245 reviews
With a story as touching, relevant and engaging as any you've encountered from a Japanese studio you may be familiar with, and similarly exquisitely hand crafted, you will devour, gobble, gorge, nay - wolf down this enchanting, endearing and captivating animation set in Kilkenny, Ireland during the times the countries neighbour was going through its despotic, tyrannical, dictator days (days not than long since passed if we're honest). Plenty of metaphor and allegory to sink your canines into but just as easily taken as a genuinely honest tale of right over wrong, good conquering evil and the perpetual endurance of love, truth and nature.
Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart's 'Wolfwalkers' is a gorgeous, impressive animated feature that will transport you back to the glory days of hand-crafted aesthetic. While the story doesn't showcase anything we haven't seen before, the movie does deliver it in a way that feels wholly fresh and original. There are beautiful messages of unity, kindness towards animals, and a gentle push for people to look outside their own comfort zone in order to see the world differently. It's an enjoyable and visually distinct experience from beginning to end.
- Sir_AmirSyarif
- Jan 3, 2021
- Permalink
- lisafordeay
- Oct 26, 2020
- Permalink
This film was by far the best of this Celtic Irish trilogy and I truly hope that the pandemic and lack of box office numbers doesn't hurt it too badly. If you have not seen this film, go watch it. Get a free month of apple TV or something in order to support this film and its studio. They deserve it. If you Like pixar's films like UP, Soul, WALL-E, or Inside-Out, then you will love this film.
The pacing is slow but easily builds into a fantastic climax. The acting and emotion behind the writing is absolutely stellar and I found myself laughing and tearing up many times during the watch. The animation is just so expressive and what you'd want to see if you thought of traditional animation at its best that 3D just can't match. The music is perfectly placed and evokes the best of the emotions.
I'm giving it a perfect because if it got what it deserves, it would be an acclaimed masterpiece akin to Disney's renaissance films. Unfortunately with the Apple pay wall and the pandemic keeping people out of theaters I don't know if it will. I really hope this studio continues to do great things like this in the future
Beautiful, stunning and magical. It's like a fairytale drawed with pencils and acuarela on an old book. A piece of art! The story is written with love and lot of symbolism. Disney is great, but this is an oasis from any angle you want to see it!
- CarlosRojasMx
- Dec 12, 2020
- Permalink
Overwhelmingly well crafted and told to where I immediately just got focused, letting the film absorb my soul with such unsustainable jubilation. Akin to a child enamored with worlds some believed to be impossible, but were brought to life due to limitless imagination. Exactly like my first run in with Cartoon Saloon almost 11 years prior.
First movie in a long time where at every minute I went; "Dude, this is metal!". And when it was over I was like; "Man, I cannot wait to see this again."
First movie in a long time where at every minute I went; "Dude, this is metal!". And when it was over I was like; "Man, I cannot wait to see this again."
- Polnaszek5
- Sep 13, 2020
- Permalink
"The woods is getting smaller everyday."
I can guarantee it right now, this will be the most underrated animated film of the year, or even in the past decade or so. With big name films that Disney produces, it's hard to remember there are other studios making animated films just as great or even better. Wolfwalkers falls under this category. Like the other films from this studio, it focuses of Irish tales and folklore. Song of the Sea amazed me when I watched it only a couple years ago. Wolfwalkers is just as amazing and some may even say better than Song of the Sea. I'm not apart of that group but it's a really close call. The animation is the first thing that caught my eye. This is the most beautifully animated film in years. The autumn colors look beautiful on screen. And with the style they use has so much details. And I loved looking at the patterns within. I'm not the person to talk to about animation since I'm no artist, but all I can say is that it is just stunning.
The story feels sort of familiar in ways, but is done well. The predictability factor, typically in animated films aimed for children, isn't too strong. But I wouldn't even go to it being aimed towards children. As lore, I feel that this is for everybody. I felt engaged the whole time. There's always something exciting or interesting happening on screen. The characterization isn't as strong for everyone, more towards the main antagonist, but by the end you feel connected with these characters. The voice acting is all good. The two main characters couldn't have been better voice-casted (if that's a word). Overall I'm just thoroughly pleased with this film. I don't know how to describe everything else without giving anything away, but all I can say is this should be a must watch for everyone this year. It'll be on AppleTV+ later this year I believe so check it out if you can.
I can guarantee it right now, this will be the most underrated animated film of the year, or even in the past decade or so. With big name films that Disney produces, it's hard to remember there are other studios making animated films just as great or even better. Wolfwalkers falls under this category. Like the other films from this studio, it focuses of Irish tales and folklore. Song of the Sea amazed me when I watched it only a couple years ago. Wolfwalkers is just as amazing and some may even say better than Song of the Sea. I'm not apart of that group but it's a really close call. The animation is the first thing that caught my eye. This is the most beautifully animated film in years. The autumn colors look beautiful on screen. And with the style they use has so much details. And I loved looking at the patterns within. I'm not the person to talk to about animation since I'm no artist, but all I can say is that it is just stunning.
The story feels sort of familiar in ways, but is done well. The predictability factor, typically in animated films aimed for children, isn't too strong. But I wouldn't even go to it being aimed towards children. As lore, I feel that this is for everybody. I felt engaged the whole time. There's always something exciting or interesting happening on screen. The characterization isn't as strong for everyone, more towards the main antagonist, but by the end you feel connected with these characters. The voice acting is all good. The two main characters couldn't have been better voice-casted (if that's a word). Overall I'm just thoroughly pleased with this film. I don't know how to describe everything else without giving anything away, but all I can say is this should be a must watch for everyone this year. It'll be on AppleTV+ later this year I believe so check it out if you can.
- sweidman-28016
- Oct 27, 2020
- Permalink
This movie was cute. I enjoyed it maybe slightly less than I hoped I would be it was still really good.
