Wolfwalkers. Espíritu de lobo

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.

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.

"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.

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.

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