Polygon.com / 10.05.25

Putting the bleak anime movie Wolf Children in theaters for Mother's Day is the perfect dark joke

Back in January, New York-based animation distributor GKIDS made the exciting announcement that its bringing Mamoru Hosodas library of anime films back to digital and home video release in America, including in 4K UHD editions. That was a fantastic relief for fans of ambitious, intelligently made anime movies. Hosodas latest movies, including 2021s twisted-future Beauty and the Beast retelling Belle or 2018s playful time-travel fantasy Mirai, got American theatrical and digital releases. But his back catalog, terrific films including The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars, and The Boy and the Beast were only spottily available in the U.S., popping up on streaming via Netflix or Crunchyroll, then then disappearing again. In particular, when Belle came out and I tried to catch up on Hosodas work, his beloved, dark 2012 family drama Wolf Children wasnt available in America via any legal means, or in any release format. Ahead of Wolf Childrens Aug. 5 re-release, though, GKIDS is br...
Read more