Mamoru Hosoda's 'Wolf Children' Reveals Emotional Visual Production Behind the Scenes!

The film 'Wolf Children' is a work that deals with the story of a normal college girl 'Hana' who falls in love with a werewolf and the wolf children 'Ame' and 'Yuki' who live a mysterious destiny. 'Wolf Children', which announced its return to theaters with a 4K remastering release on October 22 (Wednesday), has revealed behind-the-scenes production details.

#The story that began with director Mamoru Hosoda's mother! Special directorial intentions!

'Wolf Children' is an original story produced with the participation of director Mamoru Hosoda in the screenplay for the first time. In an interview at the time of its initial release, director Mamoru Hosoda stated, "Mothers are the closest beings to us, but I wanted to portray that existence beautifully in the film. There aren't many films where the mother is the protagonist. Usually, werewolves are the main characters. But I wanted to make a mother raising children the protagonist." He also experienced deep sorrow after losing his mother two months before the release of his previous work 'Summer Wars', which led him to ask himself, "Was my mother happy raising me, or not?" This emotion was captured in the character Hana's many struggles and moments of growth as she raises her children in 'Wolf Children'.

#Perfect harmony of 2D and 3D! A splendid animation completed by the touch of artisans and cutting-edge technology!

'Wolf Children' is considered a work that proves the evolution of production technology at the time by combining the globally recognized tradition of Japanese cell animation with cutting-edge CG technology. The basic character animation and background art were completed by the best production team representing the Japanese animation industry, hand-drawing each frame. Artisans representing the industry, including Takaki, the animation director and mentor of Mamoru Hosoda, veteran art director Hiroshi Ono from Studio Ghibli, and master Toshiyuki Inoue, who participated in works such as 'Ghost in the Shell', 'The Cat Returns', 'The First Slam Dunk', and 'Look Back', all came together. Additionally, 'Wolf Children' showcased an innovative approach to the use of digital technology that was completely different from existing animations at the time. The CG studio Digital Frontier oversaw the entire film's visuals, applying advanced CG technology to natural elements like trees and flowers, which previously existed only as simple backgrounds, giving them subtle movements. The result was a vibrant visual experience that blurs the boundaries between analog and digital, creating 'extreme visuals'. The grand scenes, such as the snowy chase scenes where the forms of wolves and humans freely interchange, were completed as a splendid spectacle unique to 'Wolf Children'. This technical excellence received high praise in the industry, with Yoshiyuki Tomino, the creator of 'Gundam' and a master of Japanese animation, praising 'Wolf Children' at its release as "a work that reached the pinnacle of animation technology," drawing attention. Thus, the dynamic and dynamic visuals of 'Wolf Children', which traverse between 2D and 3D, are set to meet audiences again on the big screen through the 4K remastering re-release, heightening expectations among viewers.

With the revelation of the directorial intentions behind the work and the perfect visual beauty, director Mamoru Hosoda's masterpiece 'Wolf Children' is set to be released nationwide at Lotte Cinema on October 22 (Wednesday) in 4K remastering.