Apple has released a full-length trailer for the animated feature film titled Wolfwalkers, the latest project from acclaimed Irish animation filmmaker Tomm Moore, co-directing with concept artist Ross Stewart.
In a time of superstition and magic, a young apprentice hunter, Robyn Goodfellowe, journeys to Ireland with her father to wipe out the last wolf pack. While exploring the forbidden lands outside the city walls, Robyn befriends a free-spirited girl, Mebh, a member of a mysterious tribe rumored to have the ability to transform into wolves by night. As they search for Mebh’s missing mother, Robyn uncovers a secret that draws her further into the enchanted world of the Wolfwalkers and risks turning into the very thing her father is tasked to destroy.
Check out the trailer for Wolfwalkers below:
The third installment of the Irish folklore trilogy from Cartoon Saloon, which follows on from The Secret of Kells and Song of the Sea, Wolfwalkers has already earned applause from around the world for its distinctive hand-drawn animation style and enchanting story, and this might be their best effort yet. Co-directed by two-time Academy Award-nominee Tomm Moore, along with Ross Stewart, Wolfwalkers drew rave reviews when it debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival and could be set for further acclaim at the London Film Festival this week.
The film is a stunning testament to Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart’s “Irish folklore trilogy” with its singular animation style and storytelling skills. The film offers visual references to everything from pre-Celtic imagery to Studio Ghibli alike. Honestly, this writer thinks Wolfwalkers is an instant classic.
At the 2020 New York Comic Con, director Tomm Moore explained how he and co-director Ross Stewart landed on their unique story.
“Ross and I have worked together for a long time, and we were working on the concept art for Song of the Sea back in 2013, and over a lunch we discussed what would be a good movie to co-direct together that we wanted to make in this final piece in this triptych. We talked about all the things we cared about, and even if there were things we didn’t care about, like hunting, or things we were worried about, like species extinction and the threat of civilization on nature, so those were the themes we wanted to explore. Then we talked a little about the folklore from around this area in Ireland, in Kilkenny, called the “Wolves of Ossory.” And at the time there was a documentary on Irish television called Wolfland, and it talked about how Oliver Cromwell and the British tried to eliminate wolves from Ireland to symbolically tame the country. So we had all those ingredients and more, and we started mixing it up and that’s how we came up with the story.”
If you’d like to know more, you can watch the full New York Comic Con panel below:
The film boasts an impressive voice cast that includes Sean Bean (Game Of Thrones), Tommy Tiernan (Derry Girls), Maria Doyle Kennedy (The Commitments), and Simon McBurney (Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation), as the film’s villain.
Just check out the gorgeous poster art for the film as well:
GKids will release Moore & Stewart’s Wolfwalkers in US theaters on November 13th, then it will stream on Apple TV+ starting December 11th.
Source: GKids, Apple
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