Review: Wolfwalkers

 

Robyn (Honor Kneafsey) and her father Bill (Sean Bean) have recently moved from England to Ireland. Bill is tasked with helping kill the large amount of wolves in the surrounding forest. Robyn doesn't want to be kept behind the village walls and wishes to help her father. When she escapes into the woods, she meets Mebh (Eva Whittaker) a free spirited girl who is also a Wolfwalker, meaning she turns into a wolf when she sleeps.

Cartoon Saloon has been putting out out beautiful, hand drawn animated films for a while but they came to my attention with their 2014 feature Song of the Sea. That became an instant favorite in my household so when I saw they had another film coming out, I knew it would be perfect for a family movie night. This is currently streaming on Apple TV, and I believe it's also available to rent on demand.

The animation is stunning. I loved the visuals, the forest is so beautiful, as was the transformation from human to wolf. One of my favorite sights was how they showed Mebh running when she's human, she looks like this giant ball of fiery red hair and I loved that. The score is also lovely and fits to well. I liked the story as well, especially when they focus on Mebh and Robyn's friendship which is the strongest point. I did start to get frustrated with Bill as a character though. They lean very heavily on the parent not listening to the child trope, which is fine, but when him shutting up for two seconds would've solved several different problems, it gets a bit tedious. 

While I still prefer Song of the Sea overall, Wolfwalkers is a must see and is my favorite animated film I've seen of the year so far.

Recommended: Yes

Grade: B+

Memorable Quote: "Something's happened to me." - Robyn (Honor Kneafsey)

Comments

  1. You've just reminded me that I still haven't gotten around to watching Song of the Sea! I've always had a soft spot for animated movies so I might just have to make a double feature of these.

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    Replies
    1. That would be a good one. My son loves Song of the Sea, and he I think he was around your daughter's age when he saw it, so maybe she'll like it too!

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  2. I heard a lot of amazing things about this film. Song of the Sea remains on my watchlist as I heard great things about that film.

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  3. Hand drawn cartoons and stop-motion are so special. I feel like since they are so time consuming the stories are always so... captivatingly beautiful and fully thought through. Animations in general seem to have that in common.

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  4. The world needs more hand-drawn animated films. They are so beautiful and magical.

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    Replies
    1. They are! I plan on checking out The Secret of Kells from this studio too.

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