What happens when a single mother is left to raise children who can transform into wolves? Join us on an emotional journey through the 2012 animated film "Wolf Children," directed by Mamoru Hosoda, as we share our initial thoughts and impressions of this highly recommended movie from our friend Ivan Patch. We summarize the film's touching plot and set the stage for a heartfelt discussion on the themes of self-identity, growth, and grief.
Explore the emotional and symbolic depth of "Wolf Children" with us, particularly focusing on the resilience of the mother, Hana. We'll also reflect on the impressive performances of the children, Yuki and Ame, and how their journeys of growth and role reversals add layers to the narrative. In our review, we shine a light on the poignant moments and artistic strengths of "Wolf Children," while addressing minor issues we had with the film's conclusion. We wrap up by appreciating the film's handling of themes like grief, acceptance, and self-identity, ultimately sharing our final scores.
🔻You can find all important links for the podcast over at https://linktr.ee/waitforitpodcast (which includes our brand new Patreon site!)🔺
Everything you need to support IvanPatch is located at this link - https://linktr.ee/ivanpatch
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What happens when a single mother is left to raise children who can transform into wolves? Join us on an emotional journey through the 2012 animated film "Wolf Children," directed by Mamoru Hosoda, as we share our initial thoughts and impressions of this highly recommended movie from our friend Ivan Patch. We summarize the film's touching plot and set the stage for a heartfelt discussion on the themes of self-identity, growth, and grief.
Explore the emotional and symbolic depth of "Wolf Children" with us, particularly focusing on the resilience of the mother, Hana. We'll also reflect on the impressive performances of the children, Yuki and Ame, and how their journeys of growth and role reversals add layers to the narrative. In our review, we shine a light on the poignant moments and artistic strengths of "Wolf Children," while addressing minor issues we had with the film's conclusion. We wrap up by appreciating the film's handling of themes like grief, acceptance, and self-identity, ultimately sharing our final scores.
🔻You can find all important links for the podcast over at https://linktr.ee/waitforitpodcast (which includes our brand new Patreon site!)🔺
Everything you need to support IvanPatch is located at this link - https://linktr.ee/ivanpatch
🔻BACKGROUND MUSIC PROVIDED BY: Ocean by KV https://soundcloud.com/kvmusicprod Free Download / Stream: http://bit.ly/2OCvpHU Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/a8ctDtA7OK8 — Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0 🔺
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Welcome to your go-to source for entertainment. Wait for it.
Speaker 2:Gaming. Wait for it Anime PLUS ULTRA.
Speaker 1:Mr Eric Almighty and Phil the Filipino yeah, they've got you covered, and all you gotta do is wait for it. This is the Wait For it Podcast.
Speaker 2:Hey everyone, welcome back to the Wait For it Podcast. I am your co-host, phil Smith, aka Phil the Filipino, and joining me, as always, is your other co-host, mr Eric Almighty, and folks. We are here with co-host Mr Eric Almighty and folks. We are here with the June edition of the International Feature and Eric, today we are covering a film that was recommended to us by a very, very good friend of the show. Shout out to Ivan, aka Ivan Patch, who has been on the podcast multiple times. In fact, we will include a link to all of his wonderful art and, if you feel like you want to go see him in person, he will be at Bold Matsuri here at the end of the month in Jacksonville, florida, as will both of us, so you can see all three of us.
Speaker 2:What a time, what a coincidence that you stumbled upon this episode. But, Eric, we are going to be talking about Wolf Children, as you mentioned, not to be confused with the film from, I think, just last month, uh, wolfwalkers. As we have now decided, this is the year of the wolf, so we will be watching, uh, twilight. Eventually we'll be playing Wolf Among Us, I think is what she mentioned, and any other wolf, wolf related things. Just send them our way. I'm sure there'll be no uh shortage of that. But, eric, very excited to talk about our experiences here. We have both watched this here within the last, I would say, probably 48 to 72 hours between the both of us and you know again, whenever it comes very highly recommended from somebody whose opinion we very much respect, I was very excited to jump into this and see what it had to offer.
Speaker 1:After you know, having OK responses to Belle earlier in the year, which was the same director and that's definitely something that we talked about in that episode, wanting to explore more of that director's filmography.
