Wolfwalkers | 2020 | PG | – 0.4.1

Why is “Wolfwalkers” rated PG? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “sequences of violence and peril, scary images, some thematic elements and brief language.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes several scenes of people transforming into wolves and back again, a few scenes of wolf attacks, several scenes of people chanting about killing wolves and a scene of soldiers moving through a forest setting it ablaze to rout out wolves, discussions of the death of loved ones and a loved one that has gone missing, and some mild language and name-calling. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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Animated tale about a headstrong girl (voiced by Honor Kneafsey) determined to assume her father’s role as a wolf hunter, while her town is threatened by a wolf pack. When she befriends someone she meets in the woods one day, she doesn’t realize how their friendship will change their lives forever. Also with the voices of Eva Whittaker, Sean Bean, Simon McBurney, Tommy Tiernan, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Jon Kenny and John Morton. Directed by Tomm Moore & Ross Stewart [Running Time: 1:43]

Wolfwalkers SEX/NUDITY 0

 – None.

Wolfwalkers VIOLENCE/GORE 4

 – Men chop down trees in a forest and are approached by wolves that snarl at them: one man raises an ax to a wolf and several circle him, snapping at him, and he is knocked to the ground and slashed across the chest (we see reddened slash marks). A wolf is shot with an arrow and falls to the ground with a blood spot on its shoulder; its outline glows and floats into the sky implying that it is dying. A man raises a sword over an unconscious wolf and a falcon flits around him to distract him; the man prepares to kill the wolf until he is attacked by another wolf, he slashes the other wolf with the sword (we see blood on its face), the wolf bites the blade and breaks it, the man tries to shoot the wolf and then draws a dagger and lunges toward the wolf and he is pushed toward a ledge over craggy rocks below and falls as he calls out, “Into your arms my Lord” (we do not see the result).
► Soldiers set a forest on fire and we see flames and smoke moving toward a wolves’ den. A cannon is set to be fired into a wolves’ den, a wolf jumps on top of it to shift it, and it fires and misses its target (the wolf is shown on the ground but uninjured). A girl sleeps and transforms into a wolf; when her father hears noises he tries to shoot the wolf as it jumps out a window and runs away jumping across rooftops and across a wall into woods where she and another wolf run and play together; they tumble down a hill and start running with a large pack of other wolves. A wolf sneaks into town and a man shoots at it, an alarm is sounded and people scream that there is a wolf in town; the wolf is shot at and it runs away and hides in a basement, it follows a scent and a man shoots at it; it falls out a window and into a river below and flows away. A man takes a wolf out of a cage and holds it by a chain, he thrusts a flaming torch in its face and it cowers as the man speaks to a crowd about having tamed the “beast”; the crowd calls for him to kill the animal. A girl tries to catch another girl and she traps her in a cage; the first girl feels betrayed. A wolf with a girl on its back charges through a gate as guards shoot at them. Soldiers move toward a wolves’ den and wolves attack them, snarling and snapping. A man takes aim at a wolf and another man pulls on his arm to force him to miss. A man is bitten on the arm by a wolf.
► A man yells and clangs a bell calling “Wolf!” as his sheep scatter and wolves snap and snarl at him; he holds them off with a pitchfork and a girl takes aim at the wolf with her crossbow, but when she is bumped by a sheep she accidentally shoots a falcon out of the sky (we see it fall and lie on the ground with blood on its wing); the bird is taken away by a girl that snarls and snaps at the other girl as she tries to get to the bird but her father holds her back. A man is locked in stocks with a chain around his neck in a couple of scenes. A girl unlocks a cage where a man and his sheep are held, the sheep scatter causing a commotion and the girl runs away while the man fights several guards and is placed back in the cage. A young girl is taken away by guards and we hear that she will be taken to work in the scullery.
► A young girl walks through woods and takes aim at a young wolf when it approaches her; a falcon flits around her to keep her from shooting and she steps in a trap that pulls her into the air, upside down; the wolf jumps toward her snapping several times trying to break the vine that holds the girl and bites the girl on the arm (we see the bite marks glow). A girl runs through a town snarling and jumping and finds a cage with a large wolf inside chained and shackled; she yells for the wolf to be freed and she is grabbed by guards. A woman and a child approach a man that’s injured; the man panics as the woman touches a wound on his chest and heals it with a glowing light. A girl tries to summon the strength to heal her mother’s wounds and she cries when she thinks she is not strong enough.
► A girl chases a wolf to a thick wall of vines that part as she approaches, and she follows the animal through woods, behind a waterfall and into a cave where they come upon many wolves surrounding a woman and a child (they seem to be sleeping). A girl runs out of a cave chased by wolves and another girl and she is snapped up in a trap that pulls her into the air upside down; when the other girl cuts her down she falls on her head (she seems OK). A girl sleeps, has nightmares and she wakes ups creaming. A girl spills a bucket of mop water under a door and when she opens it she sees a room where a large cage is covered with a tarp and a mounted animal head and a tapestry that’s depicting a knight fighting a wolf hangs on a wall; she hears a voice calling to her and is startled when a woman enters and takes her away.
► A girl is shown working in a scullery, scrubbing floors, washing dishes, churning butter and preparing food. A girl follows her father through woods and watches him lay traps for wolves. A girl sneaks back into town past guards by hiding in a hay pile on a cart. A girl struggles to stay awake to keep from transforming into a wolf. A boy bullies a younger boy until a girl shoots a flag down with an arrow near him and he is distracted. Two girls steal food and milk from two men and run away to eat and drink.
► A man tells another man to control his daughter “or manners will be put on her.” A girl scales a rooftop and calls out to townspeople that she and her wolf pack will “eat you all.” People refer to the English enforcing their will upon the Irish. A man tells his young daughter that there are no children permitted outside the walls of a town. A man tells his young daughter, “Do as you’re told” in several scenes. A man tells his young daughter that she must do what the “Lord Protector” orders in several scenes. A girl talks about her mother leaving to find them a new place to live and that she hasn’t returned. A man reprimands his daughter for not doing what he told her to do. A man yells at his daughter when she tries to tell him about a girl she met; he says, “No more fairy tales.” A boy and a girl argue in a few scenes and he teases her for being English and threatens to put her in a cage.
► Children playing in an alley have a boy locked in a cage as another boy stands on top of it holding a wooden sword and they chant to “kill the wolf.” A girl with a crossbow sings a song with lyrics about killing wolves as she fires at a picture of a wolf hanging on her door. People sing songs and chant about killing wolves in several scenes.
► A woman preparing food cuts the heads off fish (we see red tissue). A woman offers a girl “donkey milk” and the girl declines and makes a disapproving sound.

Wolfwalkers LANGUAGE 1

 – 3 mild obscenities, name-calling (boring, little rebels, eejits, upstart, beasts, townie, are ya’ mad, town witch, stinkers, stuck up, awful, sorcery, devil’s lair, witchcraft, monster, intolerable, pagan nonsense, crazy, wicked creatures, housemaid), exclamations (leg it, oi, get away, shut-up, bloody, calm, get back, oh no, silence, jeepers, come here, jeepers, who do they think they are, have mercy), 13 religious exclamations (e.g. Lord Save Us, Oh God, Dear God, Jesus Mary and Joseph, Sweet Mother Divine, Lord God Almighty, By God, Jesus Christ, For God’s Sake). | profanity glossary |

Wolfwalkers SUBSTANCE USE

 – None.

Wolfwalkers DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Mythical creatures, friendship, death of a parent, abandonment, fearing the unknown, encroachment, the relationship between the English and Irish.

Wolfwalkers MESSAGE

 – Forcing your will on others rarely ends well.