Movies and cartoons about wolves that will captivate you

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Russian fairy tales, Irish legends, the work of Hayao Miyazaki and frightening thrillers await you.

The best films about wolves

1. Wolf

• France, 2009.
• Drama.
• Duration: 102 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 4.

The plot takes place in the mountains of Eastern Siberia, where nomadic reindeer herders live - Evenks. Young Sergei is assigned to guard a large herd of deer. In addition, he must kill the she-wolf and her puppies that have settled nearby. However, the boy decides to spare the animals and thereby makes himself a lot of problems.

Films by the Frenchman Nicolas Vanier, as a rule, are devoted to the relationship between man and nature. No wonder, because the director not only makes films and writes books, but also acts as an environmentalist.

For the sake of filming "The Wolf" the director even went to Siberia. As a result, he managed to convey all the splendor of northern nature, believably reflect the life of the Evenks and, of course, show many charming animals on the screen.

2. Among the wolves

• Spain, Germany, France, 2010.
• Drama.
• Duration: 113 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 7.

Due to debts, the father gives his little son Markito to a wealthy landowner, and he sends the boy to the mountains to the old man Atanasio. The hero teaches the child the intricacies of survival in the wild, but suddenly dies, leaving Markito alone among the wolves.

The film, produced with the joint participation of the three countries, is worth watching for the picturesque landscapes of Spain and the cute animals. The picture was shot based on real events from the life of Marcos Rodriguez Pantoya. The man did spend a lot of time with wild animals. True, this did not bring him much happiness.

3. Alpha

• USA, Canada, China, 2018.
• Action, drama, adventure.
• Duration: 96 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 7.

The action takes place in prehistoric times - 20 thousand years BC. The young hunter Keda falls under the hooves of an enraged buffalo. The comrades decide that the guy is dead and go home with the loot. Waking up, Keda is confronted by a hungry pack of wolves and injures one of them. According to the precepts of the tribe, he must finish off the beast, but instead he nurses him and calls him Alpha. Gradually, man and wolf learn to be friends.

Albert Hughes' Alpha is more likely to delight fans of hardcore survival movies than audiences who are looking forward to a cute movie about friendship with animals. The picture collected a decent box office and good reviews from critics, but the authors' reputation was slightly spoiled by the scandal. It turned out that for the sake of one of the scenes, several buffalo were killed.

4. Surviving with wolves

• France, Belgium, Germany, 2007.
• Drama.
• Duration: 118 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 7.

1941, World War II. The girl Misha is half Russian, half Jewish. Her parents are looking for salvation in Belgium, but the Nazis still find them and deport them. Left completely alone in a foreign country, Misha survives as best he can. In this she is helped by casual acquaintances and even wild animals.

Vera Belmont's film is based on the memoirs of Mischa Defonseca, which have long been considered true. However, in 2008, under pressure from historians and journalists, the writer admitted that she had invented this heartbreaking story. Than very disappointed fans, who sincerely believed in the friendship between man and wolves.

5. Scrum

• USA, 2011.
• Thriller, drama, adventure.
• Duration: 117 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 8.

A plane carrying oil workers crashes in an uninhabited part of Alaska. The few survivors unite around the seasoned hunter John and go to seek salvation. The problem is that a pack of hungry wolves living here took up arms against the people.

The animals in the film look so terrifying that the anger of American wildlife activists fell upon the creators. The latter even called for a complete boycott of the painting for the implausible depiction of animals on the screen.

6. Old man

• Kazakhstan, 2012.
• Thriller, adventure, drama.
• Duration: 102 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 3.

The precocious and agile old man Kasym lives with his grandson and daughter-in-law. One day he gets lost with a flock of sheep in the fog, and then stumbles upon a flock of wolves. Meanwhile, his family is looking for his grandfather with the help of neighbors and the rescue service.

Yermek Tursunov's film will definitely impress those who love stories about unequal struggle with nature and overcoming difficulties. The plot of the picture has much in common with Ernest Hemingway's story "The Old Man and the Sea", as well as the work of Alejandro G. Iñarritu "The Survivor" (the latter, however, came out three years later).

7. Don't shout "Wolves!"

• USA, 1983.
• Drama, adventure.
• Duration: 105 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 5.

Tyler, a young biologist, is sent to the Arctic for evidence that wolves are exterminating caribou deer. However, the hero manages to make friends with the wolf family and understand that these animals are not as simple as they seem.

