Les enfants loups, Ame & Yuki

Probably the best anime I have seen recently. From the director of 'The Girl Who Leapt Through Time' gives us this wonderful fantasy-drama. This movie is kinda resembling Miyazaki's 'My Neighbour Totoro', only the place it takes place and a bit with the characters. Other than that it is an awesome movie with a totally fresh concept as per my knowledge.

All the three main characters, a mother and her two kids were lovable. Aoi Miyazaki never stops impressing me where she appears here as a mother. Her roles from various movies are always coming with a surprise who peaking high and higher, she really rocks. The two kids' characters as well very adorable. Like the two sisters in 'My Neighbour Totoro' these two made the movie look great. Actually it was a tale about a mother who raises two wolf children. As a single parent, her hard work and dedication to the kids to grow up having a normal and happy childhood she must sacrifice her life.

When her husband dies, Hana must take care of the kids where she lacks the knowledge of their kind to give support. She finds difficulties in city to raise them so she decides to move to a rural where she can cut the communications with the other humans. Growing her own vegetables in the backyard, facing the different seasons and going through all the ups and down in life she almost achieves her ambition.

It did not look like an anime movie, it looked almost a real one with many cool and colourful frames. The story commenced with a nice love story with a little heartbreak. Then the most enjoyable parts begin with lots of laughs until the approach of the end where it brings lots of emotions before concluding with a powerful howl. It had very nice background score in all the crucial portion of the tale. In other word to say, the movie was just like what I expected and more than that. I felt the movie was short and was not ready to accept the end. You know, it is better being short and sweet than with unnecessary drag in a tale. This is a movie that everyone will love, especially kids and families. Like I said if you are a die hard 'My Neighbour Totoro' movie fan then you must not miss it. So highly recommended by me.

Wolf Children tells the tale of two children, who have been born to a normal university female student and to a werewolf man. From their father they inherit the ability to turn into wolves, which manifests almost immediately after their birth. Unfortunately their father dies and it quickly becomes apparent that werewolf children just cannot be brought up in the city. At least not alone. Thus their mother does the sensible, but also risky, thing and moves to the countryside to farm the land and to raise her children in peace.

From that intriguing beginning we get a beautiful film about the problems of growing up while straddling two heritages. Yuki, the older of the two children, is much more outgoing and brave, and she's at first much more comfortable with her wolf blood than her brother Ame, who's more cautious about the wolf within, but also understands it on a level that Yuki can never reach. It's a very fitting allegory and the film takes full advantage of the possibilities offered. Especially near the end the film has some absolutely beautiful and thoughtful moments when the children, now young teenagers, finally have to start making decision about which of the worlds they want to belong to.

I also have to praise the character of the mother, Hana. She's so often clearly way in over her head, but her stubbornness and constant cheerful outlook on life carry her through even the hardest periods. She's very human in how she struggles, but in the best possible way, because it's exactly her humanity that gives her strength.

Studio Madhouse's animation style is still very smooth and fluid, though I do find that their character models are a bit simplistic when you put them against lush nature backgrounds. Not really a problem, but personally I would have preferred a bit more naturalistic approach to the designs.

Wold Children is a fantastic film for all fans of anime and for those that are interested in the dichotomy between the world of beast and the world of man.

In the vein of films like Totoro, and in contrast to Mamoru Hosoda's previous Summer Wars, this film glides along without an epic struggle driving the story. Rather, the greatest moments are the depictions of family life and the picturesque sketches of Tokyo and the Japanese countryside.

The story begins with the start of the eponymous wolf children's parents' love, and progresses through births, deaths, moves, the first day of school, and their growth into adults. The story is almost too ordinary, but in its normality, its moments are universal. One can't help but stare in awe at the beauty of life as it happens, and be reminded of the beauty of one's own mundane yet special lives.

The art is also quite something. Tokyo's bustling life is reduced to warm glows of winter, and the Japanese farms and countryside is rendered beautifully whether it be in rain, sun, or snow.

Watch it. It's not of the same scale as Hosoda's previous Summer Wars or The Girl Who Leapt through Time, but it packs an emotional punch that surpasses either of them. You'll shed a few tears, and marvel at the beauty of the world and our lives.

This film was excellent, may I even say better than spirited away? Possibly. The Wolf Children was much(for lack of a better word)better than I had expected. I simply astonished me. The animation was fantastic the background was exquisite, and the storyline was moving. Mamoru Hosoda has not failed again, if you liked this I would suggest you watch "Summer Wars" or "The Girl Who Leaped Through Time".

Wolf Children is massively underrated in my opinion.

Though there is no spoiler here, I would like to say one thing about the ending, the ending is not conclusive, it is quite open, though still powerful. So because of this, some people may not like the ending, at first it had me in tears because of its beauty, but also had me angry because of the ending. But still a fantastic film.

Ratings:

Animation: 9.5/10

Storyline: 9.8/10

Background scenery: 10/10 (Amazing background scenery, greatly drawn)

Character personality: 10/10

Overall: 10/10

Thanks for reading.

• Nik

You will after seeing the beautiful animation, and emotional purity of this film. This is a somber look at the struggles of a single mother completely out of her element, and fighting for each and every inch of ground in unfamiliar territory. While the comparison to Hayao Miyazaki is both inevitable, and present, Hosuda has established a unique style of story-telling that will help distinguish him from other animators, and hopefully bring him some much needed attention from international audiences. Never one to shy away from tear-jerking, Hosuda spins a somber tale of an unconventional family with unique challenges, and yet still makes it nearly universally relatable. While this film is technically in the fantasy genre, it is easily recommendable to fans of all film styles and all ages, with only some slight warnings for tasteful, completely non-sexual nudity.