Long story short, Wolf Children is a gorgeously animated movie with some fantastic characters and an immensely emotional story. That said...it's not without its flaws.
For one, Hana's never developed as anything other than a super-mom. Within the first fifteen minutes or so, she goes from being a single, young college student to being the stay-at-home mother of two supernatural kids, and we never really get a feel for who she was before. We don't know what kind of life she led, what kind of plans she had for the future, what she values in the world, or even what really drew her to her husband to begin with. Similarly, her husband is given no development whatsoever, and the two of them barely swap half a dozen lines before he's unceremoniously killed off in the blink of an eye. It's tragic, yes, and intentionally so, but it would have been more substantial if we actually knew anything about him or if we actually got to see the couple's courtship over time. As it is, the tragedy comes from the sheer shock of it alone, not from the tangible loss of a character we actually might have known and loved if we'd been given a chance.
Most of the movie focuses on Hana's struggle to raise her eponymous half-wolf children, and it's always full of heart but not always full of logic. At one point, social services comes to her door because neither of her children had ever been to a doctor, which makes sense, considering that Hana couldn't risk them accidentally transforming in the middle of the waiting room. What doesn't make sense is how she actually deals with the situation: She closes the door on the social workers and moves. Why would they just let her shut them out, and why would moving eliminate the problem? Her kids still have no medical records, which you'd think would be brought up again, especially when they try to go to school, which is itself a major plot point. But, no, the issue's never mentioned again, and social services proves mysteriously incompetent.
All in all, it's a good movie, and I certainly recommend it, but there really are bugs that keep it from being a masterpiece.
Anime Heartwarming, heartbreaking, adorable, and...just a little bit lacking.
Long story short, Wolf Children is a gorgeously animated movie with some fantastic characters and an immensely emotional story. That said...it's not without its flaws.
For one, Hana's never developed as anything other than a super-mom. Within the first fifteen minutes or so, she goes from being a single, young college student to being the stay-at-home mother of two supernatural kids, and we never really get a feel for who she was before. We don't know what kind of life she led, what kind of plans she had for the future, what she values in the world, or even what really drew her to her husband to begin with. Similarly, her husband is given no development whatsoever, and the two of them barely swap half a dozen lines before he's unceremoniously killed off in the blink of an eye. It's tragic, yes, and intentionally so, but it would have been more substantial if we actually knew anything about him or if we actually got to see the couple's courtship over time. As it is, the tragedy comes from the sheer shock of it alone, not from the tangible loss of a character we actually might have known and loved if we'd been given a chance.
Most of the movie focuses on Hana's struggle to raise her eponymous half-wolf children, and it's always full of heart but not always full of logic. At one point, social services comes to her door because neither of her children had ever been to a doctor, which makes sense, considering that Hana couldn't risk them accidentally transforming in the middle of the waiting room. What doesn't make sense is how she actually deals with the situation: She closes the door on the social workers and moves. Why would they just let her shut them out, and why would moving eliminate the problem? Her kids still have no medical records, which you'd think would be brought up again, especially when they try to go to school, which is itself a major plot point. But, no, the issue's never mentioned again, and social services proves mysteriously incompetent.
All in all, it's a good movie, and I certainly recommend it, but there really are bugs that keep it from being a masterpiece.