We’ve seen the Best Picture race slowly come into view thanks to a pandemic delayed deadline, but other categories are also coming into play. Best Animated Feature film already has a number of contenders that found audiences on PVOD with “Onward,” “Trolls World Tour” and “The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run” while “Over the Moon,” “The Willoughbys” and “Soul” still loom on the horizon. One film that can’t be discounted, however, is “Wolfwalkers” which will be theatrically released by GKids but hit Apple TV+ before the holidays.
READ MORE: “Wolfwalkers”: Animated Irish myth is a stirring masterwork [TIFF review]
The hand-drawn animated tale is Tom Moore and Ross Stewart’s follow up to the 2010 Oscar nominee, “The Secret of Kells.” It centers on a young girl, Robyn (voiced by Honor Kneafsey), who travels to Ireland to assist her father in eliminating the nation’s last wolf pack. She meets the energetic Mebh (Eva Whittaker), who is part of a magical tribe that lives as humans during the day but rule the forest at night as wolves. When she gains their powers she becomes determined to find a way to stop her father from wiping out her new friends.
“Wolfwalkers” debuted at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival and earned rave reviews as it currently sits with a 94 grade on Metacritic and a 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. The fact it has Apple is behind it this season should be a boon for its Best Animated Feature nomination prospects. The streamer is already making waves with the already released feature “Greyhound,” Sofia Coppola’s “On the Rocks” and the upcoming Russo Brothers drama, “Cherry.”
A new trailer for “Wolfwalkers” released today and it showcases the beautiful animation and design Moore and Ireland’s Cartoon Saloon film studio are known for. The independent studio also produced acclaimed films such as “Song of the Sea” and “The Breadwinner.” You can watch the new preview embedded at the top of this post.
GKids will release “Wolfwalkers” in theaters on Nov. 13. It will premiere globally on Apple TV+ on Dec. 11.
Update: Watch the legendary prologue: