Ghibli In Disguise?

Shinchiro Watanabe, Mamoru Oshii, Osumu Tezuka, Satoshi Kon, Makoto Shinkai, Isao Takahata and of course, Hayao Miyazaki. These are the many different Japanese animation directors that have each laid the ground-work for what Japanese animation represents in the West and how much they’ve all changed the way we view animation, through their own stylisation and stories they present to us. What they all have in common with one another is, essentially, a shared interest and implementation of drawn/2-D animation. Refuting the idea of relying upon the power of a 3D format, these animators, along with their own unique drawn styles, share the same aim in delivering charm and clinical cinematic approaches to the curious audiences. With director Mamoru Hosoda, a Japanese animation director that has brought us well-known shows, such as Samurai Champloo, and films in the forms of The Girl who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars and this years The Boy and the Beast, he is no different since this is an individual that also signifies the catalyitcal nature of 2D animation, which is all encapsulated in the film of Wolf Children. With its moulding of Ghibli elements and a story that will leave you attached to the well-drawn and fully developed characters, Wolf Children is a distinctive and engage-able film that shows us not only what traditional animation techniques can do, but also the vast depth of Japanese animation industry as a whole and how there are more films like this besides the Ghibli breed.

Hosoda’s Wolf Children centres around a Tokyo college student named Hana who, one day, notices a solitary youth at her lecture and befriends him. Evidently, with each the two of them spending much time together, the man finally reveals his astounding secret, that he is both a human… and a wolf. Hana’s love and devotion for this person is steadfast and soon they have two children – the boisterous girl Yuki (‘Snow’) and her far quieter little brother Ame (‘Rain’). Both Yuki and Ame, also possess the power to transform into wolves which leave mother Hana in a bit of a pickle. After some unfortunate events that take place, Hana, along with her newly born children, set out to live in the countryside where the children, as they grow older, inevitably decide what they want to be, wolf… or human…

As is the norm whenever reviewing an animated feature, one of the key aspects to firstly discuss is of course the animation and stylisation, since Director Mamoru Hosoda brands his films with a distinguished and vividly detailed drawn outlay that is, in most ways, underrated. One of the reasons why Hosoda’s work’s, in particular, are generally well received and are the go-to animated films for the modern viewer who is interested in watching Japanese animation and not to be interested in the Ghibli strain, is because not only does each of his films frames contain detailed and well-thought out animated outlooks that are gorgeous the gaze upon, but his films touch on the emotional side of humanity; excessively touching upon themes and motifs of ‘identity’ and ‘personal growth’. Now, as much as Hayao Miyazaki, through the many stories and fairy-tales that he has presented to us, presents his own distinctive themes through the progression of the plot and the actions that his characters carry out, it’s very rare to see and witness the animation and a stories themes and messages mingling and coinciding with each other. Yet, with Hosoda, and in particular with this film of Wolf Children, much of this is seen through very clever film-making. Of course, once we see Hana and her children firmly move into the countryside where at first they struggle to cope with the agricultural lifestyle, it’s easy to see just how much Hosoda might have been inspired by animation details of Miyazaki work, being that the lush countryside we do see evokes this familiarity of the house we observe in My Neighbour Totoro (and even the countryside that is portrayed in Isao Takahata’s Only Yesterday) and how the characters of the two children embody anthropomorphic characteristics, a motif that is forever seen in the underbelly of Miyazaki’s pieces. However, Hosoda just doesn’t simply, if you will, take inspiration from other film-makers and filmic pieces, he uses his own unique animation to create simple meaning and emotion within multiple sequences. There are two instances where Hosoda’s imagination, as a film-maker, flourishes and excels where Japanese animation hasn’t really touched upon in the modern era (other than Satoshi Kon that is). The first sequence of two is the moment where Hana, along with the two children, are looking for the father in the rain and how the simple use of sound creates tension and shock for Hana and ourselves. Now, as many people who have read reviews that I have done, I’m not the sought of person to be spouting out key plot points to the reader, since it would be abusive on my part to wreck your potential viewing experience of watching said film. Yet, as diligently as I am about to explain, this is indeed the ‘tragic’ segment of the film that is bestowed upon Hana, where the sound of the rain takes over the hearing space and all we see visually, is Hana gazing over to see a body of a dead wolf. That dead wolf precisely, being the father. I’ll go into a little bit more emphasis in the next paragraph about this, yet, it is this scene which ends with a long shot of Hana sobbing her eyes out on the ground where the father died, where realism and the fantastical aspects of the story coincide with each other. It is this moment where Hana’s priorities as a human being, are grounded in a world where she now has to struggle raising children that can free-fully turn into wolves at any given moment. The other scene that needed to be discussed, is a 57 second lateral tracking shot that follows the two children, Yuki and Ame, from the first year of their school, to the 4th year without any cuts. We see Ame as a loner in the first year, while his sister Yuki adjusts to life in school. As well, we observe Ame getting bullied which ends with him ditching school entirely, whilst Yuki ignores Ame’s minor subjugation’s and exceedingly finds a place for herself in the realm of others her age. Despite this little segment only lasting just under a minute, there is a lot to be said of this scene which, ultimately results in showing, just how much detail and planning Hosoda went through when making this film. Again, this will be something that will be explored in the next paragraph, but one of the things that takes place in this scene that was pleasing to see, was this theme of ‘identity’ coming into the fray. It’s a tracking shot which defines the outcome of both Yuki and Ame and how each of them will end up becoming a human forever, or a wolf. Being that it is a lateral tracking shot, one of the things to immediately notice, which shows Hosoda’s differentiating style compared to many others, is how subjective this particular moment is. Whenever a tracking shot of this proportion is used any strain of film, the whole purpose of this technique is to be objective; either scoping the setting to establish the setting or to simply capture fast-motion movement. Yet, with Hosoda’s use of this cinematic approach, it’s a much intimate outlook. From swaying from left to right, showing the different age groups and the different classes, it efficiently and personally shows the central kids growing up right before our eyes. It just goes to show just how much Hosoda understands this specific cinematic approach and how much he’s pushing the visual grammar in this small yet significant sequence.  

