Ookami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki literally means "Wolf Children Ame and
Yuki". What the film's title promises is accurate, but this is a
secondary to what the film is actually about. This is a movie entirely
about the enduring and triumphant nature of maternal love.
Teenage Hana is a hardworking girl putting herself through college.
During a class, her eyes fall on a man who enthusiastically and
diligently takes notes, but he has no textbooks and he disappears before
roll is taken. Intrigued, she searches him out and learns that he sits
through classes but doesn't attend the school. From what we see, he works
with a moving company, delivering goods to houses. He comes to
university and bums through classes to learn. Hana works at a laundromat
to make ends meet, and meets him when her day is over. We never learn
of this man's name, but he becomes Hana's world, and she, his. Then
their worlds are joined then broadened with the births of their
children.
To call this film a movie about "werewolves" is doing it a mighty
injustice. To call it a spirited, charming and heart-rending look about
family is more accurate. And while it is always about the "ookami no
kodomo", it is carried by Hana's life. Hana does what she can to keep
her children safe and alive. She removes them from the urbanised world
and carries them deep into a rural village where they are free to
develop and understand the other half of them.
The film can be divided into three clear arcs. The first finds Hana in
love, developing a relationship. The second follows Hana's struggles to
raise her young children who have special needs. The final one sees her
settled while her children attempt to find their own places in the
world. A recurring theme throughout each arc is that there is a reason
to always keep smiling.
Ookami Kodomo is a film of change and self-discovery. Yuki begins the
film feral and wild, easily embracing her lupine half while Ame, tearful
and timid, is afraid of what it means to be part-wolf. As the years
pass, Hana's resolve remains unwavering, but her children grow apart
from her as children naturally do. With this growth, they also change.
The film changes focus from Hana as the children grow older, giving us
their insight and feelings about who they are. Yuki's desire to belong
allows her to channel charisma into socialising with peers. Ame's
introversion makes him steely and independent. Yuki wants to embrace her
humanity while Ame wants to explore the animal. Ame and Yuki yearn for
something more, just as their mother knows they would but is afraid to
acknowledge.
The story carefully and gently handles the fantasy so that it never
overwhelms the film. There are no transformation hijinks or forced
comedy or drama. The film treats the wolf children naturally. They
seamlessly transform into their wolf-forms and out again. Some of the
greatest scenes animated in the movie are these transformations as they
move in and out of their dual identities.
The animation for the most part is fluid, with beautiful art painting a
lovely countryside and the wilderness. Sometimes the film suffers from
poorly chosen CGI effects, repeated animation and disproportionate
character models, but this does not take away from the movie's overall
beauty. Hana and the children's country home is clearly inspired by the
1988 classic My Neighbour Totoro, even down to Yuki's exuberant
exploration of the broken down shed and the wild grass growing
everywhere. Adding to the atmosphere of the film is a well-thought out
score which knows precisely what type of music fits a mood. Sometimes,
especially in the beginning and ending of the film, it can be a little
heavy-handed with its emotional outbursts, but largely, it works and it
makes itself invaluable to the film's impact. The voice-acting for the
movie is one of its strongest aspects. Having child actors to play Yuki
and Ame's characters in their toddler stages was a wise choice, as their
earnest delivery of their lines makes the characters more genuine and
loveable.
Ookami Kodomo's characters are the major reason that any viewer will
become easily involved. Hana is one of the most inspirational characters
ever to be given life through animation. Her love for her family is
apparent. If anything, I'm pretty sure some of this film's audience is
going to feel a pang of affection for their own mothers. She dutifully
cares for them in ways that are admirable and it is her unbreakable
spirit and positive disposition that makes her noteworthy. She is a
strong woman and an even stronger mother. The mysterious man who she
loves doesn't have the chance to be developed but it is this shroud
around him that works to his character's benefit. We care for him
through Hana's affections; in one particularly jarring scene, we
understand what he means to her and this breaks our heart more than he
himself ever would.
Yuki and Ame carry the film in places their mother cannot. While her
hopes and fears for them are palpable, it is their experience of hope
and of fear that makes these feelings more acute. Yuki's voice takes us
through the entire film with its steady narration, and her character
grows from precocious and brave child to a young girl who unfortunately
knows what it means to be afraid. Ame's behaviour becomes a bit
frustrating in the end of the film, but to understand him in the context
of an animal, it makes perfect sense. He is a wolf.
The rest of the cast is made up of extremely likeable characters,
including the old man who looks after Hana when she moves to the village
and Souhei, a boy who crosses paths with Yuki. Even non-speaking,
non-human characters like the caged wolf whose pain Ame senses and the
wild fox whose freedom Ame respects are indispensable.
While the film's imperfections are honestly very few, they add up enough
to have it stop just short of being a masterpiece. With some tighter
editing of the story, cleaner and consistent art and animation, more
precise handling of the characters, and a more memorable soundtrack, it
easily would have been a masterwork of anime. As it is, it is still
essential viewing for anyone interested in a movie that looks at growing
up and raising a family. It is a mature, insightful and often painful
reflection of how deeply we feel about those we love and inevitably have
to let go of.
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