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Main Characters
In General
Mebh on the left. Robyn on the right
Click here to see their wolf forms
- Improbable Self-Maintenance: Downplayed with Mebh and Moll; while their feet are completely covered in dirt and Mebh is implied to smell bad, they both have clean clothes and completely knot-free hair despite living in a cave, having no technology and staying away from human civilization in general. This may be explained with them using magic to keep a well-groomed appearance.
- Not Drawn to Scale: The height difference between the girls tends to shift a lot in the scenes where they are next to each other. Robyn is always taller than Mebh, but that can vary from a couple of inches to almost twice as tall in one scene.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The boisterous Fiery Redhead Mebh is the red oni, while the calmer and more cautious (and blue-eyed) Robyn is the blue oni. This is also reflected in their coat colors as wolves; Mebh's fur is auburn while Robyn's is grey with a slight blue tint.
- Ridiculously Cute Critter: Robyn and Mebh's wolf forms have cute proportions, simple fur coloring, playful expressiveness and are smaller than the rest of the adult cast, making them look more like huggable puppies
◊ than fierce wolves. - Tomboy and Girly Girl: Downplayed; Mebh is the tomboy, and while Robyn has her own tomboyish qualities (such as wanting to be a hunter like her father), she's still the more feminine of the two and thus the girly girl. This is emphasized in a scene where Robyn brushes Mebh's hair as Mebh continues to play around. It's also reflected in this official sketch celebrating the film's premiere and another official art◊ when it was nominated for the Golden Globes, where Robyn wears a dress while Mebh wears a tuxedo.
Robyn Goodfellowe
- Voiced by: Honor Kneafsey
Click here to see her wolf form
A young English girl who moved to Ireland with her father Bill. Rather than stay put in town, she wants to hunt wolves like her father does, but wandering in the forest outside the walls leads her to make some discoveries about the wolves and herself.
- All-Loving Hero: It's her kind nature that allows her to befriend the Wolfwalkers. She also cares a lot about her pet falcon Merlyn and strikes up a friendly relationship with Sean Og, even bringing him food when he's being punished in the stocks.
- All of the Other Reindeer: She is picked on by a group of Irish children in town, mainly because she's from England and they resent how the English are taking over.
- Blue Is Heroic: She has Innocent Blue Eyes and develops into a heroine who helps defend the forest from destruction. Her wolf form's fur is also bluish-gray.
- Cassandra Truth: Her allegations that Wolfwalkers are real and are willing to leave alongside the wolves falls into deaf ears either as childish fantasies or pagan nonsense.
- Character Development: Robyn starts out with a romanticized idea of hunting as a daring adventure. She eventually learns the consequences of trying to hunt a species to extinction, and that true courage isn't in having adventures, but in standing up for what's right, even when it's risky to do so.
- Daddy's Girl: Despite the conflict of Bill refusing to let Robyn leave town to hunt wolves with him, she clearly loves Bill and they're very close. Her hunting outfit is also very similar to Bill's, showing how she initially wants to be a great hunter like him.
- Determinator: She is willing to get Moll back to Mebh, no matter what. Even if it means standing up to her own father.
- Establishing Character Moment: Her first scene shows her doing target practice with her crossbow while singing about killing wolves, but when her father comes into the house she claims she was doing her chores the whole time (even though the house is still a mess and there are arrows everywhere). This shows how she rebels against the strict society she lives in, wanting to be a hunter like her father rather than do housework like girls are expected to do.
- Expository Hairstyle Change: Throughout most of the film, Robyn wears her hair in twin braids, or keeps it under a bonnet when she has to work in the scullery. Towards the climax, when she finally decides to stand up for the Wolfwalkers, she wears her hair loose without anything to cover it.
- Girly Girl with a Tomboy Streak: While Robyn is more feminine than the brash and boisterous tomboy Mebh, she still has a rebellious streak and doesn't always conform to her time period's gender roles. She wants to be a hunter like her father instead of doing housework in the scullery all day, and she wears trousers as well as dresses.
