When Cartoon Saloon makes a movie, you pay attention. Their last three films (The Secret of the Kells , Song of the Sea , and The Breadwinner ) were extraordinary displays of the form, refusing to cater to the traditional style of 2D animation while also exporting unique mythology overlooked by the Mouse House’s storytellers and its myriad imitators.
Wolfwalkers is no exception — well, it is an exception because it’s Cartoon Saloon’s greatest glory. Set amidst the English invasion of Ireland circa 1649, the film follows a young girl’s desire to prove her skill to her wolf-hunting father by bringing down the wild pack surrounding their city’s walls.
In her defiance, she encounters another obstinate daughter, but this one can live life as a wolf when asleep. Hunter becomes prey, prey becomes hunter, hunter becomes savior. The passion of its players reverberates through every frame, tearing at the animation, shattering convention.
Wolfwalkers ‘ style morphs with emotion. The more heated and terrified the events on screen, the more jagged the characters’ shapes and lines transform. Directors Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart start from a style honoring woodblock prints but gleefully allow for expressionistic ruptures. The film burns with the will of its young heroes.
1. Soul Those who can’t do, teach. Except, Joe Gardner (Jamie Foxx ) can do. He’s a brilliant jazz pianist who blissfully falls into the zone when behind the keys. The big break never came, but on the day his middle school prepares to place him on the permanent pay role, including benefits with health care, he also catches the creative break of a lifetime. Dorthea Williams (Angela Bassett ), the iconic saxophonist, offers him a seat in her band. All he needs to do is make it to the show on time.
With a plan in play, God laughs. As Joe’s head drifts into the clouds, his body tumbles down a manhole. He awakens in the afterlife with a great big beam of white-hot light inviting him heavenward. Joe turns and runs.
What will kids get out of Soul ? I’m not sure. There are some cute cartoons. Free from our bodies, souls manifest as fluffy little blobs of blue marshmallow. It’s frickin’ adorable.
There’s a talking cat. There’s even a pizza rat. Plus, plenty of slapstick and pratfalls as the film spends the first fifteen minutes wandering its central hero through various Rube Goldberg deathtraps a la Final Destination .
Whether children dig on it or not doesn’t matter. This one is not for them. It’s for us, the dreamers who refuse to let go even as those around us, and the world itself, tell us to give up the ghost.
Our dream sometimes blocks our purpose. Soul acts as a slap. Wake up, look around. Your art and audience are everywhere. Validation comes to those willing to receive it.