Review of Wolf Children (2013) by Mrtonny — 27 Mar 2016

Hey, I made a video review of Wolf Children, which I'm super proud of and you can watch it right here: https://youtu.be/0ASa5RBitS4.

But if you prefer reading, here you go:

Do you miss studio Ghibli? I do too sometimes and It seems likeHey, I made a video review of Wolf Children, which I'm super proud of and you can watch it right here: https://youtu.be/0ASa5RBitS4.

But if you prefer reading, here you go:

Do you miss studio Ghibli? I do too sometimes and It seems like there aren't many anime directors out there, who can scratch the same itch that now retired Ghibli's lead two directors, Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, have been scratching for years. But not all hope is lost. We still got Mamotu Hosoda, one of the only directors left, who can bring us animations up to par, with Ghibli's masterpieces. Although Wolf Children is very different in tone from Miyazkis work, it shares some similarities in what it can achieve. Ghibli movies always brought us unique experiences, that you couldn't get from watching other anime and if you've seen any of the Ghibli films, you know what I'm talking about. Similar to Secret world of Arietty and Howls moving castle, Wolf Children is a film that I really want to show to my kids (when and if I have any), but it's also a movie, that adults can enjoy just as much, if not more, because of all the massages it's trying to convey. It has the same kind of charm and magic, that keeps you smiling and invested the whole way through and it has a message that keeps you thinking, even after the credits role.

I know it gets kinda boring to listen to the plot summery for half an hour, so I'll try to be brief. Wolf children starts off by being narrated by a girl, who explains that this is a story about her mother Hana. Hana meets a guy, who she falls in love with and later reveals a secret, that he has been holding his whole life. He is a werewolf. So instead of loading a shout gun and hunting him with silver bullets, they make babies instead. They give birth to a daughter and one year later to a son. They handled the birth at home by themselves, because of fear that they would come out as wolves. The father tragically passes away after the son's birth and It's up to Hana to raise the Wolf Children Yuki and Ame herself.

This a story about a mother, who is tying raise two very difficult kids. Raising two kids in itself is hard, but you can only imagine, how hard it would be raising two kids, that are half wolfs. How do you raise kids, knowing nothing about their nature? If they get sick, do you take them to the vet or a normal doctor? Or neither? What happens, if people find out about their true nature? Should you try and deny them of their wolf form or should you let them choose, whether they want to hunt in the forest or not. What if they attack humans? Should you let them have fun with other kids and risk them turning into wolfs, at any given time, knowing they have no self- control at young age? Lots of questions, all of which are explored in the film. It's physically harder, because wolfs tear **** up, hunt other animals and are way more lively than normal kids, but the hardest thing is still just normal parenting, especially in this unusual scenario. And this is where the movie really gets you invested. As I saw the struggles Hana was going through, trying to provide for her kids, without leaving the house, because that would mean leaving two wildlings alone, trying to keep them from fighting and so on, I really felt for her. She was a very good and likable character, that I could relate to my parents. It really got me thinking about my beloved mother and everything she had to deal with while raising me and the thing she still has to do to this day. I realized just how hard working my mom is. She is the hardest working person I've ever known. She had to feed me every day, for 21 years', multiple times a day. Wake up every morning, until I was 18, just so I could wake up and go to school. She had to have enough control, to keep me away from drugs and all the bad influences. Worry about me, every time I stayed out and didn't pick up my phone and every time I was late from school. She had to make sure that I will grow up to be a good person who is dependable, honest, caring and have all the other good qualities. And most importantly try to make and keep me healthy and happy. She did all of that and much, much more for me, plus my younger brother, at the same time. It made me realize, that every time I got mad at her for telling me what to do, she was only looking out for me and I was breaking her heart a little, every time I wasn't obeying her. And I always took those things for granted. By the end of this year, I'm probably moving away from her, to go study at a university and she is probably scared and concerned, if she thought me and gave me enough for me to look out for myself and stay out of trouble. If I can stay happy and healthy. This movie made me realize and think about all that and I'm still lost in thought, as I'm reviewing it. If any medium can do all that, it's definitely doing a lot of things right.