Oscarless Animated Films: Wolf Children

Oscarless Animated Films: Wolf Children

For those unfamiliar, Oscarless Animated Films was something I talked about back in 2017, in which I covered quality animated movies that got snubbed for the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. Movies that I talked about included Finding Dory, Your Name, Tangled, Arthur Christmas, and The Peanuts Movie. I will put a complete list of movies I talked about at the end, so without further ado, let's talk about Mamoru Hosada's masterpiece Wolf Children!

Wolf Children tells the story of a woman named Hana, who falls in love with a man who's really a werewolf. They had two children named Ame and Yuki, who can also turn into wolves. When the father gets killed, Hana and her children travel to the country where it's less busy. As Ame and Yuki grow older, however, they start developing their own traits and preferences: Yuki feels more comfortable being a human, while Ame feels more comfortable being a wolf and wants to live in the woods.

Wolf Children is an underrated gem with Ghibli-quality animation, a timeless story, and compelling and relatable characters. I can relate to Yuki because, when she was younger and first attending kindergarten, she was into collecting rat bones and snakes, which creeped the other girls out. Because of this, Yuki had to change her image.

When I was in 6th grade, all the other students made fun of me for liking preschool shows. After insulting another student and making numerous hurtful remarks to other students, I had to stop liking preschool shows. However, I still personally respect and appreciate Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, Bear in the Big Blue House, Between the Lions, and old school Sesame Street (the 70s and the 80s). I appreciate these shows for their quality, artistry, puppetry, and overall messages.

Personal life aside, another thing to appreciate about Wolf Children is the amount of work the Japanese animators put into making the wolves look and behave like real wolves.

Ame (in his wolf form) catching a kingfisher.

I think it's baffling that a film as magnificent as Wolf Children didn't get the Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature. I honestly would've picked this film over Brave any day! I'm not saying that Brave is bad, it's far from it, I'm just saying that it didn't deserve to win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature, and that it doesn't really feel like a Pixar film. Rachel even admitted that it was her least favorite Pixar film. However, I honestly wouldn't mind a sequel, but only if Brenda Chapman returns as the sole director.

In conclusion, Wolf Children is a wonderful film that not just anime fans will enjoy, but anyone who wants to see a story about family, respecting one's differences, and finding one's place in the world.

However, I do have a warning to those who want to watch this movie: There are some strong swear words, perilous sequences, a rather violent wolf fight, and some sensual themes.

As I promised, here are links to every Oscarless Animated Film I talked about.

Finding Dory

https://asateriale.blogspot.com/2017/04/oscarless-animated-films-part-1.html

Rise of the Guardians

https://asateriale.blogspot.com/2017/04/oscarless-animated-films-part-2.html

Tangled

https://asateriale.blogspot.com/2017/04/oscarless-animated-films-part-3.html

Teacher's Pet

https://asateriale.blogspot.com/2017/04/oscarless-animated-films-part-4.html

Your Name

https://asateriale.blogspot.com/2017/05/oscarless-animated-films-part-5.html

Azur and Asmar: The Prince's Quest

https://asateriale.blogspot.com/2017/05/oscarless-animated-films-part-6.html

April and the Extraordinary World

https://asateriale.blogspot.com/2017/05/oscarless-animated-films-part-7.html

The Peanuts Movie

https://asateriale.blogspot.com/2017/05/oscalress-animated-films-part-8.html

Ponyo

https://asateriale.blogspot.com/2017/06/oscarless-animated-films-part-9.html

Arthur Christmas

https://asateriale.blogspot.com/2017/06/oscarless-animated-films-part-10.html

In This Corner of the World

https://asateriale.blogspot.com/2018/02/oscarless-animated-films-bonus-round.html

With this article concluded, I will announce that my next movie review will be on December 1st.

Movie Review: Over the Moon

Movie Review: Over the Moon                                                                                                     11-3-20

From Pearl Studios, the people behind last year’s Abominable, and legendary Disney animator Glen Keane comes Over the Moon, a story about a 14-year-old girl named Fei Fei, who works at a moon cake shop with her widowed father. When her mother was alive, she told Fei Fei stories about a woman who lived on the moon. However, Mrs. Zhong Fei Fei’s father’s fiancé, thinks the tale is farfetched. Destined to prove that Chang’e (pronounced Chung) the Moon Goddess, is real, Fei Fei builds a rocket to fly to the moon, and brings along her pet bunny Bunjee and, unintentionally, Chin, Mrs. Zhong’s son. When they arrive on the moon, they discover an amazing city inhabited by aliens, and even meet Chang’e in person. Now, if Fei Fei and Chin want to go home, they have to participate in a competition to find Chang’e’s missing gift.

Over the Moon is a diamond in the rough with beautiful animation, a heartfelt and emotional story, catchy songs, and a colorful cast of characters.

Gobi, an alien who used to be friends with Chang'e, trying out 'moon pants'.

Glenn Keane and his team at both Pearl and Sony Pictures Imageworks did an amazing job on designing both China and Lunaria, the moon city. As the world of Ponyo was like a hybrid between My Neighbor Totoro and Finding Nemo, Lunaria is like a hybrid of Treasure Planet (which Keane also worked on) and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

The movie also has a strong message about accepting change: At first, Fei Fei hates Chin with a passion. However, through the course of the film, she, with the help of a space pangolin named Gobi, starts accepting him as a stepbrother.

In conclusion, while not as good as Onward in my opinion, Over the Moon is a delightful film for the whole family. I'll be flabbergasted if it doesn't get the KCA nomination for Favorite Animated Movie and shout 'You cretins! You don't know what art is! I'LL SHOW YOU!'

Rating: 3.75 stars out of 5