200% Wolf
100% Wolf was fine. A locally produced cartoon from Flying Bark Productions, it was a generic and predictable ‘be true to yourself’ story made better by a strong voice cast and some wonderfully off the wall ideas, like making the big bad an ice cream man/werewolf hunter. Released in the same year as Farmageddon: A Shaun the Sheep Movie and Jiang Ziya: Legend of Deification, it had its moment in the sun then, but is not something that lingers. Or so it seemed at the time. Now that its second film (following a respectable 26-episode run with Legend of the Moonstone spin-off) is here, I find myself intrigued by the thought of more.
This does exactly what it says on the tin with regards to everything from the first movie. The questionable lighting and subpar texture work are swapped out for CGI that can take scrutiny. The sense of humour on display not only lands more often than not while still being rooted in child-friendly potty jokes but also has jokes that have been thought about, tie into the plot and are relevant to that part of said plot which is quite an achievement for any comedy made in this day and age. And although it does give a mild reset button to its lead (were-poodle Freddy, voiced by Ilai Swindells), who learns another lesson about self-worth throughout his journey alongside Max (Jennifer Saunders), this time around there’s something useful to go with all this talk about ‘respect’ when dealing with others.
You could tell all this before we even got to see the title card, thanks to a stunning opening sequence depicting werewolf power-granting Moon Spirits soaring through space. Things only get weirder after that, actually, scratch that werewolves end up being fairly normal compared to some other stuff later on. It soon becomes apparent that magic exists no great shocker there and that it has something to do with maintaining balance between the forces of the Moon and the Earth; what is surprising, though, is just how far down this particular rabbit hole goes. That, plus a bit of low-key philosophising (once again courtesy Akmal Saleh as guide dog Hamish), makes for a film that’s more Avatar: The Last Airbender than you might expect from a studio whose first official entry into said franchise isn’t due until 2026.
As cosmically significant as Max gets but also as impossibly cute whenever we’re around baby Moon spirit Moopoo (Elizabeth Nabben), it’s the quiet moments that win out. Besides being sharper visually than before, the production is happy to let these scenes play out without feeling obliged to throw in some extraneous activity, it helps make all those bits where characters bond with each other another aspect of respect feel as genuine as if they were performed using hand carved puppets, showing genuine respect for its young audience. And not just them. The recurring visual metaphor about doing wrong by somebody else while trying to help them and thereby only making things worse for both parties involved or maybe even all three represents a level of thematic maturity rarely seen in animated family films nowadays (or ever).
200% Wolf, according to the most conservative estimate, is 300% better than it deserves. In this film by the Maya the Bee trilogy studio, there are good animations and valuable lessons for children. It is a movie ideal for family viewing due to its egalitarianism towards different age sets and every minute of it is worth watching because of its unimaginable inventiveness. The fact that Flying Bark went all in with this one is quite surprising but also rewarding; if they continue producing such high quality films then soon enough their Australian animation talent level might be compared with Animal Logic or even Adam Elliot himself. If you want something to do with your kids or just feel like seeing some good animated movies on big screens again go see it!
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