Wolf Walkers

Directed by Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart, Wolf Walkers, which transpires in the mid 1600s, follows a plucky heroine (Honor Kneafsey’s Robyn Goodfellowe) as she makes a shocking discovery about the wolves on the outskirts of her town and subsequently befriends a mysterious girl named Mebh (Eva Whittaker). It’s clear instantly that filmmakers Moore and Stewart, working from Will Collins’ screenplay, have created a striking, visually-sumptuous world in which the movie’s hit-and-miss narrative unfolds, and it’s equally apparent that Wolf Walkers, for the most part, contains few elements designed to capture and sustain the viewer’s wholehearted interest – with the picture’s arms-length vibe exacerbated by a rather run-of-the-mill storyline and raft of one-dimensional, bland protagonists. (The latter is certainly true of the movie’s often distressingly generic central character.) There is, as such, never entirely a point wherein Robyn’s (predominantly tiresome) exploits become as gripping or engrossing as Moore and Stewart have obviously intended, which, in turn, paves the way for a distressingly uninvolving second half that builds towards a frenetic climax devoid of any emotional impact or resonance – thus securing Wolf Walkers‘ place as an impressively-animated yet hopelessly underwhelming piece of work.

** out of ****