The art style is really gorgeous, it reminds me of like a children's story book which works so well with this story because it seems like it is an old Irish fairytale.
I think the story is cute too, the dialogue not so much but it doesn't hinder it too much.
The worst part is the voice acting and sound mixing. They are both off. The talking is too quiet at times so you struggle to hear what is going on because there are booming sound effects or a score for it to compete with. The line reading isn't great either, not for all but for some. I actually thing the person voicing Mebh is fantastic.
It is definitely worth a watch especially if you already have apple +
The art style is really gorgeous, it reminds me of like a children's story book which works so well with this story because it seems like it is an old Irish fairytale.
I think the story is cute too, the dialogue not so much but it doesn't hinder it too much.
The worst part is the voice acting and sound mixing. They are both off. The talking is too quiet at times so you struggle to hear what is going on because there are booming sound effects or a score for it to compete with. The line reading isn't great either, not for all but for some. I actually thing the person voicing Mebh is fantastic.
It is definitely worth a watch especially if you already have apple +
Wolfwalkers is a story about Robyn, voiced by Honor Kneafsey, an English girl in a small Irish town of Kilkenny, 1650. Her father Bill, voiced by Sean Bean, is tasked with trying to root out the wolves in the forest surrounding the town. Robyn hopes to be a skilled hunter like her father, imitating him with her own cross bow and pet falcon Merlin.
This film takes place during a time of war and occupation, Robyn's father working under the tyrannical Lord Protector Cromwell, voiced by Simon McBurney. The Lord Proctor is trying to quell other Irish rebellions and keep the populace subdued. This puts pressure on Bill to quickly take care of the wolf problem, or face dire consequences.
Soon Robyn comes into contact with the infamous wolfwalkers, lead by another girl Mebh. Robyn learns that the wolfwalkers are not as bad as she has been led to believe and has to come to terms with this conflict between wanting to be like her hunter father, and protecting the humanity of the wolves and wolfwalker.
Cartoon Saloon's style of hand drawn animation is some of the most beautiful I've seen. Every frame has intricate, meticulous details that make their films a unique visual delight to behold. This film has numerous cinematic shots and sequences that push the boundaries of what can be done in the medium.
Overall this is an excellent film, on par with their other brilliant feature length animated films The Breadwinner and Song of the Sea. I would strongly recommend anyone give this film a watch.
9/10.
This film takes place during a time of war and occupation, Robyn's father working under the tyrannical Lord Protector Cromwell, voiced by Simon McBurney. The Lord Proctor is trying to quell other Irish rebellions and keep the populace subdued. This puts pressure on Bill to quickly take care of the wolf problem, or face dire consequences.
Soon Robyn comes into contact with the infamous wolfwalkers, lead by another girl Mebh. Robyn learns that the wolfwalkers are not as bad as she has been led to believe and has to come to terms with this conflict between wanting to be like her hunter father, and protecting the humanity of the wolves and wolfwalker.
Cartoon Saloon's style of hand drawn animation is some of the most beautiful I've seen. Every frame has intricate, meticulous details that make their films a unique visual delight to behold. This film has numerous cinematic shots and sequences that push the boundaries of what can be done in the medium.
Overall this is an excellent film, on par with their other brilliant feature length animated films The Breadwinner and Song of the Sea. I would strongly recommend anyone give this film a watch.
9/10.
Beautiful colors and animation of course. Love the combination of what seems a side&above view of the picture, both at the same time. Also to the music is great. Sadly, the fact that the little girl spends half of the movie crying and the father is always saying "do what you're told" gets pretty annoying after the 4th time. The end is kind of fast in comparison with 2/3 of the movie, so some things or scenes are not coherent anymore.
- lizette_lps
- Feb 9, 2021
- Permalink
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I've always been a tremendous fan of animation. If there's one comment I deeply despise is the "animated films are for children". This preconceived notion is extremely dated, and honestly, quite childish. I don't even think it works within a teenage banter anymore since anime keeps growing exponentially around the world, and animated movies are reaching more and more people as time goes by. The whole "you watch cartoons, you're a baby" bullying statement to make friends laugh about someone is now decades-old. However, I still feel a bit of pity for people who believe animation can't have the same emotional impact than live-action, especially when a major studio like Pixar is known for making the most grown-up of adults cry like an infant.
In addition to this, some viewers think that the latter studio owned by Disney is the only company making decent animated flicks when they've been losing ground to other unbelievably talented people. One of my favorite animated films of all-time is Kubo and the Two Strings, a stop-motion animation work from Laika, the studio that also created Missing Link and Coraline. Cartoon Saloon is emerging as an awards-contender studio, by releasing movies such as Song of the Sea, The Breadwinner, and now Wolfwalkers. The main difference between this last company and the others is the style of animation: the "old" 2D animation that 90s kids like me grew up with.
That's precisely where I'm starting this review. Wolfwalkers' 2D animation proves once again that this style will never become "dated" or "less than" the current 3D design. Don't be mistaken, I love both styles! I'm not part of the whole 2D vs 3D discourse simply because I firmly believe both have their own benefits and limitations. 2D animation brings a sense of uniqueness and artistry to any story due to the distinct drawing from many skilled artists, but it's more limited than 3D when it comes to creating an immersive atmosphere and its respective world. However, the latter is becoming stagnated in its design structure since almost every 3D animated flick visually feels and looks the same.
So, there's no good or bad, right or wrong, better or worse when it comes to animation. I can offer dozens of examples of exceptional, gorgeous-looking, utterly superb animated flicks from both styles, as well as awful, corporate-like films that I try my hardest to forget (looking at you, The Emoji Movie). Fortunately, Wolfwalkers belongs to the first group. Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart direct an emotionally heartwarming tale with seamless execution of every single aspect. Will Collins' screenplay isn't particularly new or innovative though. It follows a somewhat generic, predictable story with key plot points that any viewer with minimum viewing experience will see coming from miles away.
