Wolf Children
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anime,
anime film,
anime movie,
mamoru hosoda,
review,
wolf children
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First off, can I just say that it's an absolutely beautiful movie. The animation is top notch and Hosoda creates an atmosphere as only a master can. I love all the character designs too, especially the wolves.
Can I also say that Hana takes home the award for one of the most badass anime characters ever? I think the only fictional mother figure that can compete with her is Mrs. Frisby. The lengths she goes through for her children are nothing short of amazing.
I liked the kids, too. Yuki is adorably spunky and fun and her brother Ame is adorably shy. Along with Hana, they are the stars of the movie and they are appropriately textured characters as main characters should be. I think Hosoda succeeded in his goal of making watching the movie like watching these children grow up.
Now, that's not to say it's a perfect movie. In fact, I actually had several problems with it, and while I enjoyed it (I don't get this engrossed in a movie often) I'm still not sure I'm going to invest in the DVD. So let's dive in!
I've heard criticism leveled at the fact that there's not enough explanation of the wolf-people, but I was actually okay with that because the movie is essentially a fairy tale that is mired in reality, and fairy tales don't really require explanations. Hana may have these strange circumstances surrounding her situation, but the reality of raising her children is shown with painstaking detail in the film, something I wholeheartedly admire.
There are two big problems with this movie, however, that prevent me from saying it is as good as the director's previous outing, Summer Wars. The first being the focus, which seems to change throughout the film. It goes from focusing on Hana and her love story, then to raising her children, then takes a quick detour to "how to survive in the country", before ultimately settling on the story of the children needing to choose their own paths in life. For the most part, I think it works, but it also makes the movie feel a little disjointed. There are also characters who are important to the story yet kind of drift in when they're needed and vanish when they aren't. The old man who teaches Hana how to farm is the most egregious example, but the wolf at the sanctuary and the fox that guards the mountain also don't get much development at all. Sohei didn't get much to do in spite of playing a huge part in Yuki's development. In short, I think the movie tries to tell more stories than it can handle at times.
The other issue I take is the manner in which Yuki and Ame each choose their paths in life. Perhaps this is because I was raised in America's culture and while I think there is some value in conformity, it certainly should not be to the exclusion of yourself as a person. If you are of the interpretation that the children's decisions are the result of them maturing and choosing their paths in life based off of who they are, then it's fine. But I think it comes off more as the kids feeling forced into their decisions (given how the girls react to Yuki initially and the bullying we see Ame endure). Yuki essentially ends up suppressing who she is in order to fit in and Ame runs away. In other words, the two kids end up choosing their paths in life not necessarily because it's what they want, but because they were never really given the other option.
I also find it hard to believe there's not some middle ground. Why choose one side at the expense of the other? At the very least, they should have had more time to make their decisions, as, let's face it, wolf kids or not, adolescents rarely make the best long-term decisions in regards to their lives.
So those are my thoughts. A good movie, to be sure, but I've seen Hosoda do better.
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