Themes like the jaded capitalist takeover of a wholesome family town and how profiteering off incarceration demands that jails be filled without a realistic chance for rehabilitation are heavy and relevant background information, but they never really come together beyond a superficial need to create villains out of the Klaxes. With the overall economy running through cutthroat private prison magnates the Klaxes (Maxine Peake and David Harewood), there’s little room for actual progress when crime is literally what pays them. The drive down shows how derelict this once vibrant place has become-so much so that Kat wonders if Father Bests (James Hong) only took her in for the money the state promises as compensation. Sprung as part of a youth-reformation project, she is now on her way back to her old hometown and its Rust Bank Catholic School for Girls. A few years removed from her parents’ death (a tragic car accident she survived), Kat has bounced around the system only to eventually land in juvenile detention. X-Ray Spex, Death, and more blast through Kat’s (Lyric Ross) boombox.ĭespite the title, she is our protagonist. (Peele cites “Prepared for Terries” as inspiration for their characterizations.) Plot points were reworked, the lead was shifted from an adult woman to a teen girl, and the whole became infused with an Afropunk soundtrack to provide young Black children a conduit to their own experiences through a lens specifically courting them. And there in the drawer sat Wendell & Wild.īorn as a short story with early sketches of the titular demons based on Selick’s sons (and ultimately credited as an unpublished book he wrote with Clay McLeod Chapman), the conceit’s hapless brothers searching for a way to enter the Land of the Living proved perfectly suited for the sort of manic rapport Key and Peele effortlessly brought to their sketches. While that inevitable meeting’s purpose was to enlist their vocal talents, Peele turned the tables to ask if he might also produce whatever Selick did next. The director would ultimately finish its five-season run and declare Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele the “boldest, bravest, and funniest” comedy duo of his lifetime, vowing to reach out and broach the subject of collaboration in the future. So while Selick took a creative step away in the aftermath, he found Key and Peele debuting on Comedy Central. It was supposed to be his follow-up to Coraline and buzz was strong before things went south. Case in point: Henry Selick’s The Shadow King being unceremoniously scrapped by Pixar. A good film with just one too many demons holding it back.Sometimes tragedy begets opportunity. It's a shame because there's a great movie in here, it just doesn't come to its full potential. I like the themes and morals the movie addresses, but just because I like the message, doesn't mean that I liked the way it was presented. They are the same old tired villain cliché we've seen a hundred times, with nothing clever or funny to make them stand out. And I may have complimented a lot of the characters, but I will say that the villains in this are awful. As the movie tries to juggle these different story points, characters make stupid decisions or unprovoked changes solely for the purpose of moving the story towards a conclusion. The characters, animation and moments of humor all work, where does it falter? The story simply has way too much going on. The movie has a lot of fun and unique characters and create a fascinating world. It catches you off guard at first, but you get used to it fairly quick. Ironic comparison given the subject of the movie. Having him team up with Jordan Peele, sounds like a match made in heaven. Henry Selick has made two all-time animated classics with "Nightmare Before Christmas" and "Coraline". When I first saw the trailer, I was really excited for this movie.
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