However, it's a formula that, if executed properly, still delivers a rich, passionate, captivating narrative, which will always please both children and adults. Just from the premise, it's pretty clear that the message of the movie is inspired by cliches such as "don't judge people by their cover" or "our wants can steal someone else's needs", and it even approaches racial discrimination since the film deals with two different populations. Obviously, having in mind one of these "societies" is a pack of wolves, there's also a message towards deforestation and excessive animal hunting, leading thousands of species to their eventual extinction. All of these themes are handled brilliantly, and it never feels preachy.
It doesn't matter how unsurprising the story ends up being when I feel as absorbed by the characters and the animation as I did. Honor Kneafsey and Eva Whittaker, as Robyn Goodfellowe and Mebh Óg MacTíre respectively, display phenomenal voice work, which is then elevated by the stunning, expressive, award-worthy animation. Sean Bean is also terrific as Bill Goodfellowe, Robyn's father, who basically possesses the character arc that goes through the significant change of acknowledging, understanding, and accepting an entirely different culture and its people (in this case, animals). Every character is incredibly well-written as are all dialogues, surrounded by a Celtic-inspired atmosphere, myths, and obviously, music.
Bruno Coulais and folk group Kíla developed the movie's original score, and it's undoubtedly one of my favorite soundtracks of 2020, including one of my favorite original songs ("Running with the Wolves") in one of my favorite musical sequences of the year. "Favorite" is definitely the right one-word description of how I feel about Wolfwalkers. It's one of those films I can't really point out a single flaw. Massive praise to the drawing artists who designed such a fantastic 2D world. Their work is often unappreciated and underrated (besides being underpaid), so I want to offer Cartoon Saloon my biggest thank you, and keep making excellent cinema.
I have no doubts: Wolfwalkers is, by far and so far, the best animated feature-film I've seen all year. I know the big gun from Pixar is coming up (Soul), but it will have to be an absolutely perfect movie to surpass Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart's beautifully heartwarming Celtic-inspired tale. Cartoon Saloon continues to prove that 2D animation is still capable of delivering emotionally compelling stories through gorgeous-looking, unique, artistic drawings. Despite Will Collins's generic narrative and cliche messages, every single detail is executed perfectly, without a single flaw to point out. Outstanding voice work from Honor Kneafsey and Eva Whittaker as the well-written, captivating protagonists. However, it's Bruno Coulais and Kíla's original score that melts my heart and sends chills down my spine every time I listen to it. One of my favorite films of the year, I'd be extremely surprised with myself if it doesn't end on my Top10. Watch it with your family. It's worth it.
Rating: A
I've always been a tremendous fan of animation. If there's one comment I deeply despise is the "animated films are for children". This preconceived notion is extremely dated, and honestly, quite childish. I don't even think it works within a teenage banter anymore since anime keeps growing exponentially around the world, and animated movies are reaching more and more people as time goes by. The whole "you watch cartoons, you're a baby" bullying statement to make friends laugh about someone is now decades-old. However, I still feel a bit of pity for people who believe animation can't have the same emotional impact than live-action, especially when a major studio like Pixar is known for making the most grown-up of adults cry like an infant.
In addition to this, some viewers think that the latter studio owned by Disney is the only company making decent animated flicks when they've been losing ground to other unbelievably talented people. One of my favorite animated films of all-time is Kubo and the Two Strings, a stop-motion animation work from Laika, the studio that also created Missing Link and Coraline. Cartoon Saloon is emerging as an awards-contender studio, by releasing movies such as Song of the Sea, The Breadwinner, and now Wolfwalkers. The main difference between this last company and the others is the style of animation: the "old" 2D animation that 90s kids like me grew up with.
That's precisely where I'm starting this review. Wolfwalkers' 2D animation proves once again that this style will never become "dated" or "less than" the current 3D design. Don't be mistaken, I love both styles! I'm not part of the whole 2D vs 3D discourse simply because I firmly believe both have their own benefits and limitations. 2D animation brings a sense of uniqueness and artistry to any story due to the distinct drawing from many skilled artists, but it's more limited than 3D when it comes to creating an immersive atmosphere and its respective world. However, the latter is becoming stagnated in its design structure since almost every 3D animated flick visually feels and looks the same.
So, there's no good or bad, right or wrong, better or worse when it comes to animation. I can offer dozens of examples of exceptional, gorgeous-looking, utterly superb animated flicks from both styles, as well as awful, corporate-like films that I try my hardest to forget (looking at you, The Emoji Movie). Fortunately, Wolfwalkers belongs to the first group. Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart direct an emotionally heartwarming tale with seamless execution of every single aspect. Will Collins' screenplay isn't particularly new or innovative though. It follows a somewhat generic, predictable story with key plot points that any viewer with minimum viewing experience will see coming from miles away.
However, it's a formula that, if executed properly, still delivers a rich, passionate, captivating narrative, which will always please both children and adults. Just from the premise, it's pretty clear that the message of the movie is inspired by cliches such as "don't judge people by their cover" or "our wants can steal someone else's needs", and it even approaches racial discrimination since the film deals with two different populations. Obviously, having in mind one of these "societies" is a pack of wolves, there's also a message towards deforestation and excessive animal hunting, leading thousands of species to their eventual extinction. All of these themes are handled brilliantly, and it never feels preachy.
