# Wolfwalkers

Wolfwalkers is a 2020 independent animated fantasy adventure film directed by Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart, and is the third instalment in Moore's "Irish Folklore Trilogy", following his previous films The Secret of Kells (2009) and Song of the Sea (2014). An international co-production led by Cartoon Saloon and Mélusine Productions, the film premiered at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival on 12 September. It was released theatrically in Ireland on 2 December 2020 and in France on 16 December 2020.
Wolfwalkers follows the story of Robyn Goodfellowe, a young apprentice hunter who arrives in Ireland with her father during a time of superstition and magic to wipe out the last wolf pack. While exploring the forbidden lands outside the city walls, Robyn befriends a free-spirited girl, Mebh, a member of a mysterious tribe rumoured to have the ability to turn into wolves by night. As they search for Mebh's missing mother, Robyn uncovers a secret that draws her further into the enchanted world of the Wolfwalkers and risks turning into the very thing her father is tasked to destroy.
The film stars the voices of Honor Kneafsey, Eva Whittaker, Sean Bean, Simon McBurney, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Tommy Tiernan, Jon Kenny and John Morton. It won several awards including the Satellite Award for Best Animated or Mixed Media Feature and five Annie Awards including Best Director for Moore and Stewart and Best Independent Animated Feature. It also received the nominations for Best Animated Feature Film at the Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards and BAFTA Awards.

## Plot

In Ireland in 1650, the residents of Kilkenny work to clear the nearby woods under orders from the authoritarian Lord Protector, putting them at odds with a local wolf pack. English hunter Bill Goodfellowe—with his rebellious daughter Robyn—is summoned to Kilkenny by the Lord Protector to exterminate the wolves. Wanting to help Bill, Robyn secretly follows him into the woods with her pet falcon, Merlyn. After accidentally shooting Merlyn with her crossbow while trying to kill a wolf, Robyn watches a mysterious girl take him into the woods and follows them. Upon finding Merlyn miraculously healed, she is startled by a young wolf into one of Bill's wolf traps. As the wolf tries to free Robyn, it accidentally bites her. Once out of the trap, Merlyn and the wolf lead Robyn to the wolves' den, where she discovers the wolf is the same girl from earlier. The girl, Mebh, explains she is a "Wolfwalker", whose spirit leaves her body and becomes a wolf when she sleeps. Robyn befriends Mebh, and also learns that her dormant mother Moll's spirit has not yet returned in her search for a new home for their pack. Returning home, Robyn tries to convince Bill of the existence of Wolfwalkers, but he instead scolds her for going into the forest.
The next morning, while working at the scullery, Robyn is drawn into the Lord Protector's chambers by a mysterious voice coming from a concealed cage, but is soon ushered out by the head maid. That night, as she sleeps, Robyn discovers her soul has left her body and has become a wolf. Confused, Robyn returns to the woods, where Mebh reveals her bite turned Robyn into a Wolfwalker, and helps her get accustomed to her new form. Upon returning to Kilkenny, Robyn infiltrates the Lord Protector's manor, where she finds Moll's wolf form inside the cage. Moll tells Robyn that Mebh and the pack must leave the forest, as the Lord Protector plans to burn it to wipe them out. The Lord Protector, seeking to restore control of the town, assures the townspeople that he can tame the wolves, and by extension, nature itself. He ignores Robyn's pleas to let Moll go and demotes Bill for failing to eliminate the wolves.
Fearing separation from each other, Robyn and Bill tend to their duties. Mebh, having waited for Robyn to return on a promise from the previous night, enters Kilkenny and finds Robyn, who attempts to relay her mother's warning. Hurt by Robyn's refusal to help rescue her mother out of concern for her safety, Mebh resolves to do it alone. The Lord Protector presents the captured Moll before the townspeople. An enraged Mebh attempts to free her, but when Bill restrains her, Moll bites him. Before fleeing, Mebh vows to return with her pack to rescue her mother.
The Lord Protector orders Bill to kill Moll and leads his army to burn the forest down. However, Robyn protects Moll from Bill, then frees and reunites her with Mebh before she and her pack can attack Kilkenny, earning Mebh's forgiveness. Bill follows them and shoots Moll, causing Moll's wolf form to become a spirit and return to her human form in the den, with Robyn's wolf form, Mebh, and the wolves following it. The Lord Protector and his army arrive and begin burning the forest. As Mebh works to heal a grievously wounded Moll using the same magic used on Merlyn, Robyn and the pack stall the soldiers. Mebh summons Robyn and her pack back, realizing she needs them present to heal Moll, but Robyn is knocked unconscious after disabling the army's cannon. Before the Lord Protector can kill her, Bill, due to Moll's bite, becomes a Wolfwalker and protects her. After being bitten by Bill and horrified by now being a Wolfwalker, the Lord Protector lets himself plummet to his death.
Robyn and Bill return to the den and help Mebh revive Moll, and accept her invitation to stay with the pack and embrace their new identities as Wolfwalkers. They set off with their pack to find a new home.

