I started with Song of the Sea, then WolfWalkers. I wish I would have done it in reverse, because I do believe Song of the Sea is the superior movie: the characters more layered, the animation better and more beautiful, the story a bit nicer. Wolfwalkers is kind of the same thing in the sense that the protagonist is a young only child who has to push pass their overbearing father to define themselves as a person. Here the metaphors are more heavy handed, with the ultimate goal being more about gaining freedom than evolving as a person, but you get the beautiful animation, the celtic folklore, the nice Irish music and the hero's journey.

I noticed other people comparing Tomm Moore's work with Miyazaki's and I concur that he kind of goes the same way: stories with a lot of national or traditional motifs, young children as heroes in very natural or magical environments going through a transformative journey that also tells things about us as people. Now I wonder if Breadwinner will be as good or not.

After viewing the interesting Josep (2020-also reviewed) I decided to look at the other two feature film titles in the Manchester Animation Festival line-up. Having really enjoyed Song of the Sea (2014-also reviewed) I was excited to see a stream of the latest film by the studio taking place,with a question and answer interview with the makers afterwards,leading to me walking with the wolves.

View on the film:

Revealing during the in-depth Q&A after the screening that they had started working on the film seven years ago, the level of care co-writers/(with Jericca Cleland and Will Collins) co-directors Tomm Moore & Ross Stewart placed into the production,leads to a magical creation.

Mentioning in the Q & A that Robyn was a boy in early drafts of the script, the change to Robyn being a girl by the writers, allows for intense drama from Robyn having to break through the barricades placed in front of her by the ruthless Lord Protector and her dad Bill,along with a emphasis on the fairy/folk tale aspect,of little red Robyn going deep into the mysterious woodland filled with wolves.

Pointing out in the Q & A that they originally openly named the baddie Oliver Cromwell, the writers alteration to him being the "Lord Protector" (with English flags prominent in the background of shots) gives the villain a towering folk lore/ fairy tale menacing presence,who shoves away any who disagree,and confronts Robyn as a huge obstacle she must overcome to save the last wolves.

Going to Ireland to kill the animal of the former Stark family symbol, Sean Bean gives a excellent turn as Bill,whose voice weighs heavy on daughter Robyn's pleas for him to help save the wolves, but is unable to shake a sense of duty towards the snarling Lord Protector.

Walking into the wild woods to the lush chimes of Bruno Coulais's score and the whispering vocals of Folk group Kila, directors Moore and Stewart meet the wolves with mesmerising, shimmering pastel colour giving the hand-drawn animation the texture of having come straight from the pages of a old fairy/folk tale book.

Detailing in the Q & A the inspection they got from 17th century wood carvings, the directors carve a eye-catching rustic, rough-edge stylised appearance, which gives Lord Protector pointed tough edges,as Robyn walks with the wolves.

How utterly refreshing to watch an animation that tells a good, solid, story with strong characterisations and a great vocal cast that is not, necessarily, designed to just maximise box office revenues. It's a relatively straightforward story of an hunter "Goodfellowe" who, along with his young daughter "Robyn" (Honor Kneafsey) is recruited to hunt down a pack of wolves near the town of Kilkenny, of whom the local populace are terrified. The wolves live in an ancient forest and are having to come to terms with the increased human intervention in their lives, and with their habitat - and when one of their number disappears, the young "Mebh" (Eva Whittaker) makes contact with the young "Robyn" and together, the two try to track down the missing wolf and to find some more peaceful way for humanity and their lupine adversaries to live in peace. The animation is simple, yet sophisticated - building on a rich vein of Celtic mythology and some age-old fears and stereotypes that still exist some 370 years after this enchanting mystery is set. The pace mixes the cerebral and the action, with plenty going on for both eye and brain to appreciate. Even Sean Bean (who's angularly featured image matches so well his usually wooden acting style) manages to inject some humanity into what is essential a very enjoyable story of live and let live...