It doesn't matter how unsurprising the story ends up being when I feel as absorbed by the characters and the animation as I did. Honor Kneafsey and Eva Whittaker, as Robyn Goodfellowe and Mebh Óg MacTíre respectively, display phenomenal voice work, which is then elevated by the stunning, expressive, award-worthy animation. Sean Bean is also terrific as Bill Goodfellowe, Robyn's father, who basically possesses the character arc that goes through the significant change of acknowledging, understanding, and accepting an entirely different culture and its people (in this case, animals). Every character is incredibly well-written as are all dialogues, surrounded by a Celtic-inspired atmosphere, myths, and obviously, music.
Bruno Coulais and folk group Kíla developed the movie's original score, and it's undoubtedly one of my favorite soundtracks of 2020, including one of my favorite original songs ("Running with the Wolves") in one of my favorite musical sequences of the year. "Favorite" is definitely the right one-word description of how I feel about Wolfwalkers. It's one of those films I can't really point out a single flaw. Massive praise to the drawing artists who designed such a fantastic 2D world. Their work is often unappreciated and underrated (besides being underpaid), so I want to offer Cartoon Saloon my biggest thank you, and keep making excellent cinema.
I have no doubts: Wolfwalkers is, by far and so far, the best animated feature-film I've seen all year. I know the big gun from Pixar is coming up (Soul), but it will have to be an absolutely perfect movie to surpass Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart's beautifully heartwarming Celtic-inspired tale. Cartoon Saloon continues to prove that 2D animation is still capable of delivering emotionally compelling stories through gorgeous-looking, unique, artistic drawings. Despite Will Collins's generic narrative and cliche messages, every single detail is executed perfectly, without a single flaw to point out. Outstanding voice work from Honor Kneafsey and Eva Whittaker as the well-written, captivating protagonists. However, it's Bruno Coulais and Kíla's original score that melts my heart and sends chills down my spine every time I listen to it. One of my favorite films of the year, I'd be extremely surprised with myself if it doesn't end on my Top10. Watch it with your family. It's worth it.
Rating: A
- msbreviews
- Dec 6, 2020
- Permalink
On the plus side: It's much better than previous Saloon films. Visually it still opts for the distinct illustrative style they are known for, but the pacing and storytelling is more dynamic this time around. It's faster, punchier, more aggressive than Song of the Sea and the animation in the wolf running sequences is spell-binding. The emotional moments resonate well without feeling too mawkish and the invigorating score by Kila is a joy. There are problems though.
The plot of the hero befriending the noble savage and teaming up to defeat invading forces has certainly been visited many times before (Dances With Wolves, Ferngully, Pocahontas, Princess Mononoke, Avatar) and Wolfwalkers doesn't really do anything new with it. The heroine, Robyn, daughter of a British trap hunter tasked with wiping out wolves from a surrounding forest in Kilkenny, wants desperately to escape the shackles of domestic life. While exploring the forest, she runs into Mebh, a wild untamed wolfwalker who can magically commune with wolves, and discovers the freedom, magic and beauty therein. Robyn must try to convince her father to disobey his orders and save Mebh and the forest from destruction. From that synopsis alone, it's easy to imagine how those story arcs play out, if you've seen the other films I mentioned. At times sequences look and feel like they've been lifted directly from these sources and dropped into a different art style. Cliché messages about embracing the animal within abound.
Characters are depicted as one-dimensional stereotypes, particularly the invading Brits and the main villain, Lord Protector, a bland copy of Disney's Governor Ratcliff and Judge Frollo, who tries to tame this pagan-Celtic world one bible quote at a time. Princess Mononoke managed to be more ambiguous as to where the good and bad lies across the opposing factions, which made for a more engaging film, in my view. Wolfwalkers, however, seems to be aimed at a much younger audience and is thus played very straight. The Irish peasants are all represented as feeble-minded bog-dwellers, which I found surprising coming from an Irish studio. It seemed like they wanted to play up the Paddywhackery for laughs, but I found all the "ahh to be sure" gags more eye-roll worthy than funny, if I'm honest.
Another nitpicky issue for me was the voice acting. It was disappointingly flat and amateurish in a few places and lacked real drama. I'm not sure if all the actors were recorded together or separately, but their voices sometimes didn't sound like they were in the moment or really reacting to one another.
Gripes aside, this was an entertaining watch and easily the best animated feature to come out of Ireland in a long time.
The plot of the hero befriending the noble savage and teaming up to defeat invading forces has certainly been visited many times before (Dances With Wolves, Ferngully, Pocahontas, Princess Mononoke, Avatar) and Wolfwalkers doesn't really do anything new with it. The heroine, Robyn, daughter of a British trap hunter tasked with wiping out wolves from a surrounding forest in Kilkenny, wants desperately to escape the shackles of domestic life. While exploring the forest, she runs into Mebh, a wild untamed wolfwalker who can magically commune with wolves, and discovers the freedom, magic and beauty therein. Robyn must try to convince her father to disobey his orders and save Mebh and the forest from destruction. From that synopsis alone, it's easy to imagine how those story arcs play out, if you've seen the other films I mentioned. At times sequences look and feel like they've been lifted directly from these sources and dropped into a different art style. Cliché messages about embracing the animal within abound.
Characters are depicted as one-dimensional stereotypes, particularly the invading Brits and the main villain, Lord Protector, a bland copy of Disney's Governor Ratcliff and Judge Frollo, who tries to tame this pagan-Celtic world one bible quote at a time. Princess Mononoke managed to be more ambiguous as to where the good and bad lies across the opposing factions, which made for a more engaging film, in my view. Wolfwalkers, however, seems to be aimed at a much younger audience and is thus played very straight. The Irish peasants are all represented as feeble-minded bog-dwellers, which I found surprising coming from an Irish studio. It seemed like they wanted to play up the Paddywhackery for laughs, but I found all the "ahh to be sure" gags more eye-roll worthy than funny, if I'm honest.
