Anime Tearjerker Wolf Children returns to theaters this Mother’s Day — But it’s not the movie you think it is

This unflinching, Japanese animated drama about a down-on-her-luck, single-mom werewolf raising her wolf children is returning to U.S. theaters for a short special run — and it will absolutely destroy your soul.Wolf Children delivers the antidote, though—a transcendent, tragic, wrenching anime love story about loss and the lengths a mother—with no visible means of support—will go to in order to provide for her children, who just happen to be half wolf.GKIDS, the American distributor of all the cool anime you wish you’d seen in theaters over the last few years, is bringing Mamoru Hosoda’s heartwarming epic family odyssey Wolf Children back to theaters for a special three-day engagement — May 11 to 13, right before Mother’s Day weekend. It’s all part of a larger, country-wide re-release for Hosoda’s anime classics, as other 4K versions continue to come down the pike, along with digital re-launces.If you’re in the mood for a lovely little family film though, consider yourself warned — this one will knock you on your ass and kick you in the teeth in all the right ways.Wolf Children is a lovely fantasy romance, in which we meet Hana, a young woman who falls in love with a man who is able to turn himself into a wolf. After a horrific accident takes his life, Hana is left to raise their two children — Yuki and Ame, who both inherit their father’s wolf-shifting abilities.With no one to guide her and no manual for how to raise half-wolf, half-human kids, Hana is going to have to figure it all out by herself. From hiding their identity in the metropolis to starting anew in a small rural hamlet, Hana suffers as much as any mother does in attempting to shield her offspring from all adversity and in doing everything that’s in her strength to provide for them a good future.On a superficial level, Wolf Children is just like every other animated movie. It’s a brilliant, emotional dive into the life of a young mom, intimately and authentically depicting the harsh reality of what it means to be a young, single mother. In that way it is raw, it is real. Butch, but tender, Hana drives herself to becoming brittle, which erodes her own health and happiness, in order to help her children flourish — even as they grow in opposite directions: one deeper toward the human world, the other toward the wild.These juxtaposed moments are equally laced with beauty and joy and deep heartache. As the story unfolds and explores richly the themes of identity and grief, motherhood and release, the impact is felt. Given the emotional weight of this story, the impact feels especially strong on Mother’s Day — making for a homecoming filled with equal parts irony and heartbreak.Produced by Studio Chizu with directors Mamoru Hosoda and Kaho Honda, Wolf Children features some of the loveliest artwork you’ll ever see—from verdant, spacious woodlands and deep, foggy mountains, to cozy, welcoming homes. The children’s shapeshifting sequences are spellbinding and mythical, representing the deep emotional distress and inner struggle that they face.Hana’s character design — frazzled, hollowed-out, but somehow always inches away from a smile — is a subtle visual metaphor for the burdens mothers quietly carry. Showing both the magic and the heartbreak of being parents to kids that challenge the world’s assumptions, Rajsvanshi gets at the very real experience of watching her children grow and develop, while walking the razor’s edge of a society that still hasn’t learned to embrace them.Wolf Children will be screening at 25 different U.S. cities on May 11-13. To see the full list of participating venues and showtimes, visit GKIDS’ official website.This new re-release is just the tip of GKIDS’ present endeavor to bring Mamoru Hosoda’s astounding anime filmography – as well as other Japanese works, mind you – back to theaters and home digital and video formats in the U.S., with even more theatrical re-releases of both Summer Wars and The Boy and the Beast coming soon.Suffice it to say, if you’ve never seen Wolf Children, this very limited re-return is the best possible opportunity to find out what makes it so special. Whether you’re a lifelong anime fan, or just looking for a deeply affecting movie experience that honors the extraordinary nature of motherhood, this film is everything you’ve dreamed of and then some. Perhaps it doesn’t have you crying from laughter as most Mother’s Day outings do — but pack your boxes of tissues because it will stick with you way after the credits roll.