The newest trailer for the Netflix stop-motion spook fest Wendell and Wild has just been revealed ahead of its premiere at Toronto International Film Festival on September 11. The film is directed by legendary stop-motion director Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline) with a screenplay co-authored by Jordan Peele and Selick based on Selick and Clay McLeod Chapman's unpublished book of the same name.
Wendell and Wild stars Peele and long-time comedy partner Keegan Michael-Key, along with Lyric Ross, Angela Bassett, James Hong, and Ving Rhames. In the Netflix movie, Key and Peele play conniving demon brothers Wendell and Wild, who trick 13-year-old Kat Elliot into helping them enter the Land of The Living.
The new Wendell and Wild trailer offers a closer look at the plot of the movie, with Kat being told to "face her demons" by a nun with glowing green eyes. Kat is then literally shown her tragic backstory replayed in ghoulish green, including the death of her parents. Kat then meets Wendell and Wild in her dream as the music builds and further scenes are revealed, including the Hellish theme park that Wendell and Wild work at. Towards the end, a gigantic pair of horns begin to rise through the earth as someone ominously says, "I'm coming for you." The trailer ends with Kat stating in voiceover, "Everyone has demons. My demons have names."
Speaking to Slash Film, Selick discussed making an animated film with a cast of People of Color. "Jordan, he convinced me Kat should be the protagonist because it originally was Sister Helley [played by Angela Bassett]," Selick said. "He convinced me [it should] be Kat and I said, 'Well, I'm a little worried because I did that film 'Coraline' and I don't want people to think I'm doing the same film.' And he said, 'Oh no, no one will confuse it with 'Coraline' if she's a person of color — someone that I would've wanted to see in a film when I was a kid.'"
This led to the entire cast of characters being revised, with Selick mentioning his work on Coraline by stating, "Even going back to 'Coraline,' there's this character Bobinsky and he performs on the rooftop and I was so tired of all these white people. I just made him blue." Selick also discussed the PG-13 Rating of the film, saying, "There should be scares and powerful things, but I want it to be for brave children of all ages. That's who my audience is."
Produced in collaboration between Netflix Animation and Peele's Monkeypaw Productions, Wendall and Wild has its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11 ahead of its theatrical release on October 21 before landing on Netflix in time for the spooky season a week later.
Wendell and Wild will be released on Netflix on October 28, 2022.
Source: Netflix/YouTube, Slash Film