WolfWalkers. The Film Of The Year for 2020.

Sometimes a viewer can come across a film that hits their joy receptors perfectly regardless of other factors. WolfWalkers from Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon is that film for 2020 in this reviews eyes. Cartoon Saloon has been on the fringes of breaking through into the mainstream animated sphere since they first appeared in 2009. This critic wasn’t overly familiar with their work outside of seeing The Breadwinner on the original release. That film is solid enough but any animated work that deals with the emotional impact of war on young people is automatically going up against Isao Takahata monolithic masterpiece Grave of the Fireflies.
WolfWalkers is a different beast entirely and from the snippets, this reviewer has seen more in line with the studios previous work. Marrying a gorgeous watercolour ascetic to an engaging Irish fable focusing on a young girl who befriends a mysterious and otherworldly figure belonging to the titular race of the title. The film represents a textbook example of how to deliver the complete package from a film making perspective. Others have made comparisons between the studio’s previous work and Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli in the past but this film has a distinct air of a very Ghibli production while having its own voice and sense of identity intact. Stunning on pretty much all levels
The film has been purchased by Apple as a streaming exclusive. It has thus been banished to Apple TV a service that almost no one has. For animation fans, it will certainly be worth getting a free trial exclusively to give this film a watch.it is this critic’s from other year animated or otherwise and he hopes that it doesn’t get lost in the shuffle of endless streaming releases with its UK theatrical run cut short due to the second lockdown .bushwalkers is an absolute must for animation fans all around the world.
10/10