This is an era when 3D animation is prevalent. The big Hollywood companies represented by Pixar and DreamWorks have polished the "simulation" computer graphics technology to perfection - the animal hair is completely visible, and the characters' expressions are delicate, everything is like adding Realistic reflection of the two-dimensional filter.
Of course, in different corners of the world, there are also many animators with different preferences - such as Tom Moore, the director known as "Irish Miyazaki". His first two works, "The Secret of the Book of Kells" and "Song of the Sea", were produced in the form of hand-painting each frame, and both of them were nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Feature. "Song of the Sea" is loved by many Chinese fans, and even praised by fans as "the most beautiful animation in history".
Now comes Wolf Walker, the finale of Tom Moore's "Irish trilogy".
"Wolf Walker" was launched on Apple TV+ in December, with a positive rating of 99% on Rotten Tomatoes. It won the Best Animated Feature Film Award at the 86th New York Film Critics Association Award, and was named the world's top ten in 2020 by Time Magazine. one of the videos.
This film is very reminiscent of "Princess Mononoke". Although each has its own unique painting style and narrative method, it has the same theme of "protecting nature" - when the civilized ruler invades the forest and causes disaster, "Wolf Girl" "Serves as a bridge between human kindness and wild creatures.
The connection point of "Princess Mononoke" is love. The teenager encounters the "princess" who was raised by the white wolf, and he chooses to guard her.
And "Wolf Walker" is about the friendship of two girls, one is the wolf hunter's daughter Robin, and the other is the "Wolf Walker" Maeve in the forest.
Maeve has a round face, a fluffy afro head, and big eyes. When she is awake, she is a little girl of about 10 years old, and when she falls asleep, she becomes a little wolf with sharp teeth and sharp teeth.
Wolf VS Human, Forest VS City, Freedom VS Power
Like "The Secret of the Book of Kells" and "Song of the Sea", the story of "Wolf Walker" is inspired by Irish myths, legends and real history. Tom Moore once said: "In the past, we have seen alienated images of Irish people in other countries' film and television works, and we want to tell our own cultural story for the next generation."
The story takes place in 1650, in the city of Kilkenny, Ireland (the city where Tom Moore grew up), the colonial ruler "Guo Guo Gong" oppressed the people of a city with tyranny.
The film does not give the name "Protector of the Kingdom", but Tom Moore makes it clear that the character prototype of the villain is Oliver Cromwell.
Cromwell is a highly controversial figure in the British bourgeois revolution, and he is almost the embodiment of "evil" in Irish culture. From 1653 to 1658, Cromwell used the title of "Protector of the Kingdom" to rule in Ireland. When he led an expedition to invade, he brutally ordered to kill all the people of a city. The bloody massacre lasted for two whole days.
The Cromwell regime not only oppressed humans, but also exterminated wolves.
Although wolves are now extinct in Ireland, according to historical records, there were as many as 1,000 in the first half of the 17th century. Ireland at that time was called "wolf-land" and was considered a savage, uncivilized country that needed to be "tamed".
Back then, English hunters were ordered to come to Ireland to drive out wolves in the slaughtering forests - Robin's father started out as a wolf hunter in "Wolf Walker".
In history, as a Puritan, Cromwell once turned his religious beliefs into the iron law of the regime, making the whole of Ireland a lifeless place. As Tom Moore said: "Looking back on the Puritans, they were almost like the Taliban of that era. They didn't want people to have fun, they didn't encourage dancing, they didn't encourage bright colors. When Cromwell returned to England, Even ban Christmas! They are very much like an oppressive force in society."
Power is pressing down layer by layer. Robin was suppressed by his father. His father was afraid of the protector of the country, and who was the protector of the country for? His catchphrase in the film is: "I tame this land in the name of God." Ironically, he believes that he is the embodiment of justice and civilization, and that what he does is right.
Moore emphasized: "What Cromwell represents, or what the Protector represents in our films, is not just that he is a Christian, but that he brings a colonial mentality, a desire to conquer nature. , forcing human beings to separate from nature, and having to annihilate the wildness in their hearts.”