Another nitpicky issue for me was the voice acting. It was disappointingly flat and amateurish in a few places and lacked real drama. I'm not sure if all the actors were recorded together or separately, but their voices sometimes didn't sound like they were in the moment or really reacting to one another.
Gripes aside, this was an entertaining watch and easily the best animated feature to come out of Ireland in a long time.
- Deathstryke
- Dec 21, 2020
- Permalink
In a land with a tradition of great fables, here is one that is simply movie magic. A British Lord in control of Kilkenny in Ireland, orders that all the remaining wolves be killed in order for the land to be cleared. A man is the head hunter and his daughter, Robyn meets a a wolfwalker in the form of a fellow little girl named Mebh. She transforms into a wolf when asleep. Robyn attempts to help Mebh in saving the wolves and in finding her lost mother. The scenery of the animation is breathtaking and for an hour and forty-three minutes I could escape from this terrible year for awhile. Wolfwalkers is one of the best films of the year.
An absolutely breath taking film, a must watch and my now favorite film of 2020.
You will not regret the experience that this film has to offer.
- thebesrepublic
- Dec 10, 2020
- Permalink
Wolfwalkers is a stunningly beautiful animation. With its striking art style and touching story, it's also a wonderfully good movie. The fact that I hesitated to watch it honestly makes me a little upset. It positively surprised me in pretty much every way possible.
Films made in the style of Wolfwalkers are mostly unknown to me. When I first saw screenshots of the film, the art style did turn me off a little bit. And although I heard nothing but good things about it, I still felt unsure about how much I would like the way the film looks. Alas, I had no reason to worry. While it did take me a moment to get used to it and stop thinking about it, as soon as I fell into the story, I started to appreciate the striking style. And while it's striking, it's also tremendously beautiful. Especially the scenes in the forest, where a big part of the movie takes place, are simply stunning.
The story, which introduces us to Robyn, a girl who dreams of becoming a wolfhunter, like his dad, is full of moments of conflict and beauty. Robyn, who ends up being bitten by a wolf, soon learns that some fairytales might be more real than others. And when she finds new friends, the dream of being a hunter quickly fades away, as she must defend them from a life-threatening threat. While the story might not be filled with twists and turns and is for the most part easily predictable, it's also beautiful and emotional. Indeed, it's the kind of story that works better when it can be predicted. Being able to focus on what the movie had to say, and how it said it, was much more impactful than worrying about what was going to happen next. It's also a surprisingly deep story, with nearly all characters facing dilemmas and having to fight against preconceived ideas.
In many ways, I think that Wolfwalkers has been the most surprising film of 2020, at least for me. Going in, I had no idea what to expect, and in all honesty, my own preconceived ideas might've caused me to doubt its greatness. To say that I was positively surprised, would be an enormous understatement. The film captured my attention with its stunning visuals and kept it with a beautiful and heartfelt story. Wolfwalkers is, without a doubt, the best animated film of the year.
Films made in the style of Wolfwalkers are mostly unknown to me. When I first saw screenshots of the film, the art style did turn me off a little bit. And although I heard nothing but good things about it, I still felt unsure about how much I would like the way the film looks. Alas, I had no reason to worry. While it did take me a moment to get used to it and stop thinking about it, as soon as I fell into the story, I started to appreciate the striking style. And while it's striking, it's also tremendously beautiful. Especially the scenes in the forest, where a big part of the movie takes place, are simply stunning.
The story, which introduces us to Robyn, a girl who dreams of becoming a wolfhunter, like his dad, is full of moments of conflict and beauty. Robyn, who ends up being bitten by a wolf, soon learns that some fairytales might be more real than others. And when she finds new friends, the dream of being a hunter quickly fades away, as she must defend them from a life-threatening threat. While the story might not be filled with twists and turns and is for the most part easily predictable, it's also beautiful and emotional. Indeed, it's the kind of story that works better when it can be predicted. Being able to focus on what the movie had to say, and how it said it, was much more impactful than worrying about what was going to happen next. It's also a surprisingly deep story, with nearly all characters facing dilemmas and having to fight against preconceived ideas.
In many ways, I think that Wolfwalkers has been the most surprising film of 2020, at least for me. Going in, I had no idea what to expect, and in all honesty, my own preconceived ideas might've caused me to doubt its greatness. To say that I was positively surprised, would be an enormous understatement. The film captured my attention with its stunning visuals and kept it with a beautiful and heartfelt story. Wolfwalkers is, without a doubt, the best animated film of the year.
Well I'm long overdue for another review, however there wasn't any animated films for me to talk to because of well.., you know what, except for this..., this is one of my most highly anticipated films of this year!, this is the latest film from Cartoon Saloon and it's directed by Tomm Moore who did Secret of Kells, Song of the Sea and produced Breadwinner all of which I really liked with Song of the Sea being my personal favourite, so I was beyond excited to hear this was coming out this year, i didn't even know it was coming out until I found out it was coming to Apple TV, I remember there was a concept trailer for it and it looked really cool, because as we know Cartoon Saloon's films are based on Irish Folklore or something like that, it's coming to Apple TV in two months, however it was actually out in my local cinema, I heard so many amazing things about this film, it was played at film festivals and it was almost like one of the most talked about films of this year, so of course I would jump to the chance of seeing it!, so I saw it yesterday pre Lockdown (second time) in a sort of empty screwing and...., wow!, this might be my favourite film of the year, I'm not even joking, so let's talk about it.
