Wolf Children Review

Director:  Mamoru Hosoda

Starring

JAPAN:    Aoi Miyazaki, Haru Kuroki and Yukito Nishii

ENGLISH: Colleen Clinkenbeard, Jad Saxton and Micah Solusod

Released

JAPAN: July 21, 2012

Wolf Children is an anime film that I've always wanted to watch. I've seen trailers, pictures, and even the Blu-ray at video stores; it quickly became one of those “I'll see it eventually” movies, only to quickly fade out of my mind. That all changed about three months ago when I decided to buy a few anime movies to add to my collection, one I already reviewed (Nausicaa) the other two which are Wolf Children, and Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex: The Laughing Man, both of which had quickly began catching dust in a cupboard in the living room. It took only three months but I have finally pulled Wolf Children out of the pile of movies that I own and got the chance to see it. 

Wolf Children is the sixth theatrical release from director Mamoru Hosoda, some of his works include the first two Digimon movies (which were combined in the English release) the Girl Who Leapt through time, the sixth One Piece movie, and the absolutely amazing Summer Wars. Its obvious why this man is quickly being hailed at the next Miyazaki, big shoes to fill I know but this man seriously has talent! All of his films are family friendly yet each individual film has transcended past the medium of simple family fun to create movies that are far more sophisticated than your average animated family fare, Wolf Children is no different.

Wolf Children focuses on Hana, a young college freshman who quickly falls in love with a mysterious man who has been dropping into her classes-despite not even being enrolled at the school-Hana is quickly smitten by this man and the two quickly form a relationship.  During their relationship Hana learns that her mysterious boyfriend is actually a Wolfman, an almost extinct branch of the traditional Japanese wolf. Hana does not care about her Wolf Lover's condition and the two eventually have two children whom they name Yuki (the daughter), and Ame (the son). Unfortunately do to completely unforeseen circumstances that aren’t fully elaborated in the film, Hana's Wolf Husband dies while trying to catch food for his family; this leaves the grief stricken Hana to watch over two Wolf Children who are quickly starting to become aware of their animalistic nature. Out of fear of prejudice from the city inhabitants Hana moves her family out into the country in the hopes of living a peaceful life.  

Wolf Children is a very good movie, I think it will be hard for anyone not to fall under the charm that is presented in this film, out of all of the amazing films that Hosoda has directed I think that this is his best film yet.  Hana is a very likable character and her struggles to raise the difficult Yuki and Ame paint a great picture of the trials that a single mother has to face when raising two children on her own. You will cheer for Hana's success and weep during her incredibly difficult and tiring life. There is a lot a viewer can learn when watching Wolf Children and everyone will take away something when watching this film, if it is to follow your dreams, to not being afraid of who you really are, Wolf Children has everything that you would want from a Family Film.  Now if you do intend to watch it with children there is a scene in this movie that should be touched upon before viewing. The movie is pg-13 and as it states under the label there is a scene of sensuality, what is this scene I speak of? Well it's a very odd scene where a topless Hana (from the back of course) kisses her boyfriend (in full wolf form) before falling onto their bed and the scene fading to black, I don't think I need to continue for you to know what was implied there. I would have been ok with this scene if he wasn't a wolf; it's very odd to say the least, now I know it follows heavily with the films major theme of acceptance and what not, but did they really have to go there? Scene of sensuality aside there is no reason why this single scene should stop anyone from watching this fantastic movie.

When it comes to anime feature films you can expect some truly magnificent animation.  Most anime series suffer from the constraints of time and budget, but with a full length film you have the budget and time to almost do whatever you want when it comes to animation and this movie is no different. The animation in Wolf Children is jaw dropping, scenes where the two children and running through the woods and phasing between wolf and human are incredible to watch and was really a highlight for me. Hosoda's style is all over this movie and if you have seen Summer Wars than you can completely anticipate what animated glories are in store for your eyes. 

I haven't had the chance to watch the movie in its original Japanese audio so I can only comment on the English adaptation of the film. The licensing has gone over to Funimation who are known for producing some incredible dubs.  As with everything that is under their belt, Wolf Children has an amazing English localization. The main role of Hana is played by the amazing Colleen Clinkenbeard who is one of my favorite voice actors, every single role I've seen her in Colleen always seems natural when delivering her lines. If you've seen a bad English dub than you know how clunky and robotic it can sound, Clinkenbeard is always smooth and natural when it comes to any project and although she does have a very recognizable voice you always can picture the character she's portraying.  As for the children Yuki and Ame I finally can say that I've been introduced to new talent, I have never watched a single project by both Jad Saxton (Yuki) and Micah Soulsod (Ame) and if I have I haven't watched the dub. Jad Saxton has an almost angelic quality to her voice who is narrating the film, and Micah Soulsod is very good as the troubled and conflicted Ame. Both of the Wolf Children are completely fleshed out characters that undergo a very deep and profound journey throughout the course of the film. Their character development is spot on and the two go through drastic changes (almost complete swaps) of personalities as the film progresses. Yuki, who starts out as a wild child who embraces the wolf quickly changes into a girl who wants nothing to do with her wolf side, her brother Ame changes from introverted mommas boy, to a young man who quickly begins to unleash the wolf inside. 

If you are one who easily gets teary eyed from watching a movie then let me warn you. Wolf Children will probably make you bawl your eyes out by the time the credits roll. If you are looking for a perfect happy ending then this might not be the movie for you, because the ending of Wolf Children is bittersweet to say the least, you have been warned and that is as far as I can go without spoiling anything.

There isn't much to hate on the film besides how it ends, like Dallas Buyers Club I was left wanting so much more from the films ending. Of course the movie could have been five hours long and been an epic that chronicled the life of two Wolf Children, but with the time it takes to animate a feature film that would simply be unreasonable so I can see why the film ended the way it did. There is currently a manga being serialized based on the film that Hosoda himself is writing.  I don't know how far into the story they've come or if it will go beyond the ending of the film but it might be worth checking out if you want to re-experience this amazing story in a different medium. 

Although the ending left me wanting more-and leaving my heart destroyed- I give Wolf Children a

8/10

It is a really great anime flick and I think its really worth your time, even if you're not an anime fan, there is something in here for everyone like in all of Hosoda's films.