Review of Wolfwalkers (2020) by Hello_World — 25 Jul 2021

Every time I hear someone say "I wish Hollywood still made 2D-animated films" I always point them to Cartoon Saloon. While their stories can be simple, the artistic style that Tomm Moore brings to his films are astounding and Wolfwalkers just may be the prettiest animated film I have ever seen. The art style is striking, the character designs are appealing and the first person perspective shots are animated beautifully and absolutely captivating. I can't praise the visuals of this film enough and in my opinion, is enough to warrant even just a cursory look into the movie.

As for the plot, much like their other works, is pretty straight forward and doesn't have the emotional punch that we can get from the likes of Pixar's best. But wolfwalkers doesn't need to be a Pixar film and it may actually be to its detriment. Tomm Moores films have been going for more of a fairy tale feel for his films and he executes them in a way that makes the world feel magical rather than just a film with magic in it. Wolfwalkers is no different and the story does read like an old Irish tale. To get into specifics, the story is about two girls from two different worlds (one from a human town and the other living in a magic forest) who meet and become friends. We've seen this plot before, but being familiar does lend itself to the fairy tale aesthetic that the film is going for. The characters are likeable in both their portrayal and in their designs and serves the story that they are trying to tell. In short, the story isn't new and exciting, but it is the way that they tell it and the visuals that they accompany with the story telling that makes it wolfwalkers compelling.