Speaker 1:So this was inevitable and Ivan gave us that extra push to do a film. We had our choice of a couple, but wolf children really stood out to us, and in several different ways, and that's kind of what we're going to kick off the start of the episode. I think we're going to quickly, casually, uh kind of overview our thoughts going into the film. But, phil, this movie's been out for quite a bit, so for our audience we are going to be pretty open about the film, its plot and all of those details. I would just say, if you haven't seen the film, this episode will be much better for you. If you go in blind and you go into the film, watch it, come back to the episode and listen to us talk about it, because I think there were some ups and downs, but for the most part, a lot of ups, and I'm really looking forward to talking about that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I am also excited to discuss a lot of the themes in this film and, again, the very high highs and, I would say, pretty shallow lows when it comes to this film. So, before we start, I want to welcome in any brand new listeners or returning listeners to the show. If you want a reminder as to where you can find all the rest of our content, as well as our social media, make sure you stick around to the very end and we will let you know where you can find all that. But let's go ahead and jump right into this Again. As Eric mentioned, this film came out in 2012, also directed by Mamoru Hosada, who directed Belle, which we covered earlier in the year. Now Eric talked about it. We're going to be pretty open about the film. I'll just say this the synopsis of the film spoils something right away. So I'm going to go into this right now. We will talk about specifics a little bit later. But the synopsis of the film spoils kind of what happens, because it's really the crux of this entire story. So, Wolf Children After her werewolf lover unexpectedly dies in an accident, a woman must find a way to raise the son and daughter that she had with him. However, their inheritance of their father's traits proved to be a challenge for her. Pretty simplistic synopsis there and, like you said, Eric, this definitely is something where you should go in blind. That's what I did. You know, I had very little knowledge about this film going into it. All I really saw was well, those kids have ears. I wonder what's going to happen in this movie and how I'm going to react to it.
Speaker 2:Wolf Children is, in terms of storytelling, I think it's probably one of the most uplifting, beautiful and consequently heartbreaking animated features that I've watched in a very, very long time. Animation-wise, it's not reinventing the wheel here. Some backdrops or character designs are pretty bland. The backdrops very, very pretty, but nothing that I think we're going to really remember about this movie. Five, 10 years from now, we're going to think about the story and how it made us feel and these characters and their journey. Somebody put it very well in one of the reviews that I was reading on Letterboxd After the after the two-hour runtime, two hours has not passed in this film. It has been 12 years. So you've watched this family grow and adapt over the course of over a decade following this tragedy that they go through, and you feel like you have grown with them in that short amount of time. So again, to kind of summarize that, before we jump into the heavier stuff, animation, fine Storytelling, top notch, 100%.
Speaker 1:And, phil, this is really funny because I think you're going to like these films more than Studio Ghibli films, and I have to bring up that because Studio Ghibli has such a sense of wonder and amazement behind its cinematography which you, even despite not liking the movies that you've seen so far, you vibe with the animation but I really think the storytelling being a little bit more contained, which this story, again the synopsis pretty much tells you what this movie is.
Speaker 1:That is the whole movie which, again, we'll kind of get into. I think that really plays into the strengths for films that you like to enjoy. So I was watching this with that in mind, like definitely in your wheelhouse, a concentrated story and the animation, I'd say, very good, not revolutionary, not Ghibli-like, and that's probably why, phil, this movie never really came up on our radar, casually, or it doesn't come up in like pop culture, like a Ghibli film does. But I think this movie has such strong animation behind it. It makes it just a little bit more special. Again, if we're kind of dragging through tough animation and there's a good story, that can be an issue. The fact that it has good, potentially very good, just not great animation. I think really just helps the film overall.
Speaker 2:And I guess what? I'll say this I think where it lacks in the Ghibli style animation in terms of it popping. In terms of it popping, it very much exceeds in what's the word that I'm looking for in, I guess, symbolic imagery, right? So, because that is littered throughout this entire film. So, between sound design as well as the imagery, you know, everything has a purpose within this story, and I have been very open and people have been very critical about my stance on the Ghibli films where, at some points, I just don't understand what's going on and you know what. Sometimes stuff is just going to go over your head, no matter what that piece of media is, and that's okay. I've never, neither one of us, have claimed to be film majors or film experts or anything like that. We're just giving our opinions here, just as everybody else is. But yeah, you're so right. I definitely think these are going to be my wheelhouse, more so than the Ghibli films. There's definitely a few others that we'll probably cover on this podcast. Between just watching these kids grow up and, again, the director's ability to keep the focus on her, on the mother, I think it was just so impressive.