The film is based on the biographical novel of the same name by Farley Mowat. This is a famous Canadian writer and biologist who personally experienced everything shown in the film. The scientist at one time managed to refute the assertion that wolves are guilty of the extinction of caribou deer: it turned out that predators feed mainly on small rodents.

By the way, the tape is not only informative, but also very beautiful. After all, animals in their natural habitat and mesmerizing northern landscapes are shown here as well as in National Geographic documentaries.

8. Dancing with wolves

• USA, 1990.
• Drama, western, adventure.
• Duration: 181 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 0.

In the midst of the American Civil War, Officer John Dunbar is reassigned. Now he serves in a small fort. At some point, the hero is completely alone. With nothing to do, Dunbar becomes close to wolves, and then to nomadic Sioux Indians. He studies their culture and customs and eventually becomes one of them. But a regular army is on its way, and John will have to make a decisive choice.

Actor Kevin Costner personally produced and directed this film, and he himself played the main role in it. The picture not only turned out to be commercially successful and fell in love with the audience, but also received two Oscars. The fact is that Costner was able to break the paradigm of the Hollywood Western and pay tribute to the Indians by showing them as gentle and noble people.

And the beautiful animals in the frame show how important the connection with nature is and what mistake people made when they moved away from the world around them.

The best cartoons about wolves

1. Ivan Tsarevich and the Gray Wolf

• Russia, 2011.
• Fantasy, comedy, adventure.
• Duration: 86 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 3.

Princess Vasilisa the Wise refuses to marry of convenience. In order to teach his daughter a lesson, the tsar decides to marry her off to the simple-minded Ivan from the neighboring Kingdom of Far Away. But before marrying a girl, a guy needs to complete a difficult task. Fortunately, the charming and extremely cunning Gray Wolf comes to the aid of the hero.

If the studio "Melnitsa" decided to shoot a fairy tale based on a classic plot, without changing anything in it, it would have turned out to be a thriller. In the original, the predator ate the hero's horse, and the prince himself was then killed by his brothers.

Be that as it may, the modern interpretation has almost nothing in common with the cruel fairy tale, except for the name. The cartoon is completely harmless, except that some jokes intended for adults, children may not understand.

2. White fang

• France, Luxembourg, USA, 2018.
• Drama, adventure.
• Duration: 85 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 0.

The Wolf White Fang falls into the hands of the Indians and is tamed by a local resident. Later, the beast is deceived by the cruel and insidious Handsome Smith, thereby turning the life of the animal into a real hell.

Director Alexander Espigares greatly simplified the plot of the eponymous story by Jack London. In addition, the cartoon has been in production hell for a long time, and only came out on the screens thanks to the patronage of Netflix.

The hitch in development did not benefit the picture: the animation looks rather rough and angular. But the creators succeeded in the main thing - to tell the story of how love and affection turn a wild animal into a devoted friend.

3. The legend of the wolves

• Ireland, Luxembourg, France, USA, UK, 2020.
• Fantasy, adventure.
• Duration: 103 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 1.

English hunter Bill Goodfellow and his daughter Robin move to the Irish city of Kilkenny. The man must rid the local residents of a pack of unusual wolves living in the surrounding forests.

Despite his young age, Robin dreams of helping her dad. Once, secretly sneaking into the thicket, she meets a red-haired girl Maeve and with her help finds out that wolves are not enemies at all and they do not need to be fought with.

Tomm Moore always comes up with his own cartoons based on Irish national legends. It happened this time too. The creatures in question in the tape are Faolads, who knew how to turn into wolves in a dream.

4. Princess Mononoke

• Japan, 1997.
• Fantasy, drama, adventure.
• Duration: 134 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 4.

Young Prince Asitaka kills a boar possessed by a demon, but he himself is cursed. In order to make good use of the time allotted to him, the hero embarks on a dangerous journey in the footsteps of a wild boar. They bring the young man to the Iron City, which is run by Lady Eboshi. There, Asitaka unwittingly becomes a participant in the confrontation between man and nature: the villainess Eboshi cuts down the ancient forest, and the she-wolf goddess Moro and her human adopted daughter San try to prevent her.

Hayao Miyazaki made a call for environmental protection as the main theme of the painting. It is not for nothing that wolves became the main characters: hunters completely exterminated these animals in Japan.