I do understand why the movie chose to start the way it did. When you hear of a single mother raising up her children, one of the reasons we emphatize with her is the fact that she is alone, and her grief could emotionally hook the viewer. It is part of why the children end up in the enviroment they do end up in. The problem that the father and mother themselves on their own is that they are very uninteresting and unexpressive people and until he dies, we're pretty much shown the barebones of a romance. The father is a silent character that doesn't really say much. All that is shown about him is that he wants to study despite not being in higher education and that he had a diificult childhood because he is a werewolf. But he doesn't really have a personality and is mostly silent. He barely talks, he barely barks and he barely does anything. So him being presented hardly matters, especially since he's only alive for a short portion of the movie. The mother is similar in personality because she is a really quiet girl, but I can at least appreciate the mother because she constantly has objectives throughout the movie that forces to be active and actively make decisions and figure out how it is best to raise her children. But the mere presentation of the father creates more problems than they are worth.
For instance most of the problems she gets in raising her children are because of the fact that she, not even until she had a second baby with the child, had no discussion about how their werewolf children should be raised, in what enviroments, and so on. The mother is pretty much clueless, to a degree that is not exactly believable, which makes the movie a tad ridiculous. Another thing that makes the movie ridiculous in its beginning portion is the father's death. He died in his wolf form because he drowned while he caught a bird. But this makes little sense, because, he could just leave the bird and try to swim, or transform back, in order to survive. And one thing that makes it especially ridiculous is the time they are shown having sex and that he is in werewolf mode, while having sex with her. Due to hearing about this, from other sources, I went with the mentality that I was gonna treat this movie as a huge pile of furry/otherkin jokes material, with a mother then raising her poor wittle fur babies. Because that would be an impractical way of impregnating someone, as animal dicks aren't compatible with human vaginas. I wouldn't really see any purpose towards being the case for the sex scene, aside appealing to the furry side, other than perhaps showing that she is accepting his form, but I do believe that could be done in a more discreet and better thought out way. Most of my specific problems are due to the first 20-30 minutes of the movie.
Moving on to the overall product, what I appreciate most about the movie is that despite it being a Slice of Life, it actually has constant progression and it feels like it is constantly moving forward, with the characters adapting to their surroundings and having their own problems, despite them being mundane and regular. This is how a series that focuses on the development of people over time in a regular life should feel, rather than spending a good 30 minutes over the fact that planting potatoes is relaxing, in tune with nature, and they enjoy it so much. Displaying something as overwhelmingly positive with the character seeming like they are trying to sell you on their way of life, rather than understanding why they live the life they do, is something that I've noticed in a bunch of the Slice of Lifes I checked. But it isn't a problem here, which is worthy of praise, due to how commonly that happens. One criticism I have to give in a similar vein however, is that there are parts that seem like they barely get any attention or have very little importance to the overall direction of the movie, like the old man that has helped the mother plant the potatoes, with his only purpose on screen to do just that. He was strongly displayed as a grouchy old man that didn't really display his affection for other people, and that made me kinda like him, going out of his way to help someone clearly clueless despite his own awkwardness. And don't get me wrong, the fact that the movie doesn't focus too much on things and doesn't try to tie everything together does give it a sense of realism, because it makes it feel more like the study of someone's life rather than a story designed to hook you narratively, this making it feel more natural. But it also results in a lot of the things presented not really leading anywhere, past them being presented or helpful towards accomplishing one objective, which made me feel at times that the movie was incomplete as a story.
Anyway, past every flaw, the movie presents the story of a single mother that had given birth to children that are half wolf, half human, and her struggles to raise them. The movie progresses until these children reach maturity, showing how they end up embracing how these type of children can end up embracing their human side at maturity, as well as their feral side. Without giving any spoilers about how the events of the movie unravel, the movie is simply about how these children grow up, and how their mother is attempting to raise them. It is a simple story, that shows the life of the children without being overlydramatic or pointlessly complex. The problems they have aren't particularly irregular events, and they revolve against things like financial and health problems, as well as the social aspect of their lives, and how they fit in the world. Despite the world claiming it is fantasy, the lives seen are pretty mundane and regular. I consider that the movie has succeeded in presenting the lives of the people it wanted to portray as realistic and somewhat relatable.
I think it's a good movie as long as you know what you come in for, with it being mostly a down to earth collection of events (aside furry sex and drowned dog) about the growth of some children, with a few fantastical elements to their conception and growth. It was interesting, but not particularly well executed, with some minor logic gaps, flaws and some underpresented characters that didn't particularly take from the overall feel of the movie. But as it is mostly focusing on mundane details, I don't think that Wolf Children is enjoyable for someone seeking something either more complex as a story, which are very rich with events and lots of stakes for the world they're in, or that simply doesn't find enjoyment in watching movies that are about raising a family. But in the situation that you would, Wolf Children can be a decent experience, if you can deal with some of the inconsistencies and don't mind a few ridiculous parts.
