WolfWalkers - Il popolo dei lupi

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.

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.

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.

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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