College student Hana falls in love with a ‘wolf man’ and together they have two half-human, half-wolf children, Ame and Yuki. The young family’s happy but humble life comes to an abrupt end when the father is tragically killed during a hunt. After struggling to raise her children in the busy city, Hana boldly decides to move to a dilapidated house in the countryside, in hopes that her children may one day decide their own path to happiness – whether ‘human’ or ‘wolf.’

This heart-wrenching modern fairy tale is a staggering work of beauty and emotion from Academy Award®-nominated* director Mamoru Hosoda. Rich with gorgeous animation and set to a poignant musical score, Wolf Children is a sweeping tale about self-discovery and the bonds of family.

For thoughts on Wolf Children, please check out my thoughts on No Streaming Required:

Video Quality

Wolf Children debuts on 4K UHD Blu-Ray with a striking 2160p HDR10 transfer courtesy of GKIDS and Shout! Studios. The film has been given a 4K uptick after being released on Blu-Ray for the first time in 2013 courtesy of FUNimation Entertainment. That release was lovely for the time, but this update brings a greater level of brilliance and complexity to the source. Even the new included Blu-Ray, also being sold separately, shows some minor benefits over the old, out-of-print Blu-Ray.

The primary benefit of this release is the implementation of HDR10 for deeper and more balanced color output. While the picture might not sear your eyes with every frame, the transfer aims to unlock a broader spectrum of hues within these visually sumptuous locales. Everything seems to be in line with the creative intention, as the film has a more reserved rendering of the urban spaces before bursting to life with a broad color spectrum in the country. This new 4K UHD release also eliminates some of the minor banding that could be found in some backgrounds of the Blu-Ray. The black levels are deep, and the highlights are firm with no hint of blooming.

With this release, you also have some welcome refinement in fine detail. The dedication to rendering these complex landscapes with such precision is unbelievable. The subtle flourishes that are added to each locale are quite miraculous and somewhat of a hallmark of Hosoda. The intrinsic textures of the character designs are similarly impressive and bring valuable tactility to the project. The film has a more uniform style than something like Summer Wars, and the artwork is so gorgeous that you find yourself wanting to pause and simply gaze at the frame. While the Blu-Ray is no slouch, we can certainly appreciate the areas of improvement with this new release. This 4K presentation is now the preferred way to view the film at home.

Audio Quality

The 4K UHD Blu-Ray presentation includes a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track in its original Japanese and with an English dub with optional English, English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles. One of our favorite aspects of watching the film is the score from Masakatsu Takagi, and every note flows out with the utmost fidelity. Dialogue comes through clearly without being drowned out by the plethora of environmental sounds. There is a robust amount of sonic detail in the surround channels as the children race through the forest or when rain falls. There are some invigorating panning effects in the rear channels that add an immersive quality to the story. The track deploys some memorable activity in the low end when our characters are in danger. The English-language cast does a decent job, but be sure to stick with the original Japanese language for maximum enjoyment. This audio presentation delivers by every metric.

Special Features

GKIDS has provided Wolf Children with a sleek new SteelBook available exclusively at Amazon that is truly lovely in person. Videos of the SteelBook can be found at the beginning of this review.

Stage Greetings: A 57-minute special commemorating the premiere of the film in Japan including conversations with the cast and creative team on stage that give insights into the production process.

Director’s Cut Trailers (6:03)

Interview with Mamoru Hosoda: A 16-minute interview with the filmmaker in which he discusses developing the ideas for the film, centering the film around the mother character, the location of the story, the themes of the film, and more.

Teasers & Trailers (2:04)

Final Thoughts

Wolf Children is an important entry in the career of Mamoru Hosoda, as it feels like it solidified the artist as one of our best working today. There is a deep emotional throughline that resonates in terms of familial bonds and exploring your personal identity. We have minor nitpicks with the handling of the Hana character, but the narrative overall packs a punch. The quality continues with the terrific animation that leaves you in awe. If you are new to the world of anime and have not explored the world of Hosoda, you are in for a treat. GKIDS and Shout! Studios have delivered a first-rate 4K UHD Blu-Ray disc and a nice array of special features in fetching SteelBook packaging. This is well worth a place in your collection. Highly Recommended

Wolf Children is currently available to own on 4K UHD Blu-Ray SteelBook exclusively through Amazon. The film is also available on Blu-Ray + DVD Combo Pack.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: GKIDS and Shout! Studios have supplied a copy of this set free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.