Wolfwalkers (2020)
SHOULD I SEE IT?
YES
For Apple TV+ subscribers, Wolfwalkers is a wonderful surprise - an animated adventure with empowering female characters and a story families can connect to about growing and maturing into one’s own voice.
Beautifully drawn and designed, Wolfwalkers improves on the terrific visual design of Tomm Moore’s previous Irish-themed, Oscar-nominated films - The Secret of Kells and Song of the Sea.
Absorbs us into a world that has little curiosities and fascinations at every turn, with a story that keeps us engaged, guessing, and wondering right along with it.
NO
You do not allow yourself the joy of watching animated/family movies made from non-mainstream sources like Disney or Pixar.
No matter how clever or entertaining or impressive the package, fantasy films and mythical themes are simply not your jam.
You hold a belief that animated movies are beneath you and are, like, not real movies? I dunno - reaching here.
OUR REVIEW
If the traditional Irish/Gaelic score fails to draw you in, the hero’s journey likely will. If the hero’s journey keeps you at an arms-length, the exquisite, hand-drawn 2D animation style will certainly command your attention. Perhaps the film’s balancing of contemporary themes of empowerment and demanding to be seen for who you are will also speak to you.
Point being – if you sit down and spend any time with Wolfwalkers, you are not going to be able to turn away.
Arriving as a third film in a loosely constructed Irish trilogy of animated features, writer/director Tomm Moore follows up on his Oscar nominated work, 2009’s The Secret of Kells and 2014’s Song of the Sea, by collaborating with first-time director Ross Stewart and co-writers Will Collins and Jericca Cleland to tell a story of a female hunter and her father setting out to eliminate what is believed to be a ravenous wolfpack on the edge of their village.
The hunter, in this instance, is teenage girl Robyn (Honor Kneafsey) who, with her father Bill (Sean Bean), stumble a bit in their efforts to eradicate the wolf threat. To their surprise, they encounter a girl living in the woods named Mebh (Eva Whittaker). Mebh has a robust shock of red/orange hair and an odd but steadying force over the wolves hidden in the woods. In direct contrast to Bill’s orders from the Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell (Simon McBurney), Robyn becomes friends with Mebh, who may appear to be more than just a human girl hiding out in the woods.
Moore and Murphy have built a beautiful world for Wolfwalkers to share a multi-layered story, keen on kids and adults appreciating its themes and ideas. As Robyn and Mebh spend more time together, Robyn’s quiet defiance speaks to not only a story of holding fast to your beliefs, but also standing up to those who try to silence your existence. Robyn’s actions stand in defiance of Cromwell’s missive, but also her father’s traditionalism. As Mebh and Robyn find they may be more alike than their perceived differences, Wolfwalkers further finds a kinship in character and story.
Though entertaining and compelling, moments of novelty are few. Everyone is attempting to rationalize what it means to be compliant, while also questioning the decisions others make directly impact their lives. Whether this comes in the order from Cromwell regarding the wolves, or Bill’s decisions on how to carryout his marching orders, Robyn is drawn to a more mature independence in pursuing a life away from her father’s purview. Wolfwalkers poses a thoughtful question: What does it mean to be independent and still maintain a connection to those who have nurtured you and helped make you the person you are?
Beautifully drawn in richly detailed 2-D animation, the film pops off the screen with vivid colors and an almost storybook-like design. We often become enamored with films from Pixar, Disney, or other large studio animation shops who try and thread the needle between realism and modern cartoon imagery. There is nothing wrong with a clean, sleek look and feel, but there is a painstaking authenticity that makes Wolfwalkers stand apart.
Comparisons can be made to the work of Hayao Miyazaki and the Studio Ghibli canon, but Moore and Stewart’s film makes the case that these three films in Moore’s trilogy stand on their own. More people should be lauding their work, then trying to compare it the work of others. Stunning visuals enhance a sensitive and emotional film, showing viewers of all ages the ease with which people can be dismissed for their differences, while reminding us that heroes come in all shapes, sizes, and appearances.
For a fantasy film set in 1650, during the Cromwell-led colonization efforts of England’s advance into Ireland, politics provide a backdrop for a story that sweeps us away into a magical world that feels both new and inviting. Kids and, let’s be honest, most adults are not going to have the slightest bit of knowledge of Cromwell’s larger influence on the film, but that’s alright. What we connect with is not the authoritarian politics of the story; rather, it is the characters finding the growth and maturity to stand up for themselves and others.
CAST & CREW
Starring: Honor Kneafsey, Eva Whittaker, Sean Bean, Simon McBurney, Tommy Tiernan, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Nora Twomey.
Director: Tomm Moore, Ross Stewart
Written by: Will Collins (screenplay); Tomm Moore, Ross Stewart (story); Jericca Cleland (story and script consultant)
Release Date: December 11, 2020
GKIDS/Apple TV+