## Voice cast

* Honor Kneafsey as Robyn Goodfellowe, a young apprentice hunter and Bill's daughter
* Eva Whittaker as Mebh Óg MacTíre, an adventurous Wolfwalker and Moll's daughter
* Sean Bean as Bill Goodfellowe, a hunter and Robyn's father
* Simon McBurney as Lord Protector, an authoritarian but genuinely pious general and English statesman ruling Ireland. His character model, title, and mannerisms appear to be based on Oliver Cromwell, who commanded English forces in Ireland during this period
* Maria Doyle Kennedy as Moll MacTíre, a Wolfwalker, the leader of the wolf pack, and Mebh's mother
* Tommy Tiernan as Seán Óg, a woodcutter who believes in the existence of the Wolfwalkers
* Jon Kenny as Ned / Stringy Woodcutter
* John Morton as Stumpy Woodcutter
* Paul Young as Sheep Farmer
* Nora Twomey as Bridget, the head housekeeper of the Lord Protector's scullery
* Oliver McGrath as Padraig, a young bully in the town of Kilkenny
* Niamh Moyles as Fishmonger

## Production

On 8 September 2018, it was announced that Apple had acquired Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart's Wolfwalkers from a script by Will Collins. The film is an original concept that was created by Moore and Stewart, and its animation uses a unique 2D style alternating between a woodblock aesthetic and loose expressive line work.

### Music

Moore's frequent collaborators, Bruno Coulais and folk group Kíla, provided the film's original score. Norwegian singer-songwriter Aurora contributed to the soundtrack with a re-recorded version of her single "Running with the Wolves".

### Animation and design

The animation of Wolfwalkers was primarily drawn by hand using TVPaint with digital brushes to imitate physical pencil lines. Some crowds and background elements were animated with Moho. Backgrounds were drawn and painted on paper.
The film's visual design uses contrasting styles to represent the conflict between the forest and the town of Kilkenny. The town and its inhabitants are drawn in a style inspired by 17th century woodcuts using thick lines and angular, geometric shapes. This represents the cage-like nature of the town and the Lord Protector's rules. In contrast, the forest, animals, and wolfwalker characters are drawn with sketchy and expressive linework with curving shapes to convey the freedom and liveliness of the forest. Robyn's design starts out with the woodblock appearance of the town, but as she comes to identify more with the wolfwalkers her design transitions to the sketchy pencil lines of the forest. The art style of the forest characters also includes intentional pencil construction lines which would normally be removed by a clean-up department. The directors were inspired by the rough, expressive animation of The Tale of the Princess Kaguya and the Xeroxed animation of One Hundred and One Dalmatians which preserved the pencilled art of the animators. Tomm Moore said he had the idea that "it would be great to make a virtue of the fact that it's hand drawn and to really make it look like a Glen Keane line test or something like really, really rough and scratchy."
Certain first-person shots in the film, called "wolfvision", depict Robyn's point of view as she moves through the environment as a wolf. Many of the wolfvision scenes required a dynamic camera that mimicked the natural movement of Robyn's head as she ran. To achieve this Eimhin McNamara, the wolfvision supervisor, developed a technique that combined 3D technology with traditional hand-drawn art. McNamara's team constructed a 3D forest environment with the virtual reality painting software Quill with further refinement and stylisation done in Blender. This allowed him to previsualise the scene and adjust the camera as needed. Each frame of the CG animation was then printed out in magenta which the artists drew over with pencil and charcoal to match the film's hand-drawn look. The frames were then scanned and the underlying magenta was digitally removed. McNamara said that this technique is "just about getting an organic thing on screen that looks like people made it".

