Wolf Children

NYICFF is thrilled to present the brilliant third feature from Mamoru Hosoda, whose Summer Wars (NYICFF 2010) and The Girl Who Leapt Through (NYICFF 2007) have established him as one of the world’s top creative forces in animation. One day Hana spies a mysterious outcast sitting in on her college lecture and decides to follow him. A romance ensues, and when it turns out her new beau is part wolf, she is accepting (and maybe even a little attracted to the idea). Before long Hana gives birth to two children, Ame (Rain) and Yuki (Snow), rambunctious bundles of joy who transform into wolves when excited and whose little ears are as adorable as their fangs are sharp. When they are suddenly left without a father, Hana does her best to raise her changeling children on her own, but it’s no easy task. While normal children struggle with teething and tantrums, Ame and Yuki grow fur, howl, and destroy furniture — and it isn’t long before the neighbors begin to notice their wolf-like tendencies. In order to maintain the family secret, Hana escapes to the country, turning a dilapidated farmhouse into a loving home, where each child is free to pursue its wolfish and human sides. Wolf Children is Hosoda’s most emotionally resonant film to date, a stunningly animated and heart-felt fable about growing up, growing apart, and the choices faced along the way.