Wolfwalkers

The modern world of 2D animation has been slowly moving away from famous American studios from Disney and more reliant on non-US creatives to bring new additions to that field. While the most obvious among them would be Japanese workplaces producing anime that's ongoing (either on the big or small screen), there are lesser known ones to keep an eye out for. This brings us to the Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon, best known for their previous projects with The Secret of Kells (2009), Song of the Sea (2014), and The Breadwinner (2017), with their newest movie, Wolfwalkers. I'm aware of 2 of their past works but never saw any of it until this latest effort. This was brought to my attention thanks to a reviewer of visually artistic movies from YouTube mentioning it (in this case, CellSpex). It was released on Apple TV+ in mid-December but using a separate site, I watched it completely blind to any marketing material and was left stunned by the beautiful yet familiar experience 2020 deserved.

What's it about? Taking place in 1650s Ireland, the story follows a daughter of a hunter who meets a little girl whose special bond with a pack of wolves unexpectedly brings life changes. As it's following a fairytale narrative, it uses familiar cliche troupes here and there but the way they are used becomes more understandable as it moves forward. Details surrounding the characters lives and their goals is established well to see their perspectives and reactions along the way. The main protagonist takes actions with the best of intentions between the goal of this wolf clan and aiming to help her dad with his connected mission. The forged bonds and interactions that are displayed here in just a few days are engaging to watch as the conflict inevitably forces everyone into contact by the two-thirds point of the story. While not being anything mind-blowing on paper, the execution of these developments, balance of light-hearted with harsh elements, and emotional investment in the protagonists combines in a great viewing. 

How's the animation? The stylistic 2D visuals are used exceptionally well in a variety of ways. The movement of the wolves themselves are slick and smooth are they zoom together as a pack when on the prowl or cuddling together as a family. The faces are well done on many of the protagonists with the little girl wolfwalker being a highlight among the humans. The point of view shots via animal perspectives are a treat to watch as colors are treated differently (including the scent lines you would expect). There's a clear difference to how the environments of the town and the forest are handled in that style working with those aforementioned ways.  

 

How are the actors? In regards to story importance, the actresses to focus on are Honor Kneafsey and Eva Whittaker. Honor does a great job in making her lead role feel nice to follow and one to root for as she embarks into new and dangerous territories in her journey. Eva is the MVP performer here as her energetic voice acting gives a wonderful balance of confident hopefulness as well as the fearful sadness surrounding her character. Honorable mentions Sean Bean and Simon McBurney provide great performances that manage to elevate their cliched parts, though having one more scene with the latter would have helped flesh him out a bit more.  

Overall Consensus: Wolfwalkers is a wonderful fairytale adventure with amazing 2D visuals, strong vocal performances, engaging lead protagonists, a familiar but interesting conflict, and a good balance of light & dark elements. ⭑⭑⭑⭑1/2🍿 Runtime: 1 hour 43 minutes PG

 

Reasons to watch it: You are a fan of the aforementioned actors and/or directors Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart. You want to see one of the best visually stylistic films from 2020. You are in the mood for an uplifting beautiful fantasy adventure. You don't mind familiar cliches as long as they are done well. You enjoy seeing efforts from non-American studios in the animation area.

 

Reasons to avoid it: You aren't a fan of the aforementioned actors and/or directors Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart. You dislike animated flicks in general. You aren't in the mood for an uplifting beautiful fantasy adventure.