In 1650, a hunter named Bill Goodfellowe (Sean Bean) and his daughter Robyn (Honor Kneafsey) move from England to this small Irish town in need of hunting some wolves, however Bill is just needed while his daughter stays in the village so she is safe from them, however she wants to help his father kill the wolves, so she sneaks out of the town and happens to come across a wolfwalker named Mebh (Eva Whittaker), who can transform into a Wolf when she is a sleep, Robyn then quickly grows fond of her and they both start a bond, as friends, however as the Lord Protector (Simon McBurney) is trying to get rid of all wolves to protect his town, so Robyn has to convince his father that Wolfwalkers are real and must do what she can to save her friend and the wolves, first off I love the idea of the folklore of Wolves and how someone who is bitten by one can transform into a Wolf, it's quite a unique idea and the storytelling is at it's finest, it tells the story in a unique and wonderful way using visuals to tell it stories along with strong emotion and action that define the characters and the world around them, it's also balances out sweet charming humour with real and powerful emotion and by the third act it really drives the emotion home, it's also really creative in how Wolfwalkers work, there are so many enchanting and fun scenes where characters are running free as Wolves, it's really beautiful and just lovely, granted it can be rather predictable, however it's actually not too cliched, you just want to see how it ends and the film really does pay off and does have a very satisfying ending, it's also quite grim and dark also, there are scenes where characters get shot by arrows via crossbow and the impact and the scenery really ramps up the dark factor in making it real and shocking, it's also a very mature animated film which is kind of rare since nowadays it's toilet and reference humour, but this time the humour is very playful and quite charming and it feels nature then forced, so the storytelling, the directing and the nature feel to it really makes the film feel more genuine and real despite being animated and having fantasy elements to it, it's perfect storytelling mixed with nice humour and strong emotion, especially Robyn and Mebh's friendship, the story feels like a strong pack.
The animation is just unbelievable, I knew this company was capable of making stunning 2D animated films, but this takes it to a whole new level, this is unlike anything I have ever seen, first off It's great to see 2D animation on the big screen, it's very cool and such a huge experience for me especially since we mainly have 3D and stop-motion animation, with that said this is some of the most original and unique 2D animation I have seen in a very long time, I love the way this films looks, the characters are all nicely design with unique facial expressions, shapes and movements, the backgrounds are atmospherically gorgeous with smooth shading and outlines, I also love the way the forest and the town is structured, it's like a painting or a puzzle it's really outstanding, however my favourite aspect of the animation is the Wolfwalker part, the wolves are wonderfully designed especially Mebh and Robyn, there is sense (no pun intended) of you can tell it's them by their eye colour and even their fur colour kind of represents who they are, there are scenes where we would see the world from a Wolfwalker's point of view, where we would see lots of outlines of trees and animals but a lot of them are in all sorts of different vibrant colours, it's really something to behold, we may have seen 2D animation in many beautiful and unique ways, but the animation here unleashed it's full potential.
The characters are loveable and well defined, they are all very believable and just a joy to watch!, Robyn is quite a endearing main character, she is adventurous, curious, cheeky and really sweet, I really enjoyed her and especially when you can really sympathise with her, at times when the film gets emotion you really do feel sorry for her since she is trying to convince Bill that Wolfwalkers exist, speaking of which, Bill is probably one of the best animated dads out there, he is really charming, caring and a very relatable dad also, his relationship with Robyn is both lovely and heartbreaking, Mebh is also a really endearing and great character, her friendship with Robyn is quite cute and heartwarming, she is full of energy but also has a emotional side to her, when both Robyn and Mebh turn into wolves it's really enchanting and very cute to see them both run free in the woods, there are other characters like the bullies, the soldiers, the one who saw Mebh and her mother turn into a Wolfwalker and even the wolves themselves play a supporting role, although the wolves play a big part in the film, the rest are just stereotypes but they do make sense and do play a small key role in what they are supposed to be even if it's not major, however the villain of the film is the Lord Professor, he's the one who wants to kill all the wolves in the name of the lord, while not a strong villain, he is rather understandable as to why he wants to get rid of them, he's not really that much of a big bad, just a leader trying to protect his town from beasts and threats, as for the voice acting, it's.... really fantastic, they are play their parts rather naturally and put in so much emotion which is very good in my book, Sean Bean voices Bill and he is great as always so no complaints there, Honor Kneafsey as Robyn is brilliant, she really sounds like she was really enjoying voicing and you can tell she is put in so much emotion in her performance, same can be said with Eva Whittaker as Mebh, she really puts in lots of energy and enthusiasm as well, Simon McBurney is pretty good, in fact everyone does a fantastic job with their voice performances even if they don't play a big role, the characters really have that feel of genuineness and realism, along with playful humour, heart and understandable motives, along with phenomenal voice acting, the characters are really pawesome!..., I had to.
On a side note, the music used in this film really captures that Irish feel and sound to it, the score is genuinely wonderful, it's composed by the amazing Bruno Coulais and he really outdid himself here, it's one score I really want to listen to when the soundtrack comes out, along with very fitting songs including the very popular "Running with the Wolves" song by Aurora which is a really good song by the way!
What else can I say that hasn't been said already?, this film is.... just unbelievable, it's unlike anything I have ever seen, from the huge responses it's getting from critics and audiences along with some great ratings!..., I am comfortable to say that this film is a masterpiece!, Wolfwalkers is not only my favourite film from Cartoon Saloon, but it might be the best animated film and film in general of this year!, it has an amazingly well told story with a creative concept, it's really grim and dark, it has good heart and sweet humour, along with epic action and a intense third act, animation that is mindbogglingly gorgeous and stylish, characters who are mature and well written, along with terrific voice acting and lovely music!, it's just fantastic, if you are a fan of the studio, go check it out if you can, as for everyone else, I do highly recommend it, please try and see before it leaves cinemas, it's out for a limited time or wait until it's on Apple TV, it's a must see for all ages know I'll be watching it again, this studio has impressed me before but now..., this is their magnum opus, I hope they continue to make more films like this, because not many people see them which is a shame really but I'm glad I saw this one as soon as I can, as rubbish as the year was, at least we got something incredible to hopefully finish off the year (Until Soul comes out that is).