- Going Native: It doesn't take long for Robyn to genuinely fall in love with the life of a wolfwalker, and in the end ultimately chooses to abandon her old life in human society for one in the wild as part of Mebh's pack of wolves.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: She has golden blonde hair, and while she initially wants to help her father hunt wolves to extinction, this is largely out of ignorance and she's really a kind girl overall.
- Hidden Depths: While introduced as seemingly just a little girl who dreams of being a hunter, she's absolutely in her element once she's actually in the woods; she's able to track her father (a skilled hunter) without him noticing, is generally able to keep up with Mebh, and repeatedly shows impressive agility. She explains to Mebh that her father used to let her come with him to hunt for food back in England. She clearly picked up more hunting and tracking skills than he realized, and her only fault is that she doesn't have an eye for traps.
- I Just Want to Be Free: The story makes it clear that, back in England, Robyn often went hunting with her father and enjoyed the freedom that came with it. She now finds herself in Ireland under the puritanical rule of the Lord Protector. Her father tries to keep her sequestered in their house, out of view of the Lord Protector, until he finishes his assignment, but Robyn bristles under the confinement and yearns for the freedom of the forest.
- Innocent Blue Eyes: She has large blue eyes, fitting with her spirited but naive nature. She still has them in her wolf form.
- Leitmotif: "Robyn's Tune", a sprightly melody that plays during several scenes she's in to highlight her spirited nature. While Mebh and Moll also have tracks that are dedicated to them, Robyn's is the only one that's used more than once throughout the film.
- Letting Her Hair Down: Inverted; Robyn wears her hair in braids for most the film, which shows that for all her rebellious spirit, she's still constrained by the society she lives in. Before Moll is about to be executed by Bill on the Lord Protector's orders, she lets her hair down; rather than showing vulnerability, this symbolizes her resolve to be her true self as a Wolfwalker and to stand up for what's right despite risking punishment. She continues to wear her hair loose for the rest of the story.
- Made of Iron: Her wolf form is remarkably durable. On her first night as a wolf, she falls from the roof of a building to the street below none the worse for wear. In the climax, she is still able to run after a narrow miss from a cannonball and after the cannon explodes with her on it, she gets back up and returns to her human body seemingly untouched by Synchronization.
- Meaningful Name: Her name is an alternate spelling of Robin Goodfellow, another name for Puck (a folkloric figure best known from the play A Midsummer Night's Dream). While Robyn is human, this name foreshadows how she eventually becomes a Wolfwalker.
- Missing Mom: Bill is a single dad, raising Robyn himself. The loss of Robyn's mother is largely why Bill is insistent that Robyn stays out of trouble, having made a promise to keep her safe.
- Nice Girl: And empathetic too. While she finds Mebh irritating at first, they soon bond over how they're both alone in the world aside from their only parental figures, and Robyn then offers to help Mebh find her mother so they can leave for somewhere safer. She also shows kindness towards Sean Og by bringing him food while he's in the stocks.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue to Mebh's red. It's even shown in their wolf forms, her fur being bluish-gray.
- Reveling in the New Form: Robyn is understandably upset and afraid when she first becomes a wolf, especially since everyone in the town is terrified of wolves and she'll likely be killed if she's discovered. But after Mebh calms her down and shows her all the advantages and joys of being a wolf, it doesn't take Robyn long to genuinely enjoy it.
- Scullery Maid: Her father tried to keep her under the Lord Protector's radar to avoid this assignment, but once he's aware of her presence, she's ordered to work in the scullery. Since Robyn was used to having more freedom back in England and the work itself is shown to be hard and monotonous, she hates every minute of it.
- Took a Level in Badass: From the very beginning of the film, Robyn starts out as willing to have an adventure and already has some experience as a hunter, but she's still easily frightened when she so much as sees a real wolf. Towards the end of the film, she has developed enough courage to lead a pack of wolves and face the Lord Protector's army in battle.
Mebh Óg MacTíre
- Voiced by: Eva Whittaker
Click here to see her wolf form
A rough-natured but friendly girl who's one of the Wolfwalkers, a mysterious tribe who can turn into wolves when they sleep. She strikes up a friendship with Robyn after a chance meeting in the forest outside Kilkenny.
