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Wendell & Wild 2022

Movie · 105 min · English · September 11, 2022

Directed by Henry SelickWritten by Henry Selick, Jordan Peele

Starring Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Lyric Ross, Serelle Strickland, Angela Bassett

Wendell & Wild is a 2022 American animated Gothic comedy horror film. It was directed by Henry Selick and produced by Selick and Jordan Peele, with the screenplay written by Jordan Peele and Selick. The story is based on an unpublished book by Selick and Clay McLeod Chapman. The main characters are voiced by Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele. Supporting roles are played by Angela Bassett, Lyric Ross, James Hong, and Ving Rhames.

This marks Selick’s first feature film since Coraline in 2009. Initially, Key and Peele were set to star in November 2015. The film’s distribution rights were acquired by Netflix in March 2018. Additional voice actors were announced in March 2022. The production process occurred remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. Filming took place in Portland, Oregon.

The movie had its premiere at the 47th Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2022. It opened in select theaters on October 21, 2022, followed by a streaming release in Netflix on October 28, 2022. Critics gave it generally positive feedback. They appreciated Selick’s return, the stop-motion animation, and character design. However, they found the screenplay and plot overly complicated.

The film is dedicated to Mark Musumeci, who worked on most of Selick's earlier stop-motion films since The Nightmare Before Christmas and passed away during production.