Henry Selick’s new stop-motion fantasy Wendell & Wild features an all-star cast, including Lyric Ross, Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, James Hong and Angela Bassett. But there’s another group of actors in the film who are nearly as impressive: the collection of stop-motion puppets intricately posed by animators to create the illusion of motion. Casting a movie is one thing, but how did these little performers come to appear in Wendell & Wild? We’ve got a behind-the-scenes video that answers that question, only on Tudum. 

The journey towards Wendell & Wild’s puppet cast started with concept art, much of it illustrated by iconic caricature artist Pablo Lobato. The clean lines and sharp edges of those designs made their way on-screen after a copious amount of 3D modeling and printing. The project’s sculptors had to balance two very important qualities: the puppets’ aesthetic form, and the technical functions that allowed them to be mobile on set. They pulled it off: The finished film moves with the rhythm of Selick’s other stop-motion classics, and preserves Lobato’s gorgeous design.

Wendell & Wild is streaming on Netflix right now.