- Brutal Honesty: She has a very blunt, straightforward nature and isn't afraid to be rude, either.We can smell ya! You stink!
- Cute Little Fangs: She has a small but still noticeable pair of fangs when she's in human form, highlighting her wild nature and her strong connection with wolves.
- Disappeared Dad: Mebh's father is long gone, Moll being a single Wolfwalker mom.
- Ear Notch: In her left ear, a testament to her rough lifestyle as a Wild Child. Unlike other physical traits that carry over to their wolf forms, the graphic novel explicitly states that injuries to a Wolfwalker's human form does not transfer to their wolf form.
- Earthy Barefoot Character: She's a Wild Child who lives in the forest with wolves, so naturally she doesn't wear shoes. Her feet are extremely dark with dirt as a result.
- Establishing Character Moment: She first appears in front of Robyn while growling on all fours, then sniffing at a wounded Merlyn before taking him away, emphasizing her feral nature.
- Extremely Protective Child: Mebh defends her mother with the same ferocity Moll protects her with, and she refuses to leave the forest for somewhere safer until her mother is found. She fights grown men and demands they free Moll's muzzled and caged wolf form. When she fails to free Moll, she furiously declares war on the town, threatening to have the wolves eat everyone.
- Facial Markings: She has three small dots under each of her eyes, which are stated by her concept art to be tattoos. She also has a brown stripe that runs along the length of her nose and fans out above her brow that's supposedly due to rubbing her nose with dirty hands. She keeps both in her wolf form.
- Fiery Redhead: She has long red hair, and she's a boisterous, outspoken Wild Child with a bit of a temper.
- Fighting Irish: She's a young Irish girl who isn't afraid to get physical if her loved ones are threatened, and she enjoys being rambunctious in general.
- The Lad-ette: A more G-rated example due to her young age; she's a fun-loving, brash, boisterous and rebellious tomboy who has no problems getting into fights when challenged. She also has questionable hygiene and even belches loudly after downing an entire bottle of milk by herself.
- Lovable Rogue: She has no problem with stealing food from "townies" for her own amusement (and because it's tasty), but she's ultimately a good-hearted girl.
- Magical Barefooter: Since she has healing powers and shoeless, it should count.
- Meaningful Name:
- Her first name, Mebh (pronounced as "Maeve") alludes to the warrior queen Medb from the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, who was described as a "fair-haired wolf queen".
- Her last name, MacTíre, is Irish for "wolf", while Óg means "young" or "small". While she's a Wolfwalker, she's still a young one.
- Her first name, Mebh (pronounced as "Maeve") alludes to the warrior queen Medb
- Noble Wolf: Despite her rough nature, she is fiercely loyal to her pack and mother and expects promises to be kept.
- No Brows: Played with. When her face is in a relaxed, resting pose, she is drawn without eyebrows, giving her an unusual appearance and reflecting her more animalistic nature. However, when her face is in motion and she is expressing feelings, her eyelashes will grow fuller or her eye-shading will grow darker to form temporary "eyebrows" to help reinforce her emotion.
- No Sense of Personal Space: Being a Wild Child who lives away from human society, she is extremely physical and the concept of boundaries doesn't occur to her at all. She climbs all over Robyn when she first brings her to the den, including biting Robyn's hair and sniffing her armpit. As a wolf, she still can't keep her paws off of Robyn.
- The Nose Knows: Being a Wolfwalker, she has a highly developed sense of smell, even when she's a human. When traveling through the woods with Robyn, she's able to sniff out the "town tasties" two woodcutters have with them, which are located at the very edge of the woods.
- Phenotype Stereotype: A Significant Green-Eyed Redhead who metaphorically represents the Irish wilderness. It contrasts the blonde hair and blue eyes of the English protagonist.
- The Pig-Pen: She doesn't have very good hygiene, due to being a Wild Child who lives in the forest with wolves. Her bare feet are covered in dirt, her hair is full of leaves and pebbles before Robyn brushes it for her (and a Freeze-Frame Bonus shows that she has live birds and mice living in her hair), and some comments from Robyn imply that she smells bad.
