'Wolfwalkers' Review
PG: Sequences of violence and peril, scary images, some thematic elements, and brief language
Runtime: 1 Hr and 40 Minutes
Production Companies: Cartoon Saloon, SIF 309 Film Music, Dentsu Entertainment USA
Distributors: Apple TV+, GKIDS
Director: Tomm Moore, Ross Stewart
Writers: Will Collins
Voice Cast: Honor Kneafsey, Eva Whittaker, Sean Bean, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Simon McBurney
Release Date: November 13, 2020 (Select theaters) | December 11, 2020 (Apple TV+)
In a time of superstition and magic, a young apprentice hunter, Robyn Goodfellowe (Honor Kneafsey), journeys to Ireland with her father to wipe out the last wolf pack. While exploring the forbidden lands outside the city walls, Robyn befriends a free-spirited girl, Mebh (Eva Whittaker), a member of a mysterious tribe rumored to transform into wolves by night. As they search for Mebh's missing mother, Robyn uncovers a secret that draws her further into the enchanted world of the Wolfwalkers and risks turning her into the very thing her father (Sean Bean) is tasked to destroy
For the past decade, Irish animation film studio Cartoon Saloon has delivered nothing but banger 2D projects that received praise for their beautiful hand-drawn animation style and significantly rich storytelling, with each film to date earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature. While going toe-to-toe against the top animation studios in the business, they have proven to be a worthy competitor. With their fourth feature, Wolfwalkers, Cartoon Saloon has gone from spunky combatants to a juggernaut that’s not to be reckoned with, for this is hands down the best animated feature of 2020 thus far and currently sits high on my list of best movies of the year.
In a crowded arena where every animation production company or studio is making CG 3D productions, Cartoon Saloon is one of the few remaining studios that solely create 2D animated features. Wolfwalkers is a breath of fresh air, proving that magic still very much exists in this medium, as they conjure up a visually stylish world with an identity of its own. Wolfwalkers blends a variety of 2D animation techniques and art styles so beautifully that to call it a work of art feels like an understatement.
The film’s art style is composed of cultural Celtic designs mixed with a bright, autumn-based color palette, which is reminiscent of how Song of the Sea used its blue palette to match its coastal settings. An inventive concept that the film explores is flat backgrounds. The foreground and background are in complete focus in every shot to make it look like the elements exist in the same plane. In closeup shots there’s nice detail where the color of the character’s skin or clothing bleeds outside their line art and yet still retains the line art’s shape. At first, it throws you off, but once you realize it’s a style choice to show the amount of detail that went into creating this film, you have no choice but to marvel at it. A good amount of shots feature a side-view camera angle and the animation team does a fantastic job interplaying the looks between the foreground and the background. The most bone-chilling, breathtaking sequences come from Robyn seeing the world as a wolf, which is entirely done in hand-drawn sketch animation. I’m barely even scratching the surface of how intricate the level of detail that directors Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart and their animators have incorporated to craft this love letter to 2D animation while elevating the playing field.
As strong as the animation is, the story itself is just as hefty, if not even tighter than most of the Saloon team’s previous features. The film is penned by Will Collins, whose storytelling structure is similar to a storybook Aesop fable. This time around he integrates some Irish historical background to add depth to the mythology and fantasy of the story. Set during the mid-17th century around the time of the Irish confederate wars, the English send their Lord Protector, an Oliver Cromwell-looking dude, to occupy Ireland and enforce a religious rule of the land. It’s a huge part of the film, for it adds a layer of conflict between Robyn and her father Bill Goodfellowe, who is hired to hunt all the wolves in the forest. When plucky, young Robyn meets Mebh, the young Wolfwalker, a friendly bond instantly forms between them. Knowing they are from two separate worlds — one ruled by fear while setting out to destroy the other — makes for quite a riveting drama. Plus, their friendship is so adorable and the incredible set pieces are enjoyable to watch.
The central characters and the relationships they share are lovable, especially the emotional anchors that are Robyn and Bill. Their dynamic is nothing new — a precocious character with a childlike wonder and an overprotective/stubborn father who misunderstands her — but their relationship adds a rich, emotional layer to the story. Both parties face the same amount of pressure due to the rulership they’re under, but they react differently. Even when the story’s beats are familiar and you can smell a scenario coming from a mile away, the emotional resonance is so strong that it feels like a gut-punch.
As far as themes go, many will draw comparisons between Wolfwalkers and the Studio Ghibli film Princess Mononoke, for they both bear themes regarding humans’ relationship with nature. Heck, a few of the story beats are borrowed from Mononoke, especially towards the third act. Wolfwalkers downplays an environmentalist message in exchange for strong undertones regarding enforced religion and how it inflicts terror and fear. I commend Collins for incorporating such a timely depiction that plays a huge part in world history and still exists to this very day. While Mononoke is focused on being an action flick, Wolfwalkers is more story-driven to play like a heartfelt and emotionally riveting fable. It stands out with a unique voice that is as powerful as it is beautiful. As much as I want to write a five-page report gushing over Wolfwalkers, I will end this by saying that I have now watched this movie twice and I can’t wait to see it for the third time. I want to own the blu-ray, the artbook, and learn more about how they brought this beautiful, rich film to life. I don’t throw this word around a lot, but Wolfwalkers is a straight-up masterpiece. In both storytelling and hand-drawn animation, Wolfwalkers is Cartoon Saloon’s best film to date — one that will easily stand the test of time.