## Release

The film had its world premiere at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival on 12 September 2020.
It was released theatrically on 26 October 2020 by Wildcard Distribution in the United Kingdom< and on 13 November by GKIDS in the United States and Canada.
Child Film distributes it in Japan and Value & Power Culture Communications will distribute in China.
The theatrical release in Ireland was planned for the same day as the UK, but was delayed until later in the year due to the enforced closure of cinemas across the country in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was instead released on 2 December 2020.
The film debuted on Apple TV+ on 11 December 2020, and was later released theatrically in France on 16 December by Haut et Court. In March, Deadline announced that Wolfwalkers would be re-released to select theaters in North America, starting on 19 March 2021 with the Angelika Film Center in New York.
A release on Blu-Ray Disc with bonus features is exclusively featured in the Irish Folklore Trilogy box set in the US and UK/Ireland also containing The Secret of Kells, Song of the Sea and a bonus disc. GKIDS and Shout! Factory released the Region A box set in North America on 14 December 2021, while StudioCanal released the box set in the UK and Ireland on 20 December 2021 (Originally planned for 13 December).

## Reception
### Box office

On its opening weekend in the United Kingdom, Wolfwalkers earned $40,802 at the box office. It was distributed in France, United Kingdom, Netherlands, and Norway, and earned a global total of $1.3 million. According to Moore, the film cost €10 million to produce.

### Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 99% of 176 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.7/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "A mesmerizing Celtic-inspired adventure, Wolfwalkers offers an epic ethereal fantasy matched by profound philosophies and stellar voice work." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 87 out of 100, based on 28 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".
Sam Adams of Slate called it the best animated movie of the year to date, praising the beauty and technical ability of the animation. Peter Debruge of Variety wrote: "In the decade since Kells, it's not just the technological advances that make Moore's latest so impressive, but the rapidly changing cultural conversations as well. He brings everything together by borrowing from timeless visual influences, leaving audiences with another stunning artwork for the ages."

