Wolf Children: FULL LENGTH Movie Reaction! PATREON EXCLUSIVE!
Added 2024-09-13 17:00:03 +0000 UTC*HOWLING HEADPHONE WARNINGS*
I walked into this movie with no expectations and WHAT an experience it was! Parenthood, Choosing your path, nature vs. nurture - there's so much in this movie and it was a gigantic mixture of melancholy, bittersweet beauty, and let's be honest...this mother deserves a MEDAL for all she did!
Thank you for watching with me and for all the support!
Comments
This is DEFINITELY a movie that has stuck with me for weeks after watching it! Hana is SUCH a good mom, powerful and bold character - she’s just insanely competent! But still flawed and relatable. I love that concept of a mother’s love driving her to do whatever she has to for her children! And YES, I agree that looking back now and with y’all’s comments, the death of the dad does tie to what happened with Ame, except he had people around that saved him. And it made the mom more protective, which made it harder for her to let him “go” in the end. I agree that maybe in this rare circumstance with the “wolves” being a bit more supernatural, they couldn’t be both and had to eventually pick which side they wanted to lean towards. I LOVE that Sohei was so understanding of Yuki, like Hana was to their father. I loved their relationship and it gives hope that maybe Ame will be like his dad and find someone like that in the future, too. But yes, this ending is sooo melancholy! I hate that she’s all alone at the end. I’m glad she has the town surrounding her, but I just wanted more with the three of them by the end. And yeah, how did she explain it all? I’m sure she figured it out! XD Thank you so much for the comment and kind words! Sorry it took so long to get back to you, but I really enjoyed this movie a lot! I’m glad you all recommended it!
Romaniablack
2024-09-23 14:01:21 +0000 UTCAhhh, so sorry for taking so long to get back to you on this movie - with my Internet down, answering comments has been slower than usual! I love how brave, forward, and bold Hana is - which probably explains why “wolfman” fell in love with her, and also why her daughter (though very feral as a kid) ends up being the same, along with their son. And same, seeing a male character be vulnerable in that dynamic, while it not sacrificing his strength is really great to see – and I can see that in their kids as well! I was STUNNED at the “sex” scene but it was honestly very tastefully done - Beauty and the Beast AU where? 😛 I definitely would include him on the Husbando list for sure! But man…Hana is no SLOUCH. I truly feel for her and cannot imagine going through that! I agree that it is a powerful and effective choice to not let us know exactly why Wolfman died. Ahhh, I also hadn’t tied to the idea that he’d been “away” and the river carried him back into town, or that connection to Ame and being alone when instincts kick in vs. being with others - that’s REALLY good to point out! But yeah, it was really uncomfortable (in an intentional and good way) to see her struggle with them as kids! Potty-training ONE puppy is hard enough, I cannot imagine with two, and with two that can also turn into literal humans. But yeah, she has no time or space to properly grieve, and that’s painful. The scenes in the countryside when she moves are so beautiful! And how realistic everything surrounding it is – and agreed, the way they portray the children is very relatable! I definitely agree that Hana’s acceptance of Ame despite the way he believes society views him could relate to SO many things in our own world, and is also very sweet and powerful. I love that you have that comparison to the Grandpa! That’s a sweet connection to make! I love how Hana “proves” herself to the village and how he “softens” to the point of helping her in the movie. Ahhh, and the idea that the urine kept the boar away - that’s really interesting! And the way the children start out one way, but “shift” (no pun intended) to each of their parents’ sides more in their attitude, decisions, and dress was neat to see. I love that Yuki found someone like Sohei that accepted her - maybe Ame would find the same later on like his father did, too. I agree, going back and editing, at first I couldn’t believe that 10 year old Ame was “old enough” to live on his own, but you really see in his wolf form how much older he already is, and looking back - as he starts to age, he seems to more “rapidly” than Yuki, maybe tying to that moment where she tells Sohei she wishes she could “be an adult already,” because Ame “technically” already is one. But agreed, that “goodbye” to his mom is so sad! I definitely wish we could have had a series to get more with the interactions of all three of them! And I agree, it’s so bittersweet that Ame leaves without truly reconciling with the mother; maybe it’s meant to show the reader that “they” should be sure to not let that happen between them and their parent? Who knows, but definitely I’m glad I watched this movie - it’s stuck with me weeks after seeing it! Thank you for the comment and kind words! 😀
Romaniablack
2024-09-23 13:56:21 +0000 UTCNice!! I do love cinematography and the study of it, so this was super cool to watch through! Thank you SO much for the comment and sending me this link; it was really neat! :D
Romaniablack
2024-09-21 02:36:37 +0000 UTCAhahahaha *Badumtisss* on the GOAT mom joke, but that got me! Nice! Okay, I HAVE seen Summer Wars, so I can see where the animation style looks familiar now! The love story between the Wolfman and Hana is definitely “Up” there for me as well! That’s my joke for the post! 😛The way that the art showed the passage of time was done soooo well! And the way that Wolfman died?! YES! VERY much like in Pluto and absolutely gut-wrenching! I was horrified that they just threw the body in the garbage truck! So sad! Even if he hadn’t been known to the audience that he was also human, just watching an animal body chucked into a dump truck is…disturbing, indeed! GOAT mom indeed, especially with no resources to rely on or help for herself and advice! I hadn’t thought of the “special needs” angle with the children quite like that but the idea of them being “different” ties so well into that theme. I definitely wish they’d given us that “note” that the kids were going to realize all the mom did for them. It’s definitely left “assumed,” which is fine, but still made me sad for her, especially where Ame was concerned. I just wanted that “sorry” and moment between them to “actually” happen and not just be implied. Thanks for the comment!
Romaniablack
2024-09-18 21:04:39 +0000 UTCThis movie is SO melancholy and bittersweet -- I definitely would LOVE to watch The Boy and the Beast at some point! Thank you for noting that and I will DEFINITELY keep it on my short list for the future! Thank you for the comment and kind words!
Romaniablack
2024-09-16 19:07:06 +0000 UTCThank you so much for the comment and kind words! This was definitely a great experience and I'm so glad I finally got to see this movie! :D
Romaniablack
2024-09-16 16:09:35 +0000 UTCThis remains one of my favorite movies to this date. I agree, Hana deserves a medal. She is probably the character I attached to the most through it all and I felt so much for her. Seeing her resilience as a mother, the strength that she cobbled together and allowed to shine because she had to, there were no other options makes my heart soar and ache at the same time. It's so incredible to see just what one is capable of when such a deep kind of love is involved. The lake incident changed both Ame and Hana, I think. Ame had always been sickly and a little more frail but then Hana almost lost him in an eerily similar way to how their father died and you cannot tell me that didn't make her be a little more protective of him; I think that's why she struggled so much towards the end, aside from the obvious reason of him being a literal child still XD And, well, Ame's change was much more obvious. While I don't understand either exactly what happened to the dad I do think he was supposed to be a warning of how the kids couldn't really be both things, wolf and human, at least not in the city. He tried to be both, to have a family with Hana but he still surrendered to his wolfish instincts and that brought his demise somehow. Of course, Hana took her children away to a place that was more suited for both sides of her children's' nature but I imagine there was still an inherent danger to it. At least, in the context of the movie. I also think he just needed to be out of the way for the sake of the movie so that needed to happen *lol* and so it did. Sohei and Yuki are adorable and I want more of them as well. Sadly, there is not a ton of fanfics about them so we basically just have this to go off. It was all very sweet, though. And I liked the difference it made for Yuki to find that one person that accepted her completely so early on contrary to how long it took her father. Agreed, though, that the ending of this movie was just so melancholy. Hana being all alone when she couldn't be more than past her mid thirties is just sad. She sacrificed so much, struggled for so long and her reward is just an empty nest... it feels wrong. At least, I suppose we are to assume she has the friendship of the town's people, which is nice, but it will never be the same as companionship. Something I do wonder is how Hana explained Ame's sudden disappearance to everyone XD He is a child in their eyes, so I wonder if any of them made a fuss about it all or what she told them all had happened.
Alexandra Q
2024-09-14 03:52:19 +0000 UTCI love that they show their individual lives and how though they're both surrounded by other people they are very much alone, except when they're with each other. Also you know I love me a ship with height difference. Hana is so forward and I love her for that! She reached out to him first, and then she told him she'd be the one to welcome him home 🥺 It's great they show him being scared and communicating that fear, before he shows her the other him. It's not typical that we see a male character be vulnerable like that in such a dynamic like this. The non-Disney version in multiple ways! 😂 (I am in the camp that the Beast looked better before his transformation). But yes it is definitely a shock the first time to see that Hana *really* has no problem with his other side. But also shocking at actually having such a scene in a movie that is rated PG here in the UK. He already had my heart from early on in the movie, but how caring he is whilst Hana is going through such awful symptoms of pregnancy (cravings, sickness) made him shoot straight on to my husbando list 😆 But yeah, Hana giving birth with no assistance and at home *TWICE* is truly nuts. I feel like even though it's brushed over so quickly that shows how physically and psychologically tough Hana is from the very beginning. The sound direction of that scene of discovering why the father suddenly disappeared is so good. The increase in the sound of rain until it drowns out everything else and just fills your ears definitely ramps up the tension and your fear of what's to come. Being left with all the questions of what happened to him definitely adds to the viewers' pain over his sudden death. Honestly it felt quite realistic in never getting a definitive answer for what actually happened. With Yuki's words about his instincts, and then later seeing Ame's instincts awaken with the bird and his incident in the fast flowing river (alongside all the other mirroring we see between the parents and wolf children), I do think the father was bringing the groceries back when suddenly his wolf instincts kicked in and he needed to get the pheasant for Hana. But because of the rain he slipped and may have hit his head or drowned because of the rainstorm (considering how far away he was from their home there's the possibility of him being carried off by the river to the point he was found). Ame was saved because he wasn't alone, his sister was there in time to pull him from the water. The Dad being out in the city, after Hana had just given birth, was alone. I do feel so much for Hana. Being a single mother is difficult, especially to two young children. But add in their wolf side and that's like being a mother to two kids and two puppies at the same time. And all that without being able to get any outside help because of their wolf side...really makes your heart break for Hana. Especially if you consider she also hasn't been able to have time or space to properly grieve the man she loved, who she wasn't even able to hold a funeral for 😭 I love how in the background the house is becoming in more disarray as time goes by, with stains and bite marks around. The house already had a lived-in feel to it before, but now it's on a whole other level. Adds to your understanding of Hana being absolutely drained. I never fail to laugh at the realtor being like "Why??" over Hana's choice of home 🤣 Dilapidated big house in the middle of nowhere with two young children and a risk of wild animals coming on to the property definitely doesn't seem like a suitable place for a mother to raise her kids. But it really is the best place for Hana, Yuki, and Ame 🥺 And then as Hana works on the house you see that beneath the mess there is beauty. The thing I adore the most about this movie is how realistic the children are. They each have very distinctive personalities. There are kids who are loud, abrasive and outgoing like Yuki, whilst there are the clingy, quiet, and introverted ones like Ame. That moment of Ame not wanting to be a wolf because of the children's books always makes me tear up. He hates this part of himself because society sees that as being bad/wrong. But Hana's response is perfect. She doesn't tell Ame he shouldn't live his life by society's standards. She just tells him that even if everyone else will dislike/hate him, she will love him...*every* part of him 🥺 It's definitely a moment that can have a lot of other meanings in regards to society's opinion on things (LGBTQ+, autism, ADHD, even something like being a "geek" vs. a "jock") and children feeling wrong/bad for being those things. I have to say, potentially because of them growing potatoes together, but Grandpa Nirasaki reminds me a lot of my own maternal grandfather. He was a kind and sweet man, but when it came to teaching gardening he wasn't one to suffer fools 😆 His instructions were always quite on the brusque side, but mostly because what he was saying seemed like common sense to him and my aunts and cousins appeared to be lacking that sense (at least judging by his tone). With me he was kinder in teaching and the only brusque moment was when he told me "Someone else should do the hoeing, I don't have a short enough hoe for you that won't have the handle swinging around your head as you use it." 😂 Also in regards to Nirasaki, judging by the realtor's (and other old men's) comments it sounds like their little area has seen a number of people from the town try to live the "country life", failed, given up, and returned to where they came from. But Hana's perseverance to try and try and try again showed Nirasaki (before the others) that she might be someone there to truly make a life in the country. So for the boar attacking everyone else's but Hana's, the answer was when Yuki said "I need to pee". She's a lot more inclined towards her wolf side and so was peeing outside. Just as the scent of a dog peeing in an area can make certain animals stay away, Yuki has enough wolf scent in her to ward off the area as her territory against the boar. At my paternal Grandparents we'd bring our old dog over once a month so as she could do a pee in their garden. It was the most effective way to prevent the local cats from coming into their garden and destroying the plants or attacking the birds my Nanny fed. With how they start you'd definitely think out of the two of them that Yuki would be the one to follow her wolf side even as she got older. Ame's wolf instincts were just a little later to be developed. But I loved seeing him become more vibrant when talking about his Sensei and life in the mountains. It is an interesting mirror that Ame is dressed like his Dad, whilst Yuki is in a blue dress like Hana. Especially with Ame choosing his wolf side and Yuki her human side. This film definitely leaves you on tenterhooks so much of the time for another bad thing happening, but the tension and fear for Hana definitely ramps up with her searching the mountain for Ame 🥺 Sohei reminds me a little bit of Yuki from KazeTsuyo with his family background and his "tough" side on emotional things. But that moment with him and Yuki, and her showing her wolf side is so sweet. Sohei's acceptance of her is just like Hana's acceptance of the Dad 😭 Ame leaving hurts and I agree with you that at 10-years old he should stay at home with his Mum. But at the same time I can understand that at 10-years old in wolf terms he is already an adult. Its harder to separate that understanding when we see Ame as a 10-year old kid. But then when you see him in wolf form and how much he's grown it's easier to accept him going off on his own. Doesn't mean I don't fail to cry at Hana's goodbye to him every time I watch this movie 😭 It is a bittersweet movie that does leave me wishing this could have been a series just so as we could get so much more. It hurts a little that the only interaction with Ame Hana seems to get after his leaving is to hear the echo of his howls, whilst she lives in that big house on her own 😭 Yeah we never get a name for the Dad. He's just known as Ookami (Japanese for Wolf) or Father in the credits 🥺 He does have a name on his driver's license but it's never made clear enough to be able to read it. I can say that his date of birth shows 昭和54/02/12, so according to the license at least, he was born 12th February 1979 (Japanese years on licenses don't use the Gregorian calendar). In a way though Ookami does fit with the naming of the rest of our protagonists: Hana (Flower), Yuki (Snow), and Ame (Rain). I agree that Yuki and Ame should have apologised after that big fight that left them both so bloody and left the house so battered. Especially when they were present to see how much work it took for their Mum to make it the home that it was.
Anime Annie
2024-09-13 23:24:19 +0000 UTCNow please go watch the video "Every Frame a Painting" did on the school sequence in this film. It's only ~6 mins long and fantastic if you like learning about cinematography. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdSKot0psNg
Lynden
2024-09-13 20:54:48 +0000 UTCtotally understandable
lasher840
2024-09-13 20:45:27 +0000 UTCI'm literally watching this movie at least 10 times and keep crying for it🤣 If you enjoyed this movie I hope you to watch movie called [The boy and the beast] !! This movie is made by wolf children's movie director mamoru hosoda! This movie is also masterpiece!
Young
2024-09-13 20:44:13 +0000 UTCThey might have been Wolf children but she definitely was a GOAT mom... I'll see my self out. About the movie itself, yeah, it's not connected to a franchise but the director certainly has other works and a following. Momoru Hosoda, he's done Summer Wars & The Girl Who Leapt Through Time among other things... and the character designs were by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, so that, along with the farming setting triggered Thrice Upon a Time vibes from me. Now into the story: yeah we never really learn what the wolfman's name was, that's only for Hana to know. Honestly their love story is Pixar's Up level of heartbreaking, probably even more so for me. The movie was wonderful with its time moving forward montages, everyone loves the classroom scrolling sequence. His death was awful, and a really nightmarish way for it to happen, Imagine losing the love of your life, and as that's dawning on you you see his body get treated like trash rather than the dignity we afford to a person, similar vibes to the robot kid in Pluto. But then after that trauma, you're left alone to fend by yourself to deal with that grief and two rowdy kids, with very special needs and no one to talk to. At least the other mothers could build support networks among themselves, but she had to always be at a distance. This time is no joke: GOAT mom. But I won't give too much grief to the kids for not recognizing all she did for them. They're not even teenagers yet and in childhood you sort of take for granted everything and don't think too much about the grown up stuff that might be happening in the background. Yuki was a bit more perceptive about those things and there were a couple moments where you could tell she knew her mom felt out of her depth at times, but I won't fault Ame too much. I'm sure once he grows up a bit more he'll come down from the wilderness to visit and say sorry.
Alex Kornejo
2024-09-13 20:39:08 +0000 UTCI decided against it based on the studio publishing and its history targeting reactions - I didn't want to take a chance! Hopefully syncing and using the subs work! Thank you for the comment!
Romaniablack
2024-09-13 20:35:12 +0000 UTCThis is one of my absolute favorite movies. I'm so glad you got to experience it ☺️🐺
Kotaro 14
2024-09-13 18:21:57 +0000 UTCJust curious, I noticed your other movies have PIP, did you decide against it for this movie or just forgot it?
lasher840
2024-09-13 17:41:42 +0000 UTC