Speaker 2:I have been watching a couple of videos. In preparation for this, I came across a channel that I've never seen before and they have over 1.5 million subscribers. So I'm interested to see if maybe you've heard of them. But Cinema Therapy. I don't know if you've ever come across that channel, but I watched their reaction to this and I think one of them is a cinema major and the other one is a licensed therapist and they kind of break down the film and it kind of made me view this in an even better light than I had already gone into.
Speaker 2:So, with that being said, I think we should dive into a little bit more of the story, specific stuff. So again, if you have not watched this film, heavily implore you to do so, and if you want to come back towards the end, we'll give our grades. Let you know what grades are and letterboxed IM, IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, all that kind of stuff. But yeah, Eric, I think right away when that tragedy happens and, as I mentioned, the sound design and everything just goes silent, Because again, it's kind of like All right, he's a wolf, they have children, they did the thing when he was a wolf.
Speaker 1:Not sure how that worked. Hold on, you could award us. You could award us, I'd love to know the choice to keep him in wolf form for that very alluring scene. Again, this is rated PG, if I'm correct. But there were a couple of things, you know, that kind of shocked me.
Speaker 2:That was one right, hana, I think. Right off the bat incredibly charming, very, very lovable and you don't really know anything too much about. You know, I think he's credited as Wolfman in the in IMDB, like he doesn't actually actually gets a name does he?
Speaker 1:He has, and he's voiced by a friend, David Matrenga.
Speaker 2:David Matrenga. Right, yeah, David Matrenga does the dub. We did watch this in dub, I assume. Right, Both of us.
Speaker 1:We did. Yes, yeah, I watched this also with my family, so it was a group watching. Anytime we do that, it's typically in dub.
Speaker 2:Yeah, okay, anytime we do that, it's typically in dub. Yeah, okay, so yeah, dave, shout out to dave matranga. Hopefully we get to see him again at one of our conventions very soon. Uh, but yeah, I don't. I don't know that he got. Does he have a name? Do you see a name credited there, or is it just wolf man?
Speaker 1:it's just wolf man honestly I don't remember if they name dropped him at all.
Speaker 2:Actually, now that I kind of think about it, and and that again speaks to who the focus of this story is which is Hana, and she is carrying not only her family but also this film on her back and we are learning and growing with her. So when that happens, and they find him and Eric, the way he is just so unceremoniously dumped right, they throw him in the back of a trash, you know of a garbage truck, and it's like because to them, you know, this is just an animal who has, you know, they have to dispose of, you know what I mean. So I think that's when I really was drawn in. I was like, oh okay, so this is going to be pretty heavy and I'll be pretty heavy on the symbolism and all that stuff. So I think right off the gate, you know, putting that right there in the beginning really set the tone for me early on, for sure.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think you know it deals with a lot of dark, deep messages. You know there's a lot of thought around like what exactly happened and why, and there's obviously some breadcrumbs left, but they are just that, they're breadcrumbs. I don't know that it's specifically said what happened, um, it's kind of left to to your imagination a little bit, uh, but you can, you can guess based off of the situation. And I think, phil, that was very alarming, uh, for it being again, just like the introduction of this story, I was thinking, oh man, how depressing is this movie about to be.
Speaker 1:But for a story that focuses on the struggles of a single mother, there was quite a bit of laughter and fun in this movie and that really came in the span of the children, yuki and Ame, and I really liked all three of their performances. You know, obviously we talk about Wolfman and he's not in it very much, but he's an important cog to the story and to their stories and their stories really lifted and moved this film forward and I really liked that about it for sure lifted and move this film forward, and I really like that about it for sure.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and one thing I think that makes hana such a good parent is she is never straying away from or hiding talking about their father. Right, he is always very present. Another heartbreaking thing that I noticed was that, like, she doesn't have any actual pictures of him. She has, like, his ID and that's, that's her shrine to him. You know, as we've seen within Japanese culture, I thought that was very heartbreaking, but, yeah, I love that he is always in the forefront and you know, I, we I think everybody obviously deals with loss differently and you know, when it comes to losing a parent and going through what Hana has to go through, there are obviously a lot of different ways you can go about that and you know, I think she's just an incredibly well-written character and I've already talked about how, you know, lovable and charming she is.