- Pint-Sized Powerhouse: She's a head shorter than the already-diminutive Robyn, but she's also strong and agile enough to throw down with soldiers and bursts from a wooden cage with enough force to send the kids sitting on top of it flying.
- Poirot Speak: When emphasizing things, Mebh tends to say the word in Irish first before repeating it in English for Robyn's benefit.
- Proud Warrior Race Guy: She thinks that being a wolfwalker is "flippin' great" and encourages Robyn to embrace her wolf side and be free-spirited.
- Redhead In Green: She has fiery red hair and also wears a green dress. Not only is she Irish, but her green dress also highlights her connection to nature as a Wolfwalker.
- Red Is Heroic: She's a redheaded Wolfwalker girl who's a mentor to Robyn and fights against the destruction of the forest. Her wolf form is auburn-colored as well.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red to Robyn's blue. It's shown in their wolf forms too, her fur being auburn.
- Running on All Fours: Seems to be her preferred method of running, being a Wild Child and all. Concept art extended her gauntlets into fingerless gloves to protect her hands.
- Scary Teeth: She usually just has Cute Little Fangs, but her whole mouth will become full of sharp teeth whenever she's angry or trying to be intimidating.
- Significant Green-Eyed Redhead: She's the first Wolfwalker Robyn personally meets and teaches her how to adjust to being one. She still has reddish-brown fur and green eyes in her wolf form.
- Speaks Fluent Animal: Communicating with wolves is a given since she's a Wolfwalker, but it's implied that she can speak to other animals as well; when Robyn sends Merlyn to tell her to leave the forest, she gains information from talking to him that she could not have known about beforehand compared to Robyn's more one-sided conversations with him.
- Stepford Smiler: While she appears boisterous and fun-loving around Robyn, in private she is extremely worried about her mother. At first she insists to Robyn that her mother is fine and that she'll be back soon, but it soon becomes clear that Moll's absence is taking a toll on her.
- Strong Family Resemblance: She's essentially a miniature version of her mother Moll, right down to having the same Facial Markings, distinct lack of eyebrows and going around barefoot. This extends to their wolf forms as well, where they look almost exactly alike aside from Moll being much bigger. Mebh herself even lampshades it:Robyn: Is that your mummy back in the cave?Mebh: Of course! Sure don't I look like her?
- Trademark Favorite Food: Mebh loves her bread, or "town tasties" as she calls it. She's seen stealing it from wherever and whoever happens to have some.
- Wild Child: She's a Wolfwalker who lives in the forest with only her mother and wolves for company. While she's able to speak since she has a human parent, she still grew up around wolves and spends about half her time as one, so she tends to show rather feral, wolf-like behavior and a disdain for "townies".
- Wild Hair: Fittingly for a Wild Child, her hair reaches down to her feet and is even bigger than her entire body. When she's first introduced, it's also full of leaves and bones before Robyn brushes it for her.
Parents
Bill Goodfellowe
- Voiced by: Sean Bean
A hunter from England who came to Ireland with Robyn to wipe out the last of the country's wolves, by order of the Lord Protector. While he loves his daughter dearly, he's very concerned for her safety and tries to make her stay in town rather than hunt with him.
- All There in the Script: His first name is known from the credits and not spoken onscreen.
- Good Parents: To Robyn, though his determination to keep Robyn safe shows that he doesn't always make the best decisions.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: At his core, Bill is a good man being forced to do questionable things.
- Hunter Trapper: He's a hunter who's been ordered by the Lord Protector to hunt down and kill any remaining wolves in the forest outside Kilkenny. He sets out numerous traps in the forest, and he even wears fur around his cape when hunting.
- Irony: Bill follows the Lord Protector's orders not because he supports his Knight Templar leadership, but because he's afraid of losing Robyn. This fear pushes him to obey any order the Lord Protector issues him without question in the hopes of keeping his daughter safe. Near the end of the movie, the Lord Protector prepares to kill Robyn, triggering Bill's Wolfwalker transformation. Bill becomes the very thing he hunted to kill the Lord Protector, who was always the true threat to his daughter's life
- Meaningful Name: His name is Goodfellowe and ultimately proves to be a fellow with a good heart.