As hinted at in the previous paragraph, other than having expressionate animation and well-established cinematic techniques that complement with each other, Hosoda’s other main priorities, when it comes to constructing a detailed animation such as this one, is the focus of the story and how the characters in the story progress right up until the end. As a story-teller, Hosoda excels in providing character depth in Wolf Children as we’re not only seeing the main view of the mother, and how she has to cope with bringing up wolf-children on her own in the countryside, but the film, very subtly and cleverly, switches it’s point of view to the two children as they embark on who they want to be. It’s always a priority, for any auteur or story-maker, to firstly have a story that has an attachable character; an individual that is fundamentally relatable and someone you can get behind through their own journey. This is very much noticeable in Wolf Children with the character of Hana since you do start to sympathise for her and the situation that she finds herself in. Not only is she a character that is burdened with losing a loving partner, but she’s also a mother who is caring for two children that she doesn’t know anything about because when they turn into wolves, they can still talk and run around, but she doesn’t understand that animalistic side of them so she has to find a way to raise her kids amongst this world in which everyone can look at them and make fun of them if their secret comes out. In saying this, a definite theme, like with most animations that are aimed for sophisticated child, is keeping a secretive side of yourself and being afraid to be yourself around other people. What is more apparent and more likeable to all demographics and audiences that both adults and kids can get into, is this balance between the fantastical and the realistic. For all it’s focus on the kids possessing the ability to turn into wolves, it’s right in saying that Hosoda could have easily introduced other fable-esque that would have made this film more quirky and kid-friendly, which would have been totally unnecessary. Instead, what we do have are fantastical elements that are grounded; where, specifically, the two children are living in the real world where they have to find out who they really are, which is culminated right at the end with a tense scenario with Yuki and a classmate, and Hana hurrying looking for Ame in the nearby woods. Indeed, once the film gets up-to the 30 minute mark, where Wolf Children does turn into a mirror-image of the Ghibli films of My Neighbour Totoro and Only Yesterday, where characters in both of the films escape from the urban environment to be set ‘free’ into the rural countryside, it’s evident to see the focus of the film turn, gradually, from the mothers perspective, to the standpoint of Yuki, who wants to be a human, and Ame who is more curious about his animal-side. 

While it can’t be argued that not only children will like watching this film for its fantastical and light-relief moments with Yuki and Ame and the life lessons that it provides, but also a film that adults can enjoy since it provides a mature outlook on the way you might raise a child, there are a few snags that Wolf Children possesses that can an annoyance to view over, and over again. The first thing to note is the overabundance of montage sequences that are seen throughout the film. Even though it’s used sparingly in the 2nd half of the animation, Hosoda doesn’t shy away from providing needless montage excerpts that make you think, ‘does that need to be in there?’. Obviously, the purpose and usage of this technique is to define the fact that there is this forward yet messy progression that Hana and her children are going through to lead a life that is fulfilled with secrecy. However, the fact that there at least 3 or 4 of these montage segments within the first 30 minutes of the film, it does make Wolf Children a very subdued and slow film to get yourself into. My other slight nit-pick would be low-key application of 3-D character models that thread in with the 2-D drawn outlay. Thankfully, this is only seen within opening scenes of the film and never manages to be seen again in the film entirety. But, I do have qualms, for any 2-D animation whatsoever, which employs 3-D and CG tools in a 2-D animation simply because the two artistic modes don’t compliment with one another. 

Through the few years that I have been reviewing Japanese animation films.T.V. shows and other different animated creations on this Blog, there really isn’t a drawn feature that manages to blend a definitive animation technique, that utilises familiar cinematic approaches in a different manner, and story-telling which moulds realism and the fantastical together other than Mamoru Hosoda’s Wolf Children. Out of all the pieces that he’s developed, including his recent outing of The Boy and The Beast, Hosoda’s Wolf Children is by far the most emotionally charged down-to-earth gem that is a must watch for both children and parents alike. Although Hayao Miyazaki is no longer making feature films for Ghibli anymore, which has resulted in the Japanese animation industry tumbling and bowing down the superiority that Western animation is boasting at this moment in time, if there is one name that I could recommend in becoming the next figure-head for Japanese animation films, it would Mamoru Hosoda and his production company of Studio Chizu…

Well… on that note, it’s time for me to end. A always everyone, thank you for reading my latest film review of Wolf Children and I hope you’ve enjoyed the read. If anyone has an opinion on either my review or the film, please feel free to drop a comment down below. Next week, I will be continuing my Harry Potter film reviews with the 6th instalment, The Half Blood Prince. Until then, I want to thank you once again for checking out my latest review and I’ll see you all next week!! have a nice day and weekend!! Adieu!! 🙂

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ – Alex Rabbitte