It’s a triumphant return home to the Kilkenny-based Cartoon Saloon. Not only does the studio behind “Secret of the Kells” and “Song of the Sea” new film take place within Kilkenny itself, but they’ve once again dug into the deep well of Irish history and folklore to deliver a heartwarming tale about family and loss.
“Wolfwalkers” follows Robin, a young English girl living in 17th century Ireland. Her father is a wolf hunter working under the watchful eye of The Lord Protector who wants to bring “order” to the Irish people. Robin wants nothing more than to help her father but finds her loyalties divided when she meets Mebh, a wild girl living in the forest who can transform into a wolf when she sleeps.
“Wolfwalkers” doesn’t just dive back into the mythology that surrounds Cartoon Saloon’s previous films. It builds on and refines the themes present in them, in what is hands down their best-animated movie to date.
There’s a reason the studio is occasionally cited as the Irish Studio Ghibli. The use of stylized 2D animation, along with underlying themes of Man Vs. nature helps set them apart from their Western contemporaries’ ala Pixar or DreamWorks.
But it’s by focusing all of this through the lens of Irish history that Cartoon Saloon really creates something special. The advancement of man isn’t just a villain who doesn’t understand the importance of the local fauna. It represents an actual change in Irish ideals, pivotal moments that pushed the cultural thinking from one thing to another.
In “Wolfwalkers” that pivotal moment is the Cromwellian invasion of Ireland by England. The Lord Protector acting as a thinly veiled replacement for the real-life Oliver Cromwell, a staunch Puritan, who felt it was his mission to convert Ireland. That one inclusion turns a man vs. nature story and also makes it a man vs. authority story.
Most of the characters in the movie are afraid of losing control or feel stifled under the control of others (The comedy relief ends up in the stocks in the first five minutes). That makes them painfully relatable, and their attempts to break free feel all the more loveable.
The relationship between Robyn and her father is especially heartwarming, Sean Bean’s performance echoes a man that is either tired or worried for his daughter with little in between.
The design and animation are breathtaking. The story is done in the same storybook style that Cartoon Saloon has become known for. But here more than any of their other films, the fact that “Wolfwalkers” is 2D animated sings like a badge of honor. Throughout the film, there are rough edges and overlapping lines that have been left in as an actual stylistic choice.
As always, the backgrounds are beautiful, nearly every frame of this movie looks like a painting I need to post on my wall. Cartoon Saloon makes heavy use of symmetry in their films. Here it’s used more than ever to help tell the story.
Everything that’s neat and orderly is shown with sharp lines and angles meanwhile the forest is a series of curves and circles. Mebh and the wolves she protects move in a circular motion, and that’s used to make some amazing transitions throughout the film.
You can watch Wolfwalkers on Apple TV+
Joshua Fadare
Reporter