Speaker 2:But, yeah, the kids, eric, were fantastic. I mean this could have, I think, easily. I think the fact that they are two of them really really helped. I think this could have easily been a story about a dad or a daughter who never got to meet their father and they kind of left it at that, but the fact that it is much more deep than that, and just their journeys in general. I'll kind of jump ahead here, jump a little bit farther ahead here.
Speaker 2:In this part of the episode the flip in ideals between the brother and the sister was insane. So early on, of course, she is very much embracing her wolf side and Ame is just terrified because he doesn't want to be the villain in this story. And then, of course, as they start growing up, she becomes. You know, she obviously wants to fit in a little bit more. Growing up in this, you know, are going, starting to go to school, ame wants to discover more of his wolf side and that part of the story and them clashing eventually. And, like I said, flipping roles was one of the best parts of the movie and it was.
Speaker 1:I think it was done incredibly well 100 percent and that's actually something I was going to bring up. Character wise Phil, was the switch in likability, in relating to the characters. Like you think these characters are one thing and then they completely shift and I wasn't really expecting that and I thought that was a nice fresh change of pace when it came to the film, especially because again, it's so centralized into this story. I mean, once they move out of the city for obvious reasons, right, that I mean the movie just takes place in that centralized location. I mean there's not much more movement after that and we are where we are. So the fact that they can make these characters so interesting over this period of time, I think is very telling and there's not too much of a time skip. Like there are periods of time skip but they don't feel unwarranted and I thought that helped the movie flow a little bit.
Speaker 1:It is a two hour movie. I thought that helped the movie flow a little bit. It is a two hour movie. There is quite a bit of a slow burn. I would say the whole film is actually a slow burn, even going to the credits rolling. So you're really just trying to experience these characters emotions, their feelings and all of that. That's really what this film is all about at the end of the day. And all of that. That's really what this film is all about at the end of the day.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there's not any grand action scene in this. There's no. You know, the village comes together to kick out the beast, like. That's not what this story is about. It is a story about.
Speaker 1:You're telling me that you didn't enjoy the difference from Belle in the 20v1 to this.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, I wasn't missing that whatsoever, I didn't. I didn't find myself wishing man, I wish they would chase these children out of town. That's not what is happening here. It is a story. It is like you said, it's a slow burn, is a story about self-identity, it's a story about growth, it's a story about, um, letting go, um, obviously a story about grief, and I think it's beautifully done and I think this is one of those examples, eric, in which animation can achieve the type of storytelling that sometimes you just can't get in live action. You know, remember, there was like the little bit of controversy, like a couple of years ago at the Oscars, where, you know, they were presenting best animated feature. They were like talking about kids specifically and yes, this is rated, you know, pg or G, whatever you said, but this is very as much of a story for adults as it is for kids.
Speaker 2:One of my other standout scenes, eric, I'm sure you know this where they're running through the woods the first time the snow falls and they're running through the forest, and I think that's where the CGI and the animation is really popping. When they're running through the trees, you know, you get the first person view. That was really good, the music is swelling. I actually do want to talk to you about the sound in a moment, as if we talk about, maybe, opportunities, because I have a question for you to see if you had the same experience. But yeah, the scene where they're running through the woods and they transform, it's so good and you know she's following them.
Speaker 2:And I think in that moment even though she probably had this realization a lot earlier, but I think probably in that moment is when she knows she has made this right decision for her children. Remember, earlier in the movie, cps shows up and they're wondering why they haven't gotten any shots. She has that terrifying moment in the beginning where do I take her to the vet? Do I take her to a human doctor? I thought that was a nice touch. But navigating all these things that she has no idea how to manage because she is a human, you know she has not gotten. You know she's obviously not part wolf.
