If director Mamoru Hosoda has one signature skill it is the
seamless marriage of fanciful anime wackiness with heart-wrenching sorrow. The
plots of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and
Summer Wars are both driven by the
kind of unexplained madness that so infuses eastern storytelling. Yet that
madness always brings tragic consequences that affect audiences on a universal
level. Touching on themes of parenthood, coming-of-age and loss Wolf Children may be Hosoda’s most
universal film to date. A showpiece as to why critics compare
him to the likes of Hayao Miyazaki.
Another
unique quality to Wolf Children is
that it has the thinnest plot of Hosoda’s work. Compulsively happy college
student Hana falls in love with a Wolf Man and before Twilight-haters have a chance to tear up their tickets the two are
living together with two baby Okami When the Wolf Man dies in a
random accident Hana moves the kids, Yuki and Ame, to the country hoping that
in seclusion the children can use their powers unnoticed. From there the film
follows the children growing towards adolescence and facing the choice of what
they want to be, wolves or humans.
That decision looms over the film touching on its strongest theme, with the wolf vs. human conflict serving as an allegory for discovering your identity. An allegory made tragic by the fact that we see this from the mother’s perspective, meaning that whatever the resolution it has to culminate in a moment that, for most parents, comes too soon. The day your child leaves home. Wolf Children’s greatest achievement is in communicating exactly how this feels. The animation and music wells up with elation before settling down to a melancholy note of finality.
That decision looms over the film touching on its strongest theme, with the wolf vs. human conflict serving as an allegory for discovering your identity. An allegory made tragic by the fact that we see this from the mother’s perspective, meaning that whatever the resolution it has to culminate in a moment that, for most parents, comes too soon. The day your child leaves home. Wolf Children’s greatest achievement is in communicating exactly how this feels. The animation and music wells up with elation before settling down to a melancholy note of finality.
There are bumps in the road on this journey though. While the fun of watching Hana struggle with both motherhood and animal care or Yuki and Ame embrace their inner animal keep it a fun ride it feels at times like a meandering one. One second act digression in particular sees the rural community coming together to help Hana grow her food in a way that feels heart-warming but ultimately pointless.
Hana herself has little characterisation beyond being determined to please everyone, effortlessly winning empathy as the self-sacrificing mother. Meaning Yuki and Ame are the real personality of the film, Yuki easily being the most extroverted but both are full of energy and resolve. Their very different identities a necessary move to send them both on very different paths with unexpected results.
Wolf Children is the best kind of anime, the kind that transcends its cultural heritage into something the whole world can enjoy. Like parenthood it may demand a little patience at times but is absolutely worth it in the end.
No comments:
Post a Comment