Wolf Children
Alternate Titles: Ookami kodomo no Ame to Yuki
Run Time: 117 minutes
Release Date: 5 June 2012
Tech:
Studio Chizu/Madhouse
Ookami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki
Dir. Mamoru Hosoda
Wri. Mamoru Hosoda, Satoko Okudera
Music by Takagi Masakatsu
Pros:
– Animation is stunning. An impressive first outing for Studio Chizu.
– The drama is genuine and touching. A really great story about raising children as a single mother.
– Never allows its premise to hijack the narrative. While the threat of the children being discovered is always present, it never reduces the movie to that central conflict.
– Music is gorgeous and subtle. It creates an effective emotional canvas for the story events to be painted upon.
Cons:
– A little bit of furry fan service early on is really distracting
– The voice actors for 10 and 13 year old Ame and Yuki are cast WAY too old
– Yuki’s voice over narration is wholly unnecessary and needlessly expository
[starrater]