Speaker 1:And yeah, but that scene in the snow, I think, will definitely go down as something I remember for a while when it comes to these animated films, because it was very, very good. Yeah, it's a perfect segue to two things I wanted to make sure to talk about on the positive side. The first one of the things about that grief process, phil, that scared the absolute shit out of me was I should have asked more questions about this. Like you just don't think about asking those things to your significant other or a family member and then when they're gone, it's like, yeah, you know, I have these wolf children and he obviously was part wolf. I would have loved to know more about his childhood. How did he adjust to that? How did he go to school? Or how was he around people, how was he in the city? All of these questions that ran through her brain as she made those difficult decisions to move out of the city, then to enroll them into school, etc. I thought that was just from a realism perspective was very jarring, but in a way that made you think productively. And the other thing is that those shots, phil, were absolutely they do it twice, I believe those first-person views. Those are definitely peak parts of the film.
Speaker 1:When it came to the animation, I thought those were nice elements. It didn't overstay its welcome. I think if they would have done it three times that would have been a little bit. Three or more would have been a little bit too obnoxious. But the two times they did do it, both in the snow and then, I think, as they get to the mountain side. Uh, I think both of those shots really really beautiful. So really great things about the film. Uh, but it's definitely not without its opportunities. So I'm very curious to see we've lined up pretty nicely on the strengths, on the opportunities. I wonder where we lie and how, how mad we're going to make Ivan.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I haven't actually. I think he even mentioned that maybe he would want to come on, but I think that's probably for the best that he's he's not here. Yeah, I very much love this movie. I guess my first question is was the sound mixing off for you? Because I felt like at times I was lowering volume, raising it back up, and it just seemed at some points it wasn't mixed very well and that could be a crunchy roll thing. It may not be a movie thing, but I felt like some of the sound mixing was off because it it was kind of all over the place at some points where I was again fiddling with the remote quite a bit no, I, I can't say I experienced that no, okay, were you.
Speaker 2:Were you saying from a dialogue perspective yeah, so like, like the music would get, or the music would swell, or the background music would swell, and then, um, they would start talking and I I couldn't hear them or something along those lines. Like it was just, it just was all over the place and it could have been. I wasn't watching it like on my primary tv, so that, maybe that was it. It could also be an equipment issue. But yeah, I just was curious if some of that, uh, if that had happened to you. So if it didn't happen to you, then maybe it was just a a me thing, but I was curious, I wanted to bring that up. I wrote that down.
Speaker 1:Yeah Well, you're getting older too, so I think the sound in your, in your hearing is definitely says the person that's never paying attention, it's always.
Speaker 1:I pay attention constantly. It looks at during a movie. You already know to go there. We want to have this conversation during the movie. I'm I'm locked in, I'm zoned in, man, that's why I can't multitask and I'm glad that I didn't for this film.
Speaker 1:But yeah, opportunity wise, I phil the movie's two hours, but like it felt like two hours. Like this movie is doing a singular story and there are time jumps, so like I, I, I see where the effort is, but I will say this movie just like felt long and I think because of the story it was telling, that's why it also felt long, cause it was a very like emotional, deep like process and a plot that they were exploring. So I don't know if that had anything to do with it. I'm very curious, phil. Run times always seems to be more of a pressure point for me. Did you feel that at all? As far as the length of the movie, did you feel like it could have been shorter? You could have gone through more, or do you feel like it was just right? Or, again, too long?
Speaker 2:No, I think it was just right again because of the plot points and because of the themes that themes that it was handling. I think it did a pretty good job of that. So do you think it should have been shorter or longer? Do you think they should have spent? You did mention like you wish you knew a little bit more about the dad. What did you want? Some of that background or where did you land?
Speaker 1:you want more or less it's tough to say, I don't know that I would have wanted more, so I guess I would fall on the shorter part, but at the same time the other. The argument for the other side of that to give it more time was, I felt like as we went on, yuki's story was very fleshed out but Ame's wasn't as much. And I felt like from that transition to like there's that wolf in the zoo, now all of a sudden there's a fox. Yeah, we hear the fox is in danger, but we don't ever like see the fox again outside of that one occasion. There's no like real showing of interactions between Ame and the other animals, like at any point when he's attacked by the boar early on or any of those things. So I felt like maybe they could have explored that a little bit more.
Speaker 1:Considering the ending is very Ame focused, I think, and that's kind of where I fell on that. So while I do feel like maybe it could have been shorter, that's more because I felt too dragged and I felt like maybe we didn't get the payoff we were expecting by the end. I will say the ending, phil, and I don't know how you felt. The ending was a little bit of a letdown, almost a cliffhanger-ish ending, but I'm curious what your interpretation of it was.
