Wolfwalkers

Kilkenny, 300 years before Brian Cody civilised it, was a dangerous place. Cramped, dirty streets were patrolled by English soldiers supervised by the Lord Commander (a thinly veiled Oliver Cromwell voiced sneeringly by Simon McBurney). Surrounding the city were wild forests, gnarled, overgrown places filled with wolves that feasted on the livestock in the fields under the city walls. Entrusted with slaying these wolves was Bill Goodfellowe (Sean Bean), a British soldier and hunter who lived in the city with his daughter Robyn. Sick of her household chores she one day follows her father into the trees and discovers a mystical world in the caves beneath the forest. A mystical world that she's introduced to by a young girl called Mebh Óg MacTíre (Eva Whittaker), a young girl with a distinctly lupine presence.

Wolfwalkers, the latest creation from Kilkenny's Cartoon Saloon and directors Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart is a beautiful thing. A funny, thrilling & heartfelt slice of Celtic mysticism that will leave you buzzing as it's credits roll. It's the fourth animated film from Cartoon Saloon and once again they've nailed it. Any single frame of this lovingly crafted film would hang proudly on your wall, then there's the music, the design, the wonderfully drawn characters, all of it just hits the spot, coming together like a gorgeous tapestry. There's Robyn, the young girl who feels there has to be more to a woman's life than what society expects of them, Bill, the loving father who's terrified for his daughter growing up in a land where her accent will only bring her hate, the hilarious woodcutter Sean Óg (Tommy Tiernan) who's ill advised rant lands him in a very public spot and Mebh, a super creation, a feral but fun loving young Wolfwalker who craves townie treats (bread) and wants to 'ate the people who stole her mammy' from her. 

These are the people who populate the story, a deftly plotted tale that weaves magic and real life history together in a way that never feels forced or preachy. As with Cartoon Saloon's previous two Ireland set films this one is all about our ancient Hibernian ties with the magical side of life but here we see how colonialism tore it away from us, replacing it with civility and order and servitude. The wolves and wolfwalkers represent a freer existence, one that Robyn is striving for and when she gets a taste of it, her life becomes joyous and we get to have a lot of fun on her journey. A journey represented in a sparsely sketched POV that will just drop your jaw. Of course all fun things must can to an end and when the nefarious Lord Commander catches wind of the prowling, growling world outside the city walls the film veers off into more familiar but still thrilling territory with shifting aspect ratios and comic book style framing amping up the action in a stylish manner. Honestly, you'll be giddy watching it all play out.

Animated films live or die with their voice acting and here it's pitch perfect. Honor Kneafsey and Sean Bean bring gentle Northern tones that suit their characters perfectly, McBurney radiates menace as the baddie but it's little Eva Whittaker who steals the show as Mebh, her untamed accent and wild red mane melding together. She's just fantastic, a funny and vicious facade hiding a broken wee heart. Watching her and Robyn together would melt the coldest of us and later on when we get to see what she's really capable of, you'll be gnawing the nails off yourself as the Brits (never not at it) set their sight on her. It's a film that will stir the emotions of everyone in it's audience, the kids who'll love the colour and the sense of adventure and the adults who'll appreciate it's thematic richness.

Wolfwalkers is coming to Apple TV on the 11th of December. Hopefully it will get a cinema release next month to but your guess is as good as mine as to whether government restrictions ease. What ever way you do choose to watch it, it's a glorious way to spend your time.