I first watched Wolf Children many years ago when I was just getting into anime long before I started writing about the medium. When I sat down to rewatch it for this review it marked the third time Id seen it. Ive watched this film more than any other anime film hell more than most movies period animated or live action. Its been with me pretty much since the beginning of my journey into this wild wonderful medium. And yet I still havent gotten tired of it. In fact every time I go back and rewatch Wolf Children I find myself loving it even more. Even when I first watched it I knew it was a masterpiece but as times gone on and Ive returned to it over and over again that love and respect has blossomed into something closer to reverence. This is a movie that endures and grows ever stronger in my subconscious a memory that refreshes and glows increasingly bright the more times I choose to recall it. Wolf Children hasnt just endured the passage of time its flourished under it. And by the time this third watch was over it had grown from an excellent anime film into one of the most beautiful pieces of art this medium has ever given me. Simply put Wolf Children is a story about life. More specifically its the story about the life of an ordinary unusual family. College student Hana meets a mysterious unnamed boy in one of her classes and in short order their relationship has progressed enough for that boy to share his secret with her: hes a wolf. Theres a brief explanation about his backstory and where he comes from but the mechanics dont really matter this is fullon fairy tale logic where there are magic wolves that can transform into humans and live among us. Luckily for him it seems Hana doesnt mind going full furry and their marriage soon bears two children: older sister Yuki born on a snowy day and younger brother Ame born on a rainy day. Shes energetic and rambunctious hes sickly and withdrawn and theyre able to transform between their wolf and human selves at will. But then tragedy strikes and Hana finds herself left with the task of raising these two unusual children alone. She has few resources no support and no one she can turn to for advice on how to be a parent and petowner at the same time. All she can do is roll up her sleeves and face life headon holding fast to hope and joy even in the darkest of times to come. From there the film follows Hana and her kids through thirteen years as they grow up move to a new home in the countryside experience hardship and happiness and content with an uncertain future growing ever closer. Structurally it bends the traditional threeact structure in favor of something closer to a twoact play. The movies first half almost to the minute focuses on Hana as she undergoes suffering shoulders on in the face of it and works her ass off to grow into her new life in the countryside. The second half shifts the focus to the kids as they grow older and start going to school navigating the thorny question of which life they ultimately want to live: human or wolf. The kids are still important in the first half and Hanas story continues through the second but the overall point of view definitely shifts around the hour mark and the questions that were bubbling under the surface of the first half leap to the forefront as Yuki and Ames paths start to diverge both from each other and that of their mother. Thankfully the script makes good use of every last second of its lengthy twohour runtime. We get to see this family grow and change through so many different periods of their life grappling with issues that hit close to home whether theyre the metaphorical concerns of halfwolf puberty or the familiar concerns of growing up and processing hardship. This is a fairy tale through and through but in typical Mamoru Hosoda fashion the fantastical elements only make the storys underlying realism that much more poignant. And my god what a magical tale it is. Over the course of Hana Yuki and Ames story were pulled through the entire spectrum of the human experience. The joy of finding new love the intimacy of making a home together the horrific tragedy of losing someone close to you the long difficult stress of being a single parent the contented exhale of a new beginning the fear of your family falling apart under the judgmental eyes of a world that can never understand them the dread of feeling your children grow up and grow away from you as they start walking their own paths the desire not to give up in the face of despair and meet every obstacle with your cheeriest smile... this isnt just a movie its a goddamn chronicle of life itself all its highs and lows and sidetracks and unexpected developments. Its a series of interconnected vignettes that tell this familys story from every lens and every angle across the many many years we spend with them. And every moment from Hana learning how to farm from her crabby old neighbor to Yukis embarrassment over not being sufficiently girly for her classmates is earnest and honest and bursting with the joy of living. It is astounding how multifaceted Wolf Children is how perfectly it straddles so many different emotional states and builds them all upon each other as time goes on and colors the characters experiences in increasingly complex shades. Theres more humanity in the smallest details of this film than some anime manage to achieve over a full 12episode season. It also cant be overstated just how fantastic the movies craft is. Hosodas previous works were evidence enough of his talent as a director but the way he weaves this story is nothing short of remarkable. So many sequences show time passing in montage often wordlessly or with scant narration from a grownup Yuki but you never feel like youre missing out you feel like youre every last second every last second of that time passing by watching Hana navigate her new life as a single mom or watching Yuki and Ame grow up through elementary school as their desires grow increasingly distant or watching Hana get to know her new neighbors as they come to respect this resilient city slicker whos willing to tough it out in the boonies. It genuinely feels like were living these characters lives experiencing every last second of them even the ones we skip over. I honestly dont think Ive ever seen such incredible use of montage and its clear now that this is another of Hosodas finest talents. Add to that his predictably amazing character animation and a gorgeous soundtrack from Tagaki Masakatsu and Wolf Children becomes an absolute wonder to watch. Its sweeping and majestic its soft and intimate its joyful to the point of tears and its heartbreaking to the point of sobs. Every time I return to this movie I am astounded by how breathtaking it is to behold. And when all those elements come together? When the spooling emotional buildup finally peaks and the magic and wonder are allowed to just burst free? Good fucking god theres nothing else like it. The climax of the movies first half sees the entire family break into a sprint through the snowcovered woods reveling in a moment of happiness so pure and soaring it makes me break down crying every single time. Its a moment of sheer unadulterated joy scored with one of the most staggeringly beautiful pieces of music Ive ever heard and the sense of freedom and release as the white snow erupts against the blue sky captures something so impossible to capture its honestly kind of terrifying. And then it tops itself all over again for the actual climax which I wont dare spoil but suffice to say it grabs all the movies themes and sends them rocketing into the sky for a finale that will stick in my subconscious until the day I die. Its one of the most beautiful endings to any piece of media Ive ever experienced and it never fails to leave me a sobbing wreck. This movie is the joy of life itself personified a tapestry of what it means to live and grow and change as family and individual alike. I dont even have any idea what its like to be a parent but watching Hana persevere and thrive makes me want to hug my mom and thank her for doing such a great job raising me. Thats how sappy it gets me. I suspect this wont be the last time I watch Wolf Children. I may find myself coming back to it for the rest of my life always finding new things to love about it. More than simply being Hosodas best film by a country mile this is one of those films that sets the bar for what storytelling can accomplish. Movies like Wolf Children are the movies that transcend their time and place becoming timeless masterpieces that will still matter decades down the line. The fact that its only gotten better and better the more Ive watched it is testament enough to that. So if you havent yet seen Wolf Children nows the time to fix that. I promise you you wont regret it for a second.