Wolfwalkers movie review by Movie Review Mom

MOVIE TITLE: Wolfwalkers

Available on Apple TV Dec. 11, 2020

RATING: PG

LENGTH: 1 hour, 43 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE: A

IN A NUTSHELL:

If you love all-things-Irish, Renaissance festivals, as well as Studio Ghibli, this Apple Original film looks and feels like a lovely combination of all of those things. Add the voice of Sean Bean. Yes, please! This magical animation is from the Academy Award-nominated makers of The Secret of Kells AND Song of the Sea and based on Irish folklore. It was directed by Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart, becoming the first animated feature to be nominated for “Best International Feature” at the Gotham Awards. The film is dedicated to Mark Stewart, who passed away this year. Cartoon Saloon continues to pump out beautiful animation films that are pretty close to visual masterpieces.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

This is a perfect family-friendly film that all ages can enjoy.
Wolves attack people. People attack wolves.
You might need to talk to young children about magic and imagination.

THEMES:

Friendship
Courage
Tolerance
Humans vs. nature
Family
Female empowerment
The creators of the film explained that colonialism was the real villain in the story in that it separated protagonists from nature.

THINGS I LIKED:

The concept art is absolutely beautiful and mesmerizing. It’s refreshing to see two-dimensional and under-appreciated hand-drawn animation. The colors and geometric shapes are extremely enchanting, making each frame a piece of art to be studied. One of my sons is a 3D animation artist at Blizzard and he has taught me to really appreciate the mastery of hand-drawn animation.
You really get a sense of Ireland in the 1600s
You can almost feel how damp the green forest is in animation.
Visually, the movie also illustrates the cage women of that day might have felt they were in. There are lots of angles and big black lines that represent society’s rules that trapped Robyn, the young heroin in the story.
Honor Kneafsey voices the enthusiastic Robyn Goodfellowe and does a fantastic job.
Eva Whittaker lends her spunky voice to Mdbh Og MacTire.
The humor is both visual and spoken.
The British and Irish accents of the characters are super cute.
If you love the artistry in this film, you might also want to check out:
The story features the stark contrast between the magic of nature and that of the Lord Protector’s rigid religious fervor. The film’s creators explained that the type of Puritan religion that Lord Cromwell brought to Christianity emphasized man over nature, instead of a balance between the two: domination vs. submission. Whenever the story spotlights what’s happening in the forest, the colors are light and green; to show the duality of thinking at the time, the city scenes feature grey tones in the color palette.
Clever framing devices.
The film knows when to be silent to let the audience bask in the beauty.
I loved the scene that shows Mebh Og practically melting on Robyn’s lap while she gets her hair brushed by her new human friend. So sweet.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

The father shows warmth to his daughter but he never listens to her.
I hate it when religious people in movies are shown as truly terrible people.

INTERESTING LINES:

“Work is prayer, girl.” – Head Housekeeper (Nora Twomey)
“I prayed the whole Bible.” – Robyn Goodfellowe (Honor Kneafsey)
“We must do what we’re told.” – Bill (Sean Bean) “Why? – Robyn (Honor Kneafsey) “I’m afraid.” – Bill (Sean Bean)

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Coming soon!

@TrinaBoice