Speaker 2:That is an interesting point because we see and I think this is probably intentional, if I had to guess, because we see a lot of what Yuki is going through in school, you know, with her friends and this boy and trying to figure out where she fits in. And you know, obviously early on she very much embraces her quirky side and you know her strange side and we've all been there where we want to make that shift into fitting in and being a part of something. So we spend a lot of time on that, we spend a lot of time in the school and I think probably the purpose of having a lot of Ame's journey be off screen is to kind of shroud it in that mystery Because, again, this is a Hana story. It is obviously we are watching a lot of what's happening with the two kids, but it is about Hana and maybe the intent is for us to also be a little bit nervous about where he is and what he's doing and also being worried about him not going to school and him wanting to make this shift into being more of a wolf person than being a regular boy. So maybe that was intentional.
Speaker 2:I do agree with you that the I don't know that I was let down by the ending, but it was abrupt where it just kind of stops. I mean, ame is now the guardian of the forest where, like you said, I think I would have benefited maybe from seeing some of that like was so, was the fox training him for this and how was he training him for this? Uh, you know, some sort of like relationship building with the creatures of the forest, you know something along those lines, and maybe that would have been more difficult to tell because there couldn't have been any dialogue. I don't know, but they did a lot, a lot with silence in this movie, so maybe that's not necessarily the case. So it does kind of end pretty abruptly.
Speaker 2:I am relatively satisfied in knowing that Hana is at peace, I feel like, but I also feel a little heartbroken that she's alone now, you know. But I'm sure Ame comes in visits and maybe we could have done another time jump right, we saw a little bit of a time jump where Yuki is going to primary school, you know, and she lives off in the dorms. Maybe it would have been nice to see them grow up, I think. Maybe that would have helped a little bit in terms of closure.
Speaker 1:But I do feel a little bit sad because it just feels like she's alone, even though it seems like she's happy and content I think it's bittersweet to watch her give her children that's a very big theme is give her children the choice of do they want to be human or do they want to be, you know, a wolf? And the pain that's caused by that decision, which is obviously the right one as a parent, I think is very impactful. Uh but, phil, the way that movie ends uh, ame, don't give a fuck, he ain't coming back. That's the way I took it and that for that reason it is kind of sad. I think, maybe a flash forward of just him exiting the forest. While she's there, maybe she stops and visits and hopes that he'll come.
Speaker 2:She checks on him. Yeah, Maybe years later.
Speaker 1:I don't get that vibe that that was the case and you know Yuki obviously moves on. They have Sohei, who I thought was good in his small role. I did want to shout out on a positive end before I forget the grandpa Nirosaki. I love his character.
Speaker 2:I wrote that down too. I'm glad you brought that up. I did bring it up that is, and I think that's Jason Liebrecht. Right, I think that is Jason Liebrecht is Sohei? Oh, okay, who plays the grandpa? Somebody? I'm going to look it up.
Speaker 1:Jerry Russell is the name. I'm not familiar with his work but I thought he did really really good. I'm sure if we pulled up his uh, his like you know voice actor stuff, I guarantee you he's probably played some other old man voice that we recognize, because I felt like I recognize the voice, but I'm I'm not as familiar with his work by name. But with that being said, phil, again, there are a lot of good things about this film, but I felt like there were just components, just small components here and there that were missing from a a character building perspective. And I felt like, you know, you did a good job bringing up the film, did a good job, and you brought up the fact that a lot of this is from hana's perspective.
Speaker 1:But I feel like once we get towards like the end of the film, we kind of are straying away from that and that's kind of where the film is juggling a little bit too many viewpoints, uh, and I think maybe that's why it kind of loses itself by the end. For me, I just wanted there to be a little bit more of a closure from a story perspective. But these are all internal thoughts. Finally, getting to say them out loud, I really can't think of anything major that this film has working against it, but all those little things will add up for me from just a film and pure enjoyment standpoint.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I understand that and I think I would have felt a little bit better again. I think like, yeah, I think we maybe hit on it like just a scene of him coming out of the woods checking on her, knowing that that happens, and maybe seeing them grown up. You know what is. What else is she up to? I think probably when she, uh, when yuki is telling the story, it seems like she probably is still in high school. I don't get the sense that she is an adult. We don't really know so, but those are, those weren't necessarily things. Again, at the end of the day, like you said, that really take away from what my final score will be and, obviously, what a lot of other people are thinking about it. So shout out to Ivan. I definitely want to watch more of these within this director's filmography and very much enjoyed this one. So if there's nothing else you want to mention, eric, I will move on to the critical reaction to this film.