- Must Make Amends: He lends his howl alongside the wolves' in order to help heal Moll after Robyn's look of encouragement. After all, it was he who shot her in the first place.
- Oop North: Retains Sean Bean's native Sheffield accent.
- Papa Wolf: He's very protective of his daughter Robyn, due to the loss of his wife. He becomes a literal example near the end of the film, after he embraces his new nature as a Wolfwalker to defend Robyn from the Lord Protector.
- Parents as People: He clearly loves Robyn, but his insistence that Robyn stay put in town and work in the scullery on the Lord Protector's orders puts some strain on their relationship. This is because of his desire to keep Robyn safe, due to his promise to her mother and because he's afraid they'll be permanently separated if either of them disobey their orders.
- Punch-Clock Villain: He works for the Lord Protector and insists that Robyn should follow his orders as well, but he doesn't really believe in the Lord Protector's fundamentalist views and is mainly just trying to provide for himself and his daughter.
- Supernatural-Proof Father: For most of the film, he refuses to believe that the wolves' behavior has any supernatural explanations behind it, and he brushes off Robyn's claims that she met a Wolfwalker. This results in a Karmic Transformation towards the end, when he becomes a Wolfwalker himself.
- Tertiary Sexual Characteristics: Bill's wolf form is a much darker color and possesses a more angular facial structure than the female Wolfwalkers, making him appear more like the regular wolves writ large. His sideburns even carry over to sharpen his cheek fur to a point.
Moll MacTíre
- Voiced by: Maria Doyle Kennedy
Mebh's mother and a fellow Wolfwalker. She's currently missing despite her human body being present, but Mebh insists on waiting for her to return.
- Alliterative Name: Moll MacTíre
- All There in the Script: She's only referred as "Mebh's mother" or "mammy" in the film. Her full name is only shown in the end credits.
- Badass in Distress: An experienced, fierce alpha Wolfwalker who was captured and caged, and later on she's near-fatally wounded at the climax of the movie.
- Canis Major: She's already tall as a human, but her wolf form is huge, being as big as an adult man.
- Chekhov M.I.A.: She left in her wolf form to find a new place for her, Mebh and the wolf pack to live safely, but she hasn't returned in a while. It's not her fault, as she was captured and imprisoned in the Lord Protector's castle.
- Earthy Barefoot Character: Her feet aren't often visible, but like Mebh, she doesn't wear shoes and her feet are covered in dirt. This highlights her connection to nature as a Wolfwalker.
- Facial Markings: Like Mebh, she has three small dots under each eye along with a brown stripe that fans across her forehead and goes along the bridge of her nose, which she keeps as a wolf.
- Fiery Redhead: Inverted; she has red hair like Mebh, but she's much calmer and more rational than her daughter, preferring to go look for a safer place to live rather than escalate the conflict with the people of Kilkenny. The only time she gets truly angry is when she sees that Mebh is being threatened.
- Good Parents: Mebh's well-being is always foremost in Moll's mind. She even chose to flee the townsfolk and find a new place to live because going to war would endanger her daughter.
- Large and in Charge: Tall and physically imposing as both a human and wolf, and the true leader of the wolf pack.
- Mama Bear: She is willing to give up her freedom for her daughter's safety, and breaks apart a metal muzzle to protect Mebh at one point.
- No Brows: Much like Mebh, she has no visible eyebrows, which gives her an ethereal and slightly more animalistic appearance. However, she'll sometimes have darker lines over her eyes when she's expressing stronger emotions.
- Purple Is Powerful: She wears a purple dress, cloak and eye shadow, and is a powerful and experienced Wolfwalker.
- Redhead In Green: Downplayed; she has red hair and part of her skirt is green, but she mainly wears purple.
- Vocal Dissonance: Played with. It's one thing when Moll has a gentle and soft-spoken voice, as it suits her motherly nature. It's another thing when we hear her first speak to Robyn in this voice despite taking the form of a great big wolf roughly twice the size of a man.
