Wolfwalkers

Wolfwalkers is a stunningly beautiful animation. With its striking art style and touching story, it's also a wonderfully good movie. The fact that I hesitated to watch it honestly makes me a little upset. It positively surprised me in pretty much every way possible.

Films made in the style of Wolfwalkers are mostly unknown to me. When I first saw screenshots of the film, the art style did turn me off a little bit. And although I heard nothing but good things about it, I still felt unsure about how much I would like the way the film looks. Alas, I had no reason to worry. While it did take me a moment to get used to it and stop thinking about it, as soon as I fell into the story, I started to appreciate the striking style. And while it's striking, it's also tremendously beautiful. Especially the scenes in the forest, where a big part of the movie takes place, are simply stunning.

The story, which introduces us to Robyn, a girl who dreams of becoming a wolfhunter, like his dad, is full of moments of conflict and beauty. Robyn, who ends up being bitten by a wolf, soon learns that some fairytales might be more real than others. And when she finds new friends, the dream of being a hunter quickly fades away, as she must defend them from a life-threatening threat. While the story might not be filled with twists and turns and is for the most part easily predictable, it's also beautiful and emotional. Indeed, it's the kind of story that works better when it can be predicted. Being able to focus on what the movie had to say, and how it said it, was much more impactful than worrying about what was going to happen next. It's also a surprisingly deep story, with nearly all characters facing dilemmas and having to fight against preconceived ideas.

In many ways, I think that Wolfwalkers has been the most surprising film of 2020, at least for me. Going in, I had no idea what to expect, and in all honesty, my own preconceived ideas might've caused me to doubt its greatness. To say that I was positively surprised, would be an enormous understatement. The film captured my attention with its stunning visuals and kept it with a beautiful and heartfelt story. Wolfwalkers is, without a doubt, the best animated film of the year.