Zach Goodier
Wolf
Children is an anime feature film that follows the story of a young
woman named Hana, who is a student in a university when she meets a mysterious
young man, who turned out to secretly be a wolf capable of changing form into a
human. They fell in love, and had 2 children. They were happy together until
his untimely death, which left Hana alone with her part-wolf children, facing
uncertainty and fear as she struggles to protect them and find a way to raise
her unique children.
This movies themes revolve around motherhood and the
struggles that mothers face. While this movie obviously takes it to an extreme
with the wolf children, but many of the themes carry over to any children, as
the young mother struggles on her own to raise these children, unable to rely
on anyone but herself to figure things out. It is a touching story that tugs at
the heart strings throughout. It’s a wonderful story that caught me by
surprise, generally being more into action-driven movies, but there’s still a
lot of excitement in films like these when they are done properly, and this one
most certainly is.
Yuki is an exuberant girl, while Ame is a quiet and reserved young boy, but as they grow they go through many changes. |
All of the characters felt well imagined and as lifelike as
any out there. Hana is a mother who spends most of the movie uncertain, afraid,
and desperate, with her loving nature, gives a realistic duality to her as she
tries to give her children the life they deserve while keeping them from
danger. Yuki and Ame are always growing and developing as babies and children,
and the movie ends with both of them starting to mature and strive out on their
own to face the world. One of the great parts is the paths each of the children
walk, as they struggle between their human and animal sides.
It’s how the themes are carried forward and how the movie
follows this story through to a bittersweet and well written end that makes
this movie so brilliant. By the end, as anyone would expect, the children are
growing older and taking the first steps into adulthood, which is bittersweet
because Hana has to begin the process of letting the children she put so much
time and care into go out and experience the world without her. That’s what
makes this such a well-written work: the real feelings that we get as the audience
mimic Hana’s as we’ve followed her journey from meeting her love, to losing him
and carrying on alone, to letting Yuki and Ame gradually leave home and start
their own lives, it’s a very real sensation that is felt by both the characters
involved and us as the audience.
In short, this is a brilliant movie. It might not satisfy
the action itch, if that’s what you’re into, but it makes up for it with
brilliant characters and an emotional story that tells us what struggles
parents go through as they raise their children and eventually have to let go
so those children can go out into the world. The animation is all beautifully done
and almost every frame looks like it’s own piece of art. Real time and care
went into every aspect of this movie, and it really pays off. So go get lost in
this story, and experience it all for yourself.
Good:
-Great characters all around
-Excellent animation and visuals all around.
-Very real themes and messages that anyone can relate to on
some level.
Bad:
-This isn’t a real mark against it, since it isn’t an action
flick, but it can be a little lacking in the action and excitement department.
This is a character drama, so don’t come looking for the Michael Bay
experience.
Scully Rating: 10 out of 10
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