Others
Merlyn
- Voiced by: N/A
Robyn's hunting falcon and loyal companion.
- Amplified Animal Aptitude: He's clearly smarter than a typical falcon. He discourages Robyn from shooting Mebh in her wolf form since Mebh healed his wing, and when Robyn sends him to tell Mebh to leave the forest, he does so but also ends up leading Mebh into the town so she can confront Robyn directly. Robyn also likes to hold seemingly one-sided conversations with him, though while he can understand her, it's not clear if she can actually understand him.
- Loyal Animal Companion: He's Robyn's pet falcon and he's very loyal to her, even after she accidentally injures him. He also shows loyalty to Mebh after she heals his wing, preventing Robyn from trying to shoot Mebh in her wolf form and even leading Mebh into town when she asks him to.
- Meaningful Name: A merlin is a small species of falcon, also known as a pigeon hawk, which has traditionally been used in falconry for centuries. It's not confirmed if he's actually a merlin himself.
- Noble Bird of Prey: He's a falcon who's brave, loyal and a valuable hunting companion to Robyn.
- Parrot Pet Position: Downplayed; he'll sometimes sit on Robyn's shoulder (even though this isn't considered proper handling for a hunting bird in real life), but he usually sits on her arm instead.
The Wolfwalker Tribe
- Canis Major: Child Wolfwalkers like Mebh and Robyn are slightly smaller than an average wolf in their wolf forms. However, an adult Wolfwalker's wolf form is much bigger, standing eye-to-eye with grown men.
- Druid: Perhaps the most appropriate way to describe the magic of the pagan tribe who became Wolfwalkers and it would explain their strong resistance to the preaching of Christianity. Besides St. Patrick's curse/blessing giving them the obvious transformation magic and ability to control wolves, they can speak to other animals like Robyn's falcon, manipulate plants, heal wounds, and even alter the weather to some degree, causing a rainstorm after the climax.
- Dying Race: It's implied in the film and confirmed in the graphic novel that Mebh and Moll are the only two Wolfwalkers left at the beginning of the story, due to the shrinking of Ireland's forests as they are cut down for lumber by the colonizing forces. However, their fading away appears to be an intentional decision by Moll, since they are quite capable of making more Wolfwalkers through biting people but have chosen not to do so. Moll has even forbidden Mebh from biting anyone.
- Healing Hands: The Irish tribe that became the Wolfwalkers had the power to heal before they were cursed/blessed by Saint Patrick. They can cure basic wounds by touching them, although deeper injuries seem to need their wolf pack present in order to amplify their healing magic enough to be successful.
- Our Werewolves Are Different: This film has an Irish folkloric take on them, inspired by legends of the Werewolves of Ossory. Wolfwalkers don't transform from human into wolf, but their spirits leave their bodies and physically manifest as wolves while they're asleep or unconscious. The two forms are still linked and injuries to the wolf are reflected on their human body; if the wolf form is physically prevented from returning to their human body, it remains in a coma-like state. In addition, they can control and communicate with normal wolves, and biting a human while in their wolf form will make them a Wolfwalker.
- Power Glows: Wolfwalker magic manifests as glowing golden light, whether it's through their Healing Hands, the markings on the walls of Mebh and Moll's den lighting up, the normal wolves' eyes glowing when they're under a Wolfwalker's control, or the Wolfwalkers' spirits themselves.
- Tertiary Sexual Characteristics: A male Wolfwalker form looks more akin to the movie's true wolves with a more angular facial structure and longer snout than the softer features of the female Wolfwalkers.
- Wonderful Werewolf: Mebh, her mother and later Robyn and Bill are Wolfwalkers who are people that when they sleep, release their spirits which transform into a physical wolf form. They retain their human intelligence in wolf form and do not have any savage, bloodthirsty instincts. Instead they serve as protectors of the forest and particularly the pack of wolves that live there.
The Wolves
- Voiced by: N/A
The wolf pack that Mebh and her mother live with.
- The Dreaded: The townfolks are scared to hell whenever a wolf is sighted.
- Glowing Eyes of Doom: Played with. At the beginning of the film, Sean Og is attacked by wolves and his chