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!