Wolf Children

Name: Wolf Children
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Animation, Family
Released: September 27, 2013
Duration: 117 min
Rating: 76
Cast: Amon Kabe, Aoi Miyazaki, Haru Kuroki, Megumi Hayashibara, Momoka Ôno

2013

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 8 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 118 Ratings

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8.1	User Score Universal acclaim based on 118 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

Toho Company | Release Date: September 27, 2013 | TV-14

Starring: Amon Kabe, Aoi Miyazaki, Haru Kuroki, Megumi Hayashibara, Momoka Ôno, Tadashi Nakamura, Takao Ôsawa, Takuma Hiraoka, Tamio Ôki, Yukito Nishii

Summary: Wolf Children is a staggeringly beautiful animated feature film from director Mamoru Hosoda (Summer Wars). This epic cinematic achievement follows Hana, a woman who falls in love with a Wolf Man and gives birth to two half human, half wolf children. After the tragic death of her beloved, Hana seeks refuge in rural town where she attempts toWolf Children is a staggeringly beautiful animated feature film from director Mamoru Hosoda (Summer Wars). This epic cinematic achievement follows Hana, a woman who falls in love with a Wolf Man and gives birth to two half human, half wolf children. After the tragic death of her beloved, Hana seeks refuge in rural town where she attempts to build a life for herself and her children.… Expand

Director: Mamoru Hosoda

Genre(s): Drama, Fantasy, Animation, Family

Rating: TV-14

Runtime: 117 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

The Telegraph Tim Robey

Oct 24, 2013

The movie is hauntingly romantic at heart, in the best spirit of a Gothic fairytale, but without the harsh shadows or hard edges. Read full review

Peter Debruge

Apr 5, 2023

Embracing the patient, poetic style of such Japanese masters as Ozu and Mizoguchi, Hosoda sees no need for the manic energy and manufactured conflict of other recent toons. Read full review

Staff (Not Credited)

Apr 5, 2023

This lyrical and poetic effort about a single mother raising two children who happen to be half-human and half-wolf features the sort of metaphorical, sophisticated storyline that, with the exception of Pixar’s best efforts, is all too rare in American animated films. Read full review

The Guardian Chris Michael

Oct 24, 2013

Telling the story through the eyes of the harried, bereaved but indomitable mother gives this calm, funny, only occasionally schmaltzy family film a maturity Twilight never reached. Read full review

Curtis Woloschuk

Nov 3, 2013

Enchanting. Read full review

Kenneth Turan

Sep 26, 2013

Wolf Children is rather an odd story, told in a one-of-a-kind style that feels equal parts sentimental, somber and strange. Read full review

Time Out London Trevor Johnston

Oct 22, 2013

This anime feature takes an intriguing premise and does little with it. The detailed Ghibli-esque visuals are decent enough, but this is disappointingly bland. Read full review

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User Reviews

TheOtherGuy103

Dec 9, 2013

All I can say about this movie is that it is simply beautiful! The art, animation, voice acting in both the original Japanese version and in the English dub, the story, everything. I actually found myself feeling many emotions while watching it. If you were to ask me for my recommendation,All I can say about this movie is that it is simply beautiful! The art, animation, voice acting in both the original Japanese version and in the English dub, the story, everything. I actually found myself feeling many emotions while watching it. If you were to ask me for my recommendation, well you got it!… Expand

4 of 6 users found this helpful42

wordofmouth

Mar 23, 2014

Perhaps the most honest cinematic portrayal of the experience of being a human parent is this cartoon about werewolf kids. The drawn characters hold more authentic life than 99% of live action movie counterparts. It's also visually gorgeous.

1 of 4 users found this helpful13

soulJoe88

Jul 24, 2014

(german)
Was für eine Überraschung! Hab mir den Film blind gekauft und zähle ihn zu den besten Animé bzw. Zeichentrickfilmen. Rein objektiv gesehen würde ich ihn sogar als den besten überhaupt bezeichnen. Ame & Yuki ist ein Tribut an alle warmherzigen Mütter dieser Welt, der Parallellen zum(german)
Was für eine Überraschung! Hab mir den Film blind gekauft und zähle ihn zu den besten Animé bzw. Zeichentrickfilmen. Rein objektiv gesehen würde ich ihn sogar als den besten überhaupt bezeichnen. Ame & Yuki ist ein Tribut an alle warmherzigen Mütter dieser Welt, der Parallellen zum Erwachsenwerden aufweist. Besonders gefallen hat mir die Tatsache, dass er nicht nur die für Mütter schönen Momente zeigt, sondern auch die Momente, in denen sie lernen müssen loszulassen. Hier stimmt von vorne bis hinten einfach alles.… Expand

2 of 4 users found this helpful22

mrtonny

Mar 28, 2016

Hey, I made a video review of Wolf Children, which I'm super proud of and you can watch it right here: https://youtu.be/0ASa5RBitS4

But if you prefer reading, here you go: Do you miss studio Ghibli? I do too sometimes and It seems like there aren't many anime directors out there, whoHey, I made a video review of Wolf Children, which I'm super proud of and you can watch it right here: https://youtu.be/0ASa5RBitS4

But if you prefer reading, here you go:

Do you miss studio Ghibli? I do too sometimes and It seems like there aren't many anime directors out there, who can scratch the same itch that now retired Ghibli's lead two directors, Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, have been scratching for years. But not all hope is lost. We still got Mamotu Hosoda, one of the only directors left, who can bring us animations up to par, with Ghibli's masterpieces. Although Wolf Children is very different in tone from Miyazkis work, it shares some similarities in what it can achieve. Ghibli movies always brought us unique experiences, that you couldn't get from watching other anime and if you've seen any of the Ghibli films, you know what I'm talking about. Similar to Secret world of Arietty and Howls moving castle, Wolf Children is a film that I really want to show to my kids (when and if I have any), but it's also a movie, that adults can enjoy just as much, if not more, because of all the massages it's trying to convey. It has the same kind of charm and magic, that keeps you smiling and invested the whole way through and it has a message that keeps you thinking, even after the credits role.

I know it gets kinda boring to listen to the plot summery for half an hour, so I'll try to be brief. Wolf children starts off by being narrated by a girl, who explains that this is a story about her mother Hana. Hana meets a guy, who she falls in love with and later reveals a secret, that he has been holding his whole life. He is a werewolf. So instead of loading a shout gun and hunting him with silver bullets, they make babies instead. They give birth to a daughter and one year later to a son. They handled the birth at home by themselves, because of fear that they would come out as wolves. The father tragically passes away after the son's birth and It's up to Hana to raise the Wolf Children Yuki and Ame herself.

This a story about a mother, who is tying raise two very difficult kids. Raising two kids in itself is hard, but you can only imagine, how hard it would be raising two kids, that are half wolfs. How do you raise kids, knowing nothing about their nature? If they get sick, do you take them to the vet or a normal doctor? Or neither? What happens, if people find out about their true nature? Should you try and deny them of their wolf form or should you let them choose, whether they want to hunt in the forest or not. What if they attack humans? Should you let them have fun with other kids and risk them turning into wolfs, at any given time, knowing they have no self- control at young age? Lots of questions, all of which are explored in the film. It's physically harder, because wolfs tear **** up, hunt other animals and are way more lively than normal kids, but the hardest thing is still just normal parenting, especially in this unusual scenario. And this is where the movie really gets you invested. As I saw the struggles Hana was going through, trying to provide for her kids, without leaving the house, because that would mean leaving two wildlings alone, trying to keep them from fighting and so on, I really felt for her. She was a very good and likable character, that I could relate to my parents. It really got me thinking about my beloved mother and everything she had to deal with while raising me and the thing she still has to do to this day. I realized just how hard working my mom is. She is the hardest working person I've ever known. She had to feed me every day, for 21 years', multiple times a day. Wake up every morning, until I was 18, just so I could wake up and go to school. She had to have enough control, to keep me away from drugs and all the bad influences. Worry about me, every time I stayed out and didn't pick up my phone and every time I was late from school. She had to make sure that I will grow up to be a good person who is dependable, honest, caring and have all the other good qualities. And most importantly try to make and keep me healthy and happy. She did all of that and much, much more for me, plus my younger brother, at the same time. It made me realize, that every time I got mad at her for telling me what to do, she was only looking out for me and I was breaking her heart a little, every time I wasn't obeying her. And I always took those things for granted. By the end of this year, I'm probably moving away from her, to go study at a university and she is probably scared and concerned, if she thought me and gave me enough for me to look out for myself and stay out of trouble. If I can stay happy and healthy. This movie made me realize and think about all that and I'm still lost in thought, as I'm reviewing it. If any medium can do all that, it's definitely doing a lot of things right.

Sorry, I couldn't fit every thing here, you can watch the conclusion to the review in my video :)… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

TheSweBoo

Dec 8, 2018

This movie made me cry five times. By the final scene, I was a complete train wreck and I cried for a solid 20 minutes. It almost immediately made me want to give it an automatic 10/10 but I try not to let my emotions speak too much. This movie is gorgeous, let's just get that out of theThis movie made me cry five times. By the final scene, I was a complete train wreck and I cried for a solid 20 minutes. It almost immediately made me want to give it an automatic 10/10 but I try not to let my emotions speak too much. This movie is gorgeous, let's just get that out of the way. It looks amazing and the animation of really fluid, it really shows in the wolf scenes. As for problem, it's mainly some minor pacing issues and it's quite long. Ultimately; it's heartwarming, funny, has great dialogue and yes, it's extremely emotional. If you like anime movies and especially if you like Mamoru Hosoda, you will love this one.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Iky009

Apr 2, 2017

A visual delight, a beautiful story about family values. . .

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

RimRip

Nov 10, 2018

I seriously didn't enjoy this movie at all. I don't know why people think it's so good.

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

SEE ALL 22 REVIEWS