### Accolades

Metacritic summarized various critics end-of-year top lists, and ranked Wolfwalkers in 26th place overall. IndieWire's poll of 231 critics included Wolfwalkers in its Best Movies of 2020, ranking in 32nd place.
Accolades received by Wolfwalkers :
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result |
| Academy Awards | 25 April 2021 | Best Animated Feature | Tomm Moore, Ross Stewart, Paul Young and Stéphan Roelants | Nominated |
| AFI Fest | 23 October 2020 | Narrative Feature | Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart | Won |
| Alliance of Women Film Journalists | 4 January 2021 | Best Animated Feature Film | Wolfwalkers | Nominated |
| Alliance of Women Film Journalists | 4 January 2021 | Best Animated Female | Eva Whittaker | Nominated |
| Alliance of Women Film Journalists | 4 January 2021 | Best Animated Female | Honor Kneafsey | Nominated |
| American Cinema Editors Awards | 17 April 2021 | Best Edited Animated Feature Film | Darragh Byrne, Richie Cody, Darren Holmes, ACE | Nominated |
| Annie Awards | 16 April 2021 | Best Animated Feature – Independent | Wolfwalkers | Won |
| Annie Awards | 16 April 2021 | Best FX for Feature | Kim Kelly, Leena Lecklin, Frédéric Plumey, Almu Redondo and Nicole Storck | Nominated |
| Annie Awards | 16 April 2021 | Best Character Animation - Feature | Emmanuel Asquier-Brassart | Nominated |
| Annie Awards | 16 April 2021 | Best Character Design - Feature | Federico Pirovano | Won |
| Annie Awards | 16 April 2021 | Best Direction - Feature | Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart | Won |
| Annie Awards | 16 April 2021 | Best Music - Feature | Bruno Coulais and Kíla | Nominated |
| Annie Awards | 16 April 2021 | Best Production Design - Feature | María Pareja, Ross Stewart and Tomm Moore | Won |
| Annie Awards | 16 April 2021 | Best Storyboarding - Feature | Guillaume Lorin | Nominated |
| Annie Awards | 16 April 2021 | Best Voice Acting - Feature | Eva Whittaker | Won |
| Annie Awards | 16 April 2021 | Best Writing - Feature | Will Collins | Nominated |
| Art Directors Guild Awards | 10 April 2021 | Excellence in Production Design for an Animated Film | Ross Stewart, Tomm Moore and Maria Pareja | Nominated |
| Austin Film Critics Association Awards | 19 March 2021 | Best Animated Film | Wolfwalkers | Won |
| Boston Society of Film Critics Awards | 13 December 2020 | Best Animated Film | Wolfwalkers | Runner-up |
| British Academy Children's Awards | 27 November 2022 | Best Feature Film | Tomm Moore, Ross Stewart and Paul Young | Won |
| British Academy Film Awards | 11 April 2021 | Best Animated Film | Tomm Moore, Ross Stewart and Paul Young | Nominated |
| Chicago Film Critics Association Awards | 21 December 2020 | Best Animated Film | Tomm Moore, Ross Stewart, Nora Twomey and Paul Young | Won |
| Critics' Choice Super Awards | 10 January 2021 | Best Animated Movie | Wolfwalkers | Nominated |
| Critics' Choice Super Awards | 10 January 2021 | Best Voice Actress in an Animated Movie | Honor Kneafsey | Nominated |
| Critics' Choice Super Awards | 10 January 2021 | Best Voice Actress in an Animated Movie | Eva Whittaker | Nominated |
| Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards | 10 February 2021 | Best Animated Film | Wolfwalkers | Runner-up |
| Detroit Film Critics Society Awards | 8 March 2021 | Best Animated Feature | Wolfwalkers | Nominated |
| Dorian Awards | 18 April 2021 | Most Visually Striking Film | Wolfwalkers | Nominated |
| Dublin Film Critics' Circle Awards | 18 December 2020 | Best Irish Film | Wolfwalkers | Won |
| European Film Awards | 1 December 2021 | Young Audience Award | Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart | Nominated |
| European Film Awards | 1 December 2021 | Best Animated Feature Film | Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart | Nominated |
| Florida Film Critics Circle Awards | 21 December 2020 | Best Animated Film | Wolfwalkers | Runner-up |
| Georgia Film Critics Association | 12 March 2021 | Best Animated Film | Wolfwalkers | Nominated |
| Golden Globe Awards | 28 February 2021 | Best Animated Feature | Wolfwalkers | Nominated |
| Golden Rooster Awards | 30 December 2021 | Best Foreign Language Film | Wolfwalkers | Nominated |
| Golden Trailer Awards | 22 July 2021 | Best Animation/Family | "Hope" (Trailer Park, Inc.) | Nominated |
| Golden Trailer Awards | 22 July 2021 | Best Music | "Hope" (Trailer Park, Inc.) | Nominated |
| Golden Trailer Awards | 22 July 2021 | Best Animation/Family Movie Poster | Wolfwalkers (Lindeman & Associates) | Won |
| Gotham Awards | 11 January 2021 | Audience Award | Wolfwalkers | Nominated |
