Wolf Children
Mamoru Hosoda
It might not be as beautifully drawn as offerings from the famed Studio Ghibli but there is still much to love in the anime Wolf Children.
The title refers to the adorable siblings Yuki and Ame, but the film is also very much about their (human) mother Hana. She raises them single-handedly and also has to help her children cope with their dual human-animal nature.
Despite the fantastical premise, the drama is very much low- key, from Hana struggling with farming and acceptance in a rural community to Yuki and Ame’s differing experiences at school.
While Western stories about werewolves inevitably feature sex and violence, writer-director Mamoru Hosoda has instead fashioned a gentle and moving tale about familial love and becoming your own person – or wolf, as the case may be.
(ST)