This film one hundred percent deserves a 10/10!
In 1650, a hunter named Bill Goodfellowe (Sean Bean) and his daughter Robyn (Honor Kneafsey) move from England to this small Irish town in need of hunting some wolves, however Bill is just needed while his daughter stays in the village so she is safe from them, however she wants to help his father kill the wolves, so she sneaks out of the town and happens to come across a wolfwalker named Mebh (Eva Whittaker), who can transform into a Wolf when she is a sleep, Robyn then quickly grows fond of her and they both start a bond, as friends, however as the Lord Protector (Simon McBurney) is trying to get rid of all wolves to protect his town, so Robyn has to convince his father that Wolfwalkers are real and must do what she can to save her friend and the wolves, first off I love the idea of the folklore of Wolves and how someone who is bitten by one can transform into a Wolf, it's quite a unique idea and the storytelling is at it's finest, it tells the story in a unique and wonderful way using visuals to tell it stories along with strong emotion and action that define the characters and the world around them, it's also balances out sweet charming humour with real and powerful emotion and by the third act it really drives the emotion home, it's also really creative in how Wolfwalkers work, there are so many enchanting and fun scenes where characters are running free as Wolves, it's really beautiful and just lovely, granted it can be rather predictable, however it's actually not too cliched, you just want to see how it ends and the film really does pay off and does have a very satisfying ending, it's also quite grim and dark also, there are scenes where characters get shot by arrows via crossbow and the impact and the scenery really ramps up the dark factor in making it real and shocking, it's also a very mature animated film which is kind of rare since nowadays it's toilet and reference humour, but this time the humour is very playful and quite charming and it feels nature then forced, so the storytelling, the directing and the nature feel to it really makes the film feel more genuine and real despite being animated and having fantasy elements to it, it's perfect storytelling mixed with nice humour and strong emotion, especially Robyn and Mebh's friendship, the story feels like a strong pack.
The animation is just unbelievable, I knew this company was capable of making stunning 2D animated films, but this takes it to a whole new level, this is unlike anything I have ever seen, first off It's great to see 2D animation on the big screen, it's very cool and such a huge experience for me especially since we mainly have 3D and stop-motion animation, with that said this is some of the most original and unique 2D animation I have seen in a very long time, I love the way this films looks, the characters are all nicely design with unique facial expressions, shapes and movements, the backgrounds are atmospherically gorgeous with smooth shading and outlines, I also love the way the forest and the town is structured, it's like a painting or a puzzle it's really outstanding, however my favourite aspect of the animation is the Wolfwalker part, the wolves are wonderfully designed especially Mebh and Robyn, there is sense (no pun intended) of you can tell it's them by their eye colour and even their fur colour kind of represents who they are, there are scenes where we would see the world from a Wolfwalker's point of view, where we would see lots of outlines of trees and animals but a lot of them are in all sorts of different vibrant colours, it's really something to behold, we may have seen 2D animation in many beautiful and unique ways, but the animation here unleashed it's full potential.
The characters are loveable and well defined, they are all very believable and just a joy to watch!, Robyn is quite a endearing main character, she is adventurous, curious, cheeky and really sweet, I really enjoyed her and especially when you can really sympathise with her, at times when the film gets emotion you really do feel sorry for her since she is trying to convince Bill that Wolfwalkers exist, speaking of which, Bill is probably one of the best animated dads out there, he is really charming, caring and a very relatable dad also, his relationship with Robyn is both lovely and heartbreaking, Mebh is also a really endearing and great character, her friendship with Robyn is quite cute and heartwarming, she is full of energy but also has a emotional side to her, when both Robyn and Mebh turn into wolves it's really enchanting and very cute to see them both run free in the woods, there are other characters like the bullies, the soldiers, the one who saw Mebh and her mother turn into a Wolfwalker and even the wolves themselves play a supporting role, although the wolves play a big part in the film, the rest are just stereotypes but they do make sense and do play a small key role in what they are supposed to be even if it's not major, however the villain of the film is the Lord Professor, he's the one who wants to kill all the wolves in the name of the lord, while not a strong villain, he is rather understandable as to why he wants to get rid of them, he's not really that much of a big bad, just a leader trying to protect his town from beasts and threats, as for the voice acting, it's.... really fantastic, they are play their parts rather naturally and put in so much emotion which is very good in my book, Sean Bean voices Bill and he is great as always so no complaints there, Honor Kneafsey as Robyn is brilliant, she really sounds like she was really enjoying voicing and you can tell she is put in so much emotion in her performance, same can be said with Eva Whittaker as Mebh, she really puts in lots of energy and enthusiasm as well, Simon McBurney is pretty good, in fact everyone does a fantastic job with their voice performances even if they don't play a big role, the characters really have that feel of genuineness and realism, along with playful humour, heart and understandable motives, along with phenomenal voice acting, the characters are really pawesome!..., I had to.
On a side note, the music used in this film really captures that Irish feel and sound to it, the score is genuinely wonderful, it's composed by the amazing Bruno Coulais and he really outdid himself here, it's one score I really want to listen to when the soundtrack comes out, along with very fitting songs including the very popular "Running with the Wolves" song by Aurora which is a really good song by the way!
What else can I say that hasn't been said already?, this film is.... just unbelievable, it's unlike anything I have ever seen, from the huge responses it's getting from critics and audiences along with some great ratings!..., I am comfortable to say that this film is a masterpiece!, Wolfwalkers is not only my favourite film from Cartoon Saloon, but it might be the best animated film and film in general of this year!, it has an amazingly well told story with a creative concept, it's really grim and dark, it has good heart and sweet humour, along with epic action and a intense third act, animation that is mindbogglingly gorgeous and stylish, characters who are mature and well written, along with terrific voice acting and lovely music!, it's just fantastic, if you are a fan of the studio, go check it out if you can, as for everyone else, I do highly recommend it, please try and see before it leaves cinemas, it's out for a limited time or wait until it's on Apple TV, it's a must see for all ages know I'll be watching it again, this studio has impressed me before but now..., this is their magnum opus, I hope they continue to make more films like this, because not many people see them which is a shame really but I'm glad I saw this one as soon as I can, as rubbish as the year was, at least we got something incredible to hopefully finish off the year (Until Soul comes out that is).