| Gotham Awards | 11 January 2021 | Best International Feature | Tomm Moore, Ross Stewart, Paul Young, Nora Twomey and Stéphan Roelants | Nominated |
| Hollywood Critics Association Awards | 5 March 2021 | Best Animated or VFX Performance | Honor Kneafsey | Nominated |
| Hollywood Critics Association Awards | 5 March 2021 | Best Animated Film | Wolfwalkers | Won |
| Hollywood Music in Media Awards | 27 January 2021 | Best Original Score in an Animated Film | Bruno Coulais | Nominated |
| Houston Film Critics Society Awards | 18 January 2021 | Best Animated Film | Wolfwalkers | Nominated |
| IndieWire Critics Poll | 14 December 2020 | Best International Feature | Wolfwalkers | 7th place |
| International Cinephile Society Awards | 20 February 2021 | Best Animated Film | Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart | Nominated |
| International Film Music Critics Association Awards | 18 February 2021 | Best Original Score for an Animated Film | Bruno Coulais | Won |
| Irish Animation Awards | 21 May 2021 | Best Animation Sequence | Wolfwalkers | Won |
| Irish Animation Awards | 21 May 2021 | Best Art Direction and Design | Wolfwalkers | Won |
| Irish Animation Awards | 21 May 2021 | Best Editing | Wolfwalkers | Won |
| Irish Animation Awards | 21 May 2021 | Best Irish Feature or Special | Wolfwalkers | Won |
| Irish Animation Awards | 21 May 2021 | Best Music | Wolfwalkers | Nominated |
| Irish Animation Awards | 21 May 2021 | Best Sound Design | Wolfwalkers | Nominated |
| Irish Animation Awards | 21 May 2021 | Best Storyboarding | Wolfwalkers | Nominated |
| Irish Film & Television Awards | 4 July 2021 | Best Film | Wolfwalkers | Won |
| Irish Film & Television Awards | 4 July 2021 | Best Film Director | Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart | Nominated |
| Irish Film & Television Awards | 4 July 2021 | Best Film Script | Will Collins | Nominated |
| London Critics Circle Film Awards | 7 February 2021 | Technical Achievement Award | Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart | Nominated |
| Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards | 20 December 2020 | Best Animated Film | Wolfwalkers | Won |
| Motion Picture Sound Editors Awards | 16 April 2021 | Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Feature Animation | Sebastien Marquilly, Bruno Seznec, Christian Seznec, Baptiste Bouche, Felix Davin, Alexandre Fleurant, Axel Steichen, Stéphane Werner, Anne-Lyse Haddak and Florian Fabre | Nominated |
| National Board of Review | 26 January 2021 | Top 10 Independent Films | Wolfwalkers | Won |
| New York Film Critics Circle Awards | 18 December 2020 | Best Animated Film | Wolfwalkers | Won |
| Online Film Critics Society Awards | 25 January 2021 | Best Animated Feature | Wolfwalkers | Nominated |
| Producers Guild of America Awards | 24 March 2021 | Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures | Paul Young, Nora Twomey, Tomm Moore, and Stéphan Roelants | Nominated |
| San Diego Film Critics Society Awards | 11 January 2021 | Best Animated Film | Wolfwalkers | Won |
| San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle Awards | 18 January 2021 | Best Animated Feature | Wolfwalkers | Nominated |
| Satellite Awards | 15 February 2021 | Best Animated or Mixed Media Film | Wolfwalkers | Won |
| Seattle Film Critics Society Awards | 15 February 2021 | Best Animated Feature | Wolfwalkers | Won |
| St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Awards | 17 January 2021 | Best Animated Film | Wolfwalkers | Nominated |
| Toronto Film Critics Association Awards | 7 February 2021 | Best Animated Film | Wolfwalkers | Won |
| Ursa Major Awards | 2 May 2021 | Best Motion Picture | Wolfwalkers | Won |
| Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards | 8 February 2021 | Best Animated Feature | Wolfwalkers | Nominated |
| Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards | 8 February 2021 | Best Voice Performance | Honor Kneafsey | Nominated |
| Women Film Critics Circle Awards | 7 March 2021 | Best Animated Female | Eva Whittaker | Runner-up |
| Women Film Critics Circle Awards | 7 March 2021 | Best Animated Female | Honor Kneafsey | Nominated |

## Future

During an interview in 2021, Moore stated that there are currently no plans for a Wolfwalkers sequel, just like his previous films The Secret of Kells and Song of the Sea have no sequels.
   No, I don't think we do sequels per se, it would be unusual if we did that but we do tend to continue in the same vein, so we'll see. The next few films that we do will be quite different. Who knows what's down the line?