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movie review - Wendell & Wild

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-eight years and a million words

This is an animated story I watched with my ten-year-old daughter for "movie night". It's about a girl whose parents died in a sequence following her shrieking upon finding a worm in an apple while the family was driving. She's guilt-ridden, alone, and prickly. Now a teenager, she begins to have visions when she foresees a new acquaintance about to be struck by a falling brick. At the same time, two demons are languishing in a very boring hell, spending their days in the service of a much larger demon. One demon causes the other to have his own vision of our heroin, and they begin to plot their escape from their situation.

I loved the design and animation in this movie. These are strongly reminiscent of "Nightmare Before Christmas" and that's because it's by the same director. Off-setting the visuals is a great soundtrack. But the story is too frantic and paint-by-numbers. My daughter started questioning the character's stupidity and at times inexplicable motivations. I felt like this thing was patched together from different attempts.

Not recommended.