Believe it or not, Disney and Pixar are not the only studio with an animated film out this year. Apple’s new streaming platform, Apple TV+ have acquired the distribution rights to the latest animated feature film from Tomm Moore ad Ross Stewart entitled, Wolfwalkers.
The film tells the story of a young Irish girl named Robyn who lives in a village with her Wolf hunting father, voiced by Sean Bean. Robyn is determined to be like her father and explore the surrounding woods so to hunt and kill man’s greatest adversary, the wolf. However, things complicate when Robyn ventures out into against her father’s orders and befriends the packs leader.
First of all, Wolfwalkers has a beautiful art style that both looks and feels unique to its filmmakers own personality and style. Not only is every frame a work of literal art, but it also perfectly matches the films cute and quirky story line. Speaking of the films story, Wolfwalkers’ is certainly a family film and not a kid’s film. By this I mean the narrative is enjoyable for all ages and explores some mature themes we all could learn from, most notably, that of oppression.
Similar to much of Disney and Pixar’s catalogue, Wolfwalkers’ fabled message is that of freedom, finding peace and not judging a book by its cover. The film preaches that trying to understand your enemy, as opposed to demonizing them, is the most effective and ethical solution to ongoing conflict. In this way, Wolfwalkers is an animated film that accepts its responsibility to its highly influenced young audience and respects them with its incredibly important message that I truly believe the adults should pay just as much attention to.
Overall Wolfwalkers’ is a cut family film that is as enjoyable and educational to adults as it is to kids. Similar to Pixar only in its maturity and respect for the audiences’ intelligence, Wolfwalkers is a visually stunning and unique animated feature that proves there is definitely a place for smart and informative animated films outside of the Pixar monopoly.
Wolfwalkers is OUT NOW in select cinemas and will release on Apple TV+ on December 11th