The authors of "Wolfwalkers" at the VIEW Conference in Turin

Tom Moore, Co-founder and creative director of Cartoon saloon, will participate in the VIEW Conference in Turin, for its annual event in October 2020. In a large 90-minute session, Moore and his creative team will offer the public detailed insights into the making of wolfwalkers, the studio's latest spectacular animated film, co-directed by Moore and  Ross Stewart.

The preview of wolfwalkers

wolfwalkers, premiered at the Toronto Int'l Film Festival and garnered rave reviews, is streaming worldwide on Apple TV + this fall.

The Wolfwalkers team

Along with co-directors Moore and Stewart, the assistant director will be present Mark Mullery, the character designer Sandra Andersen, the artistic director Maria Pareja and the animation supervisor Steven Rothmann Bonde.

The Wolfwalkers Story

Set in the mid-XNUMXth century, Wolfwalkers follows the fate of young hunter Robyn Goodfellow, as she joins her father on a mission to eliminate Ireland's last wolf pack. Joining forces with the feisty Mebh MacTire (Eva Whittaker), Robyn soon discovers that her new friend is a member of a pack of shape-shifting werewolves. As Robyn delves into their world of superstition and magic, she risks becoming the prey of her father's deadly quest.

Drawing heavily on the rich and ancient Irish legends for the film wolfwalkers The creative team was inspired by local Kilkenny legends, including The Man-Wolves of Ossory.

The authors' comments

"We were inspired by these local legends about species extinction that is still sadly relevant today," Moore said. “The story was also influenced by coming-of-age friendship films like Rambow's son and, of course, the themes of Principessa Mononoke they were also very relevant. "

Further inspiration came from the comic art of Cyril Pedrosa and Emily Hughes and the expressive animation style of The story of the Shining Princess.

Previous Cartoon Saloon films includehe Secret of Kells e Song of the Sea, both received Academy Award nominations for Best Animated Film. Like its predecessors, wolfwalkers features an evocative hand-drawn style noticeably different from many contemporary animated films.

“We believe we offer something timeless, working with hand drawn traditions,” said Moore. "We can tap into the rich visual language of illustration, in a way that CG can't, and I hope the look of our films doesn't age like CG, which is constantly evolving towards realism."

In their quest to achieve a classic illustrative look, the Cartoon Saloon team is constantly seeking and nurturing new talent.

“It has become harder to find artists lately, thanks to the success of the hand-drawn renaissance,” Moore noted. "Klaus it was in production around the same time we were, as it was Calamity, a Childhood of Martha Jane Cannary. We ended up with a younger crew, as well as many old friends we had worked with before on previous productions. I think these young artists are essential to the medium. Many of them bring a new approach and can easily incorporate classic techniques while taking advantage of the efficiency and quality improvements offered by TVPaint Animation and other 2D software. "

The Irish legends

A traditional tale of magic and superstition, wolfwalkers it is full of elements that are at the root of the narrative.

“I think these stories serve as containers for the wisdom and truth of yesteryear,” Moore noted. “We can constantly mine them to know, that we may be in danger of losing them in the modern world. I think they are timeless in a sense, but at the same time not precious or set in stone. These stories can be told by every generation, with each new narrator adding and subtracting everything that is needed to speak in our times. It's like a relay, passing a baton from the past to today and then into the future “.

“We are fortunate to be able to enjoy the work of such wonderful storytellers as Cartoon Saloon,” said the director of the VIEW conference, Dr Maria Elena Gutierrez. "Their exquisite films shed light on forgotten folklore, making these old stories relevant once again, in a way that beautifully and meaningfully illuminates our modern lives."

Check out the full conference schedule (so far) here.

The VIEW Conference 2020 will take place from 18 to 23 October at the cutting-edge OGR headquarters in Turin and virtually. Register and find out more about www.viewconference.it