Wolfwalkers
In a time of superstition and magic, when wolves are seen as demonic and nature an evil to be tamed, a young apprentice hunter comes to Ireland with her father to wipe out the last pack. But when she saves a wild native girl, their friendship leads her to discover the world of the Wolfwalkers and transform her into the very thing her father is tasked to destroy.
- Released: 2020-10-26
- Runtime: 103 minutes
- Genre: Adventure, Animation, Family
- Stars: Honor Kneafsey, Eva Whittaker, Sean Bean, Simon McBurney, Tommy Tiernan, Jon Kenny, John Morton, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Oliver McGrath, Niamh Moyles, Nora Twomey, Paul Young, Lana Ropion
- Director: Tomm Moore, Ross Stewart
Comments
- madsedies - 4 December 2023
the best movie I have ever seen
It's such an amazing movie, it really catches the freedom of being a wolf and the tough scenario that the main character is in makes it so much better to watch these scenes, it really is heartbreaking at times but it's absolutely the best movie I have ever seen, the graphics and style is so unique and lovely, and the storyline grabs my heart every time. Its so amazing, I cant get enough of it. It shows you how freeing it could be from any bad scenario to just run away and be free to yourself, of course it comes with some consquences to be free, like in the movie. But its really actually amazing. I would watch this in every lifetime and forever if I could, it gets me every time. - BabelAlexandria - 1 March 2023
An Irish Hommage to Princess Mononoke
We couldn't wait to get the latest film from Cartoon Saloon, an Irish studio which still uses (basically) hand-drawn animation, after I heard about it through the academy award nomination. WolfWalkers oddly took a very long time to be released on blu ray in the USA, and when it finally was, it was only available through a package with other films from the same studio. But in our book, Cartoon Saloon is so good--right up there with Studio Ghibli, and, yes, Disney/Pixar--that I got the package anyway, even if it meant duplicates in our collection. Despite the academy award consideration, it's not quite as good as its predecessors The Secret of Kells, Song of the Sea, or the Breadwinner. Still excellent, however, and notable for its very specific and detailed historical fiction, which seems rare in children's animation or literature. Baked into the portrayal of the Cromwellian occupation of Ireland is the fantasy plot of WolfWalkers--Irish lycanthropes who release their wolf-spirit during sleep--and the daughter of an English general who befriends them, gets bitten, and turns into one herself. The allusions to Ghibli's Princess Mononoke are plentiful, but well considered, and creatively blended with Irish folklore; in this case it's the English occupiers who are destroying and de-enchanting the forest-the Irish primeval wood-for the sake of pre-industrialization. In short: worth the hype, even if the hype should have come sooner for Cartoon Saloon. - alex_wiky - 24 July 2022
Whoa!!!
This movie is based on an Irish folktale. The visuals and the music are breathtaking. Mebh is my favourite character in the movie.
Truly a must seen! - alejandroalcantara_ - 27 January 2022
"There's two of us now".
79/100
Even when it started off safe by propounding a cliché storyline that has now become very recurrent in family movies, even when some of the dialogue between the characters might find itself limited in words, even when the sound mixing in this movie is literal dogwater or even when the movie could've cut down some of its runtime to make some emotional scenes feel even more abrupt and impactful than they already are, the film looks and feels amusingly nostalgic, but with a certain flare to it that knows how to acknowledge.
It understands that pretty 2D animation might just be enough for most people, so it experiments with it by changing the artstyle in specific scenes to convey a sentiment, having a natural symmetry and playing along with it for a more contrasting feel with the character design, and has a very interesting way of changing aspect ratios, which I though is pretty admirable.
The movie also has a social critique towards religious fanatism so it wouldn't just limit itself to some pretty wolve story, it all just comes down together startingly.
Wolfwalkers was one of the contenders for Best Animated Feature in last year's Oscars. That alone should give you a right impression of this picture. It may very well have become one of the few animated films I can fully appreciate for trying to do something new.
