TIFF 2020: Wolfwalkers
tiff 2020Never before has the global animated market been as strong as it is today, with one of the more consistent studios being Cartoon Saloon. Lacking a single bad feature outing, every feature from the Irish studio grows in confidence and voice with their newest feature film, Wolfwalkers, possibly being one of the studio's best yet. Following a young girl named Robyn (Honor Kneafsey) who recently moved to England with her father (Sean Bean) and ends up meeting a mysterious girl living in the woods named Mebh (Eva Whittaker) who can transform into a wolf while she sleeps. Wolfwalkers is yet another incredibly strong example of Cartoon Saloon's ability to blend grounded emotion with mythology creating a unique and rewarding viewing experience that immediately jumps up to being in the conversation of best animated films of the year.
As with every outing from Cartoon Saloon, it is impossible not to have one's breath immediately taken away by the animation within the film. Especially when it comes to the film's background art, Wolfwalkers is a stunningly complex and personable animated feat that contains a living and enthralling world within itself. From the rich colour palette to the wavy fantastical line structure, the world within Wolfwalkers feels as if it is built straight out of a myth while also carrying a brutal reality within it. Where the sketchy character designs might not be quite as jaw droppingly gorgeous as the background animation, it also feels completely unique and stands out as another inspired visual choice.
Where the film lives in a world of myth and fairy tale with humans who can transform into wolves and a villain which ultimately feels decently one dimensional and basic, as with all Cartoon Saloon, the film finds a depth that is grounded and real. From a conversation on the immigrant experience to harmful gender stereotypes, Wolfwalkers is filled with legitimately moving messages that are important and thoughtful. In a time where so many animated films strive for the lowest of lows when it comes to entertaining younger audiences and finding a cheap message, it is always refreshing to see a film that puts legitimate work and craft into building a story with confidence and maturity that is both fun and captivating for younger audiences without trading brain cells for fart jokes. This maturity also makes the film rewarding for older audiences and where the film is clearly a step down in emotional weight from the studios previous feature release, The Breadwinner, it is still undoubtedly rewarding and enjoyable.
Where the animation and screenplay screams personality, all these various identities the film carries is brought together by the vocal performances which are genuinely captivating and moving. There is a brightness to the performances being given by Honor Kneafsey and Eva Whittaker that instantly bring their young characters to life. It is the genuine light within these performances that makes the emotion all the more captivating and painful. Wolfwalkers is a film that is not afraid to get dark and even violent at times (obviously tame enough for younger audiences) which carries an edge to itself that will put audiences on the edge of their seats with tension and fear for what will happen to the main characters. This journey between light and darkness is masterfully helped by the score within the film coming from Bruno Coulais and Kíla which is incredibly unique and effective in its own right, perfectly elevating the film and sucking the audience even deeper into the film's world.
Being a Cartoon Saloon feature, there were high expectations for Wolfwalkers and the film lives up to nearly every expectation. There is a legitimate magic within the film as it creates not just a unique and engaging world but a story that pushes audiences and evokes genuine emotion. In many ways, with every feature, Cartoon Saloon, feels as if it is reaching Studio Ghibli levels of success in creating completely unique and incredibly well-crafted features that only get better in time and there is no reason to believe that the studio will slow down anytime soon.