Speaker 1:Yeah, let's do that, and I'm curious where we landed on score. I feel like we're going to be pretty close on this one.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So as far as Wolf Children goes, 95% tomato meter score, 92% audience score and the average score on Letterboxd of a 4.1. So, as I mentioned, you know I very much enjoy this movie and its themes, and we didn't even talk about just kind of how adorable like the transformations were, especially when they're little, like the really, really cute. And a film that handled, you know, the themes between grief and acceptance and self-reliance and self-identity so very, very well. Also, I think, is a very good example of solid parenting and also like the sense of community was really great. We didn't even get to dive into that too much, so I ended up giving this a four. It's a movie that I would certainly watch again and would be eager to show people that had like watched it with them that had not seen it before. So I think definitely through this conversation I do want a little bit more now that we have openly discussed it, but I really love this. It's certainly one of my favorites in terms of international features. I very much enjoyed this one.
Speaker 1:I will say before, my rating has changed slightly because I'm in that weird 0.25 spot which, of course, since we moved to Letterboxd ratings, we kind of have to make a decision just based off of semantics, right? So is it one or the other? Did it go up? Did it go down? I was going to round down before our conversation, but I thought I think we we talked a lot about so many positives and I just think I'm going to remember those things when this movie's brought up the next time. We talked to Ivan about it.
Speaker 1:Like people like that that are passionate about this film, I'll have a lot of positive things to say. So for that reason, I think we kind of had a feeling you liked the movie a little more than me and that'll be reflective in my score with a three and a half, but again, I think it's really sitting at like a 3.25 on an initial watch. I'd be curious whether it goes up or down from a three and a half to a three upon a second watch. Will I see this again? I'm not sure, but that three and a half rating lets me know that if it's on I will watch it and of course, a three and above is a recommendation. I think you should definitely formulate your own opinion, and I can easily see a different score than mine, being way more positive or negative, but I think more in the positive space. I feel pretty confident in that area.
Speaker 2:I think this will end up being one of those movies, like you know, eric, when we have a panel and someone will ask oh, what are some of your, you know some of the, you know, favorite anime films that you watch, and we'll bring up wolf children, and people in the audience will be like, oh, I love that movie, you know, because, because it's never really talked about it, like I had never heard of it until we watched bell. You know what I mean. So I also appreciate that, artistically and thematically, this is totally different from Bell. You know, sometimes, you see and this isn't anything, this doesn't necessarily have to be just animation you see, kind of directors get a little complacent. Obviously, this came out well, well before Bell, but I like to see that, even though I didn't enjoy Bell like too much, I like to see that he is mixing it up and you know they obviously look very different. So, yeah, guys, but that is where we landed on Wolf Children, the international feature, very, very good, and I'm sure Ivan will be happy that we finally watched it and watched one of his recommendations. And yeah, eric, we're going to have to revisit, I think, this director again very, very soon, because we might be on to something here, so I might be in that camp with Ivan in terms of Ghibli versus SADA films. Maybe I found my niche, eric, that feels good. I feel good about where I am right now. So very, very enjoyable film.
Speaker 2:But if you'd like to catch any of our other international features or the rest of our content guess what it is all in one place you can find it on our link tree, link, uh. To find everything you need social media pages, the most important ones to keep up with being instagram, uh, ticked I gotta think of all of them now we got so many instagram tiktok, the discord page, twitch. We're doing all of that. Now we're gonna be starting doing lives on other social media platforms. That's what Eric is going to be doing. So you're going to get sick of us, hopefully, please don't. We very much enjoy doing this, but you're going to be able to see us in plenty of different places, one of those places being Bold Matsuri here at the end of the month, june 22nd, 23rd, at the Prime Osborne Convention Center here in Jacksonville, florida. Come see the voice actors for so many of your favorite properties my Hero Academia, jujutsu Kaisen and much, much more.
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