in return, the two demonic siblings soon embark on a bizarre, brazen, and hilarious adventure that should prove to be a hell of a good time.
Henry Selick Takes Us On A Tour Of Wendell & Wild
Also featuring the voice talents of Angela Bassett, James Hong, Tamara Smart, Natalie Martinez, and Ving Rhames, Wendell & Wild will hopefully be a wicked and appropriately wild return for Selick and yet another showcase of Peele’s bold and bonkers brilliance. Now that we have a release date, we don’t have long to wait to see what’s in store for Selick’s long-awaited comeback.
Check out a promotional clip from Wendell & Wild below, which gives us a tease of what’s set to come:
