MOVIE REVIEW | Wolf Children

I thought this was going to be a cute movie. I was wrong.

{SPOILER ALERT}

Plot

The movie centers on Hana, a college student, who falls in love with a werewolf. She marries the wolfman and has two children with him, Yuki and Ame. Hana and the wolfman lived a simple and happy life.

A while after Hana gives birth to Ame, the wolfman dies leaving her with two wolf children. Hana tries her best to take care of the two children who still do not realize what they are. It's hard enough to take care of regular kids as a single mom.

To protect the identity of her children, Hana moved to a small village near the mountain. She found a rundown house in an undesirable plot of land. 

With the little money Hana had left, she decided to be a farmer. With the help of her new neighbors, she became successful and was able to feed her two kids. Later on, she was hired to be one of the conservationists studying the forest reserve.

As the Yuki and Ame grew, they became aware of what they truly are - half werewolves. Hana gave them the liberty to decide whether they want to continue as human or werewolf.

Yuki tried to blend in with her human friends.

Ame is often absent-minded in school and daydreams about the wild.

Yuki struggles to keep her wolf form a secret.

Ame completely quits school to train as a guardian of the forest territory.

Review

It's common to witness the hardships of a single mother as usually portrayed in movies and television. What's different is that Hana fell in love with a werewolf she met while in college. Falling in love with the wolfman brought the worst possible consequences in the life of Hana.

She knew he was trouble { Enter the Taylor Swift song.} yet she accepted him. I would totally freak out at this scene. I couldn't be mad at Hana. She fell in love, and unconditionally. It wasn't like he was married to another. He was a good guy, only he isn't human. It's not like this kind of union ever happened in real life. 

One of the scenes that struck me was when Yuki ate some silica gel while she's teething in her wolf form. Hana didn't know whether to bring Yuki to the veterinary hospital or the human hospital. Regular kids don't have this problem.

Adding to the already great plot is the graphics. The graphics are well drawn down to the little details. The scenes depicting nature are are almost as captivating as flying over real mountains and trees and lakes. The musical score isn't bad either.

Recommendation

I recommend it for almost everyone except very young kids, and mothers who are into anime (whatever age they may be... not judging). If you are a single mom still raising or have raised little kids, you will definitely relate to Hana's character. Ladies who are looking for Mr. Perfect or Mr. Right but found Mr. Strange, you might enjoy this film. Likewise guys may relate to Ame in the aspect of finding his true self. Young ladies may identify with Yuki as she tries to blend in.

UPDATE: I watched this with my husband and he didn't sleep throughout the movie (a miracle!)

For me, it was okay to watch. I am not a mom, at least not yet, but I look forward to having kids and not be widowed so soon. 

There are just some scenes that I felt uncomfortable watching. 

This one.

Dude, she already proved her love to you by accepting you as you are.

Is it too much to ask that you turn into a human before you kiss her?

Really, wolfman...

This is a violent scene for a lot of people. 

I see my dogs fight like this and I'm still not used to how violent it gets.

If you can cut these scenes out, then it's a hundred percent okay for kids. You just have to explain that they should not imitate Yuki and Ame. They shouldn't be teething on your furniture or books whenever their gums feel itchy.

There's a lot of drama but some comic relief too. I admire how Hana's character matured from a fragile girl to a strong and resilient mother figure for her children. Wolf children is a tale of love, resilience through tough times, acceptance - of things expected and unexpected, and finding happiness along the way.