This film one hundred percent deserves a 10/10!
- Clank_Zoka
- Oct 31, 2020
- Permalink
Title says it all. Doesn't deserve an 8, the characters are supposed to be charming but they come off as annoying, the plot is cliche in lots of places.
Despite this, the backgrounds are nice, and so is the music - though unfortunately the plot lacks a little, and sometimes the character designs don't work with the backgrounds in some places.
So, the good parts?
Designs were creative for the wolves, the villain was well designed, the music was great and the opening was gripping. The ending, though cliche, is satisfying and opens up many possibilities.
The bad parts?
Like I said, plot is quite an issue as I could see the ending miles away. After the amazing opening, the pace and story lacks for a good portion of the movie, losing the magic it held at the beginning in favour of some annoying characters chasing each other.
Whilst we are on the subject, the characters.
The characters, or one in particular, are a major set back from making this movie from good to great. Mebh was the root of this I think. Her enthusiastic attitude gets old real fast, already having been used to death before. Whereas the opening portrayed her as being silent, she's very sassy and loud mouthed - I would've much preferred a silent Mebh, as this adds an element of mystery and fantasy. It just ruined it for me.
The other characters are okay, Robin's dad was the most likeable, Robin not so much but I could see why they chose that. The villain was good, keeping a mysterious, intimidating feel keeping me engaged with scenes he was in.
Overall, a mediocre movie that has lots of potential and sometimes reaches that potential, but often it is sadly too little too late. The Breadwinner and Song of the Sea were far better.
However, if you like fantasy revolving around animals, and are a fan of animation, it's worth the watch. I am a fan of animation and was in awe at lots of the backgrounds and long shots. Like I said, by far the best part of the movie.
So yeah. Mediocre. At time of writing it stands at 8.3, which I think is far too high (but only 257 have reviewed)
- dysfunctionalrequest
- Nov 9, 2020
- Permalink
TIFF 2020 07
Wolfwalkers
This is a really enjoyable animation from Tom Moore and Ross Stewart. The animation style is close to last year's acclaimed work Klaus, but in terms of story and setting, it really ressembles the works of Miyazaki, especially Princess Mononoke. The most major theme in this film is the conflict between humans and nature/forests/animals. It's a solid work and there wasn't any things to complain about, but it's a theme that has been explored many times before. Also Sean Bean rocks in whatever he does.
Wolfwalkers
This is a really enjoyable animation from Tom Moore and Ross Stewart. The animation style is close to last year's acclaimed work Klaus, but in terms of story and setting, it really ressembles the works of Miyazaki, especially Princess Mononoke. The most major theme in this film is the conflict between humans and nature/forests/animals. It's a solid work and there wasn't any things to complain about, but it's a theme that has been explored many times before. Also Sean Bean rocks in whatever he does.
- morrison-dylan-fan
- Nov 22, 2020
- Permalink
While the animation was imaginative, the actual story didn't grab me at all, feeling a like a rehash of The Secret of Kells. The dialogue was repetitive and the characters were one-note. It seemed like Robyn and her father had exactly the same argument five or six times through the course of the film.
Not nearly as good as the same studio's Song of the Sea from a few years ago (or, indeed, The Secret of Kells).
Side comment: the villainous Lord Protector is presumably supposed to be Oliver Cromwell. But he didn't seem to be named as such, either by the characters or in the credits. I wonder whether this was to void offending UK viewers?
Not nearly as good as the same studio's Song of the Sea from a few years ago (or, indeed, The Secret of Kells).
Side comment: the villainous Lord Protector is presumably supposed to be Oliver Cromwell. But he didn't seem to be named as such, either by the characters or in the credits. I wonder whether this was to void offending UK viewers?
- socialbeany
- Apr 24, 2021
- Permalink
I expected great things from Tomm Moore, have been waiting for this for a long while and I'm sad to have watched what I watched.
It's high quality animation and it will probably keep a child's attention for 90 minutes but the script has no soul or even sense whatsoever.
Just a lot of crude stereotypes doing things stereotypically.
Whatever points I give, are for the visual part only. Credit where it's due.
It's high quality animation and it will probably keep a child's attention for 90 minutes but the script has no soul or even sense whatsoever.
Just a lot of crude stereotypes doing things stereotypically.
Whatever points I give, are for the visual part only. Credit where it's due.
This film was so beautiful and entertaining, i re-watched it like 4 times now, the studio makes really good movies
This movie definetly needs multiple oscars, its just... best move i ever seen, its too good that I cant even
describe it...
- leokozlovs
- Dec 4, 2020
- Permalink
WOLFWALKERS, an Apple Original Film from Cartoon Saloon beautifully and breathtakingly completes an Irish folklore animated trilogy with The Secret of Kells (2009) Song of the Sea (2014). Utilizing two-dimensional hand-drawn techniques with a plethora of pastel colorations, and eye-catching geometrical patterns combined with Celtic music featuring harps, violins and a sundry of woodwind instruments, artists Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart take their previous efforts to another level, and, in my opinion, is their strongest work to date. Wolfwalkers made its US Premiere during this year's American Film Institute's AFI FEST presented by Audi and was the recipient of the festival's Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature. Wolfwalkers, steeped in historical significance, is a film the whole family can watch