Wolf Children trimming the fat retrospective spoiler review

Been going back to actually finish movies I never got around to viewing. Thanks to this pandemic I have nothing but time and what better way to use it then to watch award winning films.

I’m going to assume you guys have watched it and will spoiler all of it with this article.

I guess this is my 3rd film that I’ve seen from this director Mamoru Hosoda. And this one felt the most personal. Haven’t seen Mirai yet so I could be wrong.

So how do you cram around 14 years worth of a childhood into a movie? Wolf Children does it almost perfectly. The tracking shot of the school going back and forth showing the grade progression does so much. It gives you info about the kids and a clever way to skip ahead without feeling unnatural.

Like many other reviewers there was so much and felt like this movie could have been three hours long but gave us just enough to want more. There was a few story elements that could have been fleshed out more like Yuki’s classmate Sohei having more screen time. Or more of what Ame was doing with his Master.

But it all was enough to tell this story. So what about the ending?

Like most of his works the ending is open ended. In a way this felt like the middle part of a three part story. This felt like Return of the king but right after Fellowship and skipped Two Towers.

But I think that’s what Hosoda was going for. We follow our main character “Hana” for the entire movie. Her story ends with her children going off into the world. And we the audience stay with Hana. That was the point. We have to let go. A lot of times parents don’t get to see how their children turn out and that’s ok.

Our children in this movie move on. And we don’t get to see that because we have to rely on the faith that Hana raised them right. That it was worth it in the end. All that struggle meant something.

So some cool things that I liked, Ame was born in the rain (hence his name) and leaves during a heavy down pour. I liked how Yuki and Ame switched roles at the end. Yuki was more wolf like and Ame just wanted to be a normal kid. Once they get older Yuki sides more with being a human and Ame becomes one with nature and takes over as the watcher of the mountains.

The foreshadowing is really good as well. Yuki going to school first really shows how her future will shape out. And Ame going to the park and meeting that caged wolf solidify his future.

And last but not least I really didn’t like the future narration by Yuki. I guess it adds more to the scenes but I could honestly take it either way. It kind of spoilers how things will go through out the movie. She literally tells you Ame will choose to be a full time wolf at one point.