In the story, what Luo Bing and Maeve have to fight bravely together, of course, is the mighty rule of Duke Protector, and they want to return to the free embrace of nature - this is exactly what the Irish people felt after experiencing humiliation, blood and tears.
Hand-painted beauty
In 1998, Tom Moore and Nora Tomei (director of "The Breadwinner", co-director of "The Secret of Kells") and other friends who studied animation together established a "Cartoon Salon" studio in Kilkenny . When the debut feature film "The Secret of the Book of Kells" started, there were only 12 people in the team, and they never imagined that they would one day gain worldwide influence.
Tom Moore recalled that when he was in his 20s, he was very poor, thinking that cartoon salon would be disbanded one day and he would find a serious job in another company. "The Secret of the Book of Kells" was nominated for an Oscar in 2010, saving a company that was on the brink of collapse.
Peter Docter, director of Pixar's animated film "Up" told The New Yorker that he was shocked by Cartoon Saloon's bucking the trend: "When everyone is doing 3D, Cartoon Saloon However, he chose to embrace the two-dimensional plane without hesitation - not only insisting on traditional two-dimensional animation, but also the traditional painting art of the Celtic people, they surprisingly combined various art forms, and the result was very delicate and beautiful ."
In Moore's view, computer animation today is trying to imitate real action, trying to make the picture look as real as possible, "We think it's a bit boring, this road is an obvious dead end. Therefore, we think hand-drawn animation still has More to explore. Technology is changing so fast that Toy Story seems outdated today. But the hand-drawn animation of the 1940s is still a classic, Bambi is a classic , because it is the beauty of pattern lines, not the power of technology.”
During the production of "Wolf Walker", Moore and his colleagues first drew on paper, and then scanned them into a computer for processing and polishing. They found a lot of inspiration in 17th century woodcut prints, using pencil, ink, markers to outline lines, and watercolors to paint the colorful background of the forest.
Every line is full of ingenuity, and every picture is worth pausing to appreciate. The main color of "The Secret of the Book of Kells" is fresh and bright green; "Song of the Sea" is a mysterious and sad blue, and "Wolf Walker" is a rich and full orange.
The film uses different painting methods to present two completely different worlds. The people in the city are painful, depressed, and twisted; the wolves outside the city are happy, free, and unrestrained.
In the city of Kilkenny, the light is dim, the iron gates are locked, the buildings are arranged squarely, and the characters are conformed to the rules. The picture is filled with sharp geometric lines, symbolizing the deadness under the shroud of power.
In the forest, it was different. The high vitality came oncoming. Whether it was the shape of the plants or the lines of Maeve's body, they were all round, lovely and innocent.
See the world through the eyes of the "enemy"
Some critics believe that the story of "Wolf Walker", which embraces nature and resists oppression, has been told too many times in various works, and it seems a bit outdated.
But in fact, the earth is facing multiple crises such as the new crown epidemic and global warming. The cultural conflicts, power sanctions, and violent killings that occurred in ancient Ireland have a wake-up call for today.
Stewart, the co-director of the film, said that he most hopes the audience can feel: "In today's era, all human beings are facing various disasters, even if you think some people are your enemies, but in fact all people must unite, because We have very limited time to deal with it together.”
In the movie, Robin learned to understand his "enemy" - the wolf.
At first, Robin's mind was imprisoned, full of unknown fear of wolves. And when she meets Maeve, the two girls become mirrors of each other's lives.
Not only did she want to be friends with wolves, but after being bitten by Maeve, she also became a "wolf walker". She began to see with wolf's eyes, and ran with wolf's claws... Then she realized that the forest is not scary, and that running like a wolf is so free.
The most exciting climax of the whole film is the running picture shot from the first point of view of the wolf (Robin). The charcoal pen outlines rough lines, and the trees, rivers, and rocks all turn into flowing curves.
As Moore puts it, “tolerance” is the key: “Tolerance means that you can see the world through the eyes of others—perhaps the eyes of those you once discriminated against.”
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