Ahead of Wendell & Wild's release on Netflix, Collider can share an exclusive clip from Henry Selick and Jordan Peele's stop-motion darling. Peele re-teams with his old comedy partner Keegan-Michael Key as they play the titular demonic brothers who call on the tough as nails 13-year-old Kat Elliot (Lyric Ross) for help reaching the land of the living. When she asks for something in return, it sends the three on a bizarre journey full of hijinks and chaos. The former is on full display in the new clip as Selick shows off some slapstick comedy at the expense of Father Bests (James Hong).
In a delightfully wacky setup, Kat steps into the office of Father Bests, the head of her new school and home, who attempts to greet her while still walking on his treadmill. Bests is a little pushier than Kat would like as she refuses to shake his hand. The pastor slips up when he reaches out further to grab her hand only to speed up his treadmill so much it flips him over the front in a brilliant show of Selick's stop-motion work.
Beyond its comedy, the scene teases a slimier undertone to Father Bests. After recovering from his nearly back-breaking tumble, he assures Kat that she's not in danger of being kicked out, though every indication is that she's only allowed to stay just so she can keep forking over money. The window behind Father Bests is clearly patched up, and he seems desperate to keep Kat pleased and convinced she needs to stay with the school. When she calls him out for their obvious need for cash, he reframes it as a "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" deal. Kat gets a fresh start under their roof, and the school gets the money it so desperately needs.
For Selick's first film since creating the stop-motion horror hit Coraline, Wendell & Wild features a similarly stellar cast leading the charge. Besides Key, Peele, Ross, and Hong, the voices of Angela Bassett, Tamara Smart, Natalie Martinez, Tantoo Cardinal, Gabrielle Dennis, Igal Naor, David Harewood, Maxine Peake, Ramona Young, Sam Zelaya, Seema Virdi, Gary Gatewood, and Ving Rhames. The Academy Award nominee directs from a screenplay adapted by Peele from an unpublished book Selick penned with Clay McLeod Chapman which, itself, was inspired by a Neil Gaiman story per the stop-motion giant himself. Selick also reunites with Bruno Coulais who composes the film.
Selick debuted his latest creation at the Toronto International Film Festival to high praise, earning a 91% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. Collider's own Chase Hutchinson called it yet another sterling stop-motion creation from the master himself, giving the film an A- and saying, "When it all comes together, Wendell & Wild ends up feeling liberating, both artistically and thematically, with top work from all involved."
Wendell & Wild is currently in theaters for a limited run before it reaches Netflix in time for Halloween on October 28. Check out the exclusive clip below.