Text/Hoarder
A few days ago, Hoarder was invited to chat with two guests about animated movies on a certain platform, and finally the host asked us to recommend a few, so Hoarder recommended "The Secret of the Book of Kells" from an aesthetic point of view, another guest of literary and artistic youth recommended "Song of the Ocean", and the last guest who preferred realism recommended "The Breadwinner". Uh-huh, so Hoarder had to confirm that the other two really didn't know that the three movies were written by the Irish animation team Cartoon Saloon. This is really a pure hero to see a little bit of the same.
Although the other two guests did not know the name Cartoon Saloon, they also knew that their favorite animation was from Europe, from a land presumably like Ireland. However, what people can't believe is that in a small place like Ireland that does not even have a film industry, there is a team that continues to produce Oscar-level fine animation. When everyone finally confirmed the existence of Cartoon Saloon, and determined that the three films with different styles but equally excellent were from them, they naturally had great expectations for their new works. That's right, their new work is "Wolfwalker", which was released nationwide on July 3 and has won 31 international awards.
Thanks to the support of Chinese funds, Cartoon Saloon's creation this time can be described as a collection of his first three experiences. First of all, Wolfwalker can conquer Hoards with pure pictures, as in The Secret of the Book of Kells. "Wolf Walker" is still a hand-painted dazzling painting style, with complex lines, rich colors, neat composition, strong contrasts, and every frame can be used as wallpaper when stopped, moving smoothly and brilliantly, full of magic. When designing the characters and scenes, the creators refer to the ancient murals of Ireland, so the shape of the wolf walker, the shape of the wolf, the environment of the wolf's den, and the ritual of the final climactic scene in the film all have an artistic resonance through time and space.
Hoarder's favorite is that after the little protagonist becomes a wolf for the first time, the camera becomes the "first wolf name". The creator removed most of the color and only retained the lines, fully simulating the wolf's visual system (color blindness). They then used a smoke-like ribbon to simulate the wolf's sensitivity to smells and sounds. On the subjective simulation of the wolf alone, this film is enough to record the history of film. At least this point will be recommended by Hoarder in various places in the future, because other films have never given a better visual experience.
Second, while Wolfwalker doesn't incorporate music into the story and theme like Song of the Sea, it's more pleasant than the soundtrack. Cartoon Saloon continues to work with 4-time César Award-winning Bruno Coulais, still using folk music to base it. Hoarder does not particularly understand music, but he can feel that the soundtrack of "Wolf Walker" is layered in the laying, in line with the advancement of the plot, layer by layer. If the picture is slow, the soundtrack is slow, and if the picture is fast, the soundtrack is fast, which makes people have a strong sense of immersion.
The first emotional catharsis of "Wolfwalker" is the passage where the little protagonist runs in the forest with the little wolf walker after becoming a wolf. Before that, due to the need to use a large number of lines to explain the background of the times, the background of the story, etc., the soundtrack was pure music. This passage is a pure action paragraph, no lines are required, so it is also the first time that the film has sounded a song. The theme song is sung by the Norwegian soul singer JiUrora, with a beautiful melody, a beautiful voice and full of spirit. Hoarder only listened to the chorus for the first time, and then decided to include it in the song list. This song is not low in difficulty, and the degree of singing may not reach the "Let IT Go" as wide, but I believe that people who have listened to it will like it, because with the pictures in the movie, your body and mind will have a very liberating feeling.
Finally, due to differences in cultural backgrounds, Hoarder's previous feelings about the story level in Cartoon Saloon's works were not deep enough. The story of "Wolfwalker" also has some historical metaphors for Ireland buried deeply, which are slightly difficult for us to feel deeply. This time, however, Cartoon Saloon gave Wolfwalker's story a shallow coat. This story in the outer layer does not require much historical knowledge or life experience to understand and feel, and it is relatively universal.
The antagonistic relationship between man and wolf, the growth of children and the love of their parents, the dramatic contradictions in these films can be seen even by children around the age of 10. The final solution to the contradiction in the film is very symbolic. People with different life experiences can substitute different symbols and thus feel different themes. You say it's about colonial invasion, you say it's about man and nature, you say it's about female awakening. Anyway, the symbols you can feel are basically correct.
In the first 30 minutes, "Wolf Walker" conquered Hoarder with pictures; in the middle 30 minutes, "Wolf Walker" conquered Hoarder with the soundtrack; and in the last 30 minutes, "WolfWalker" conquered Hoarder with a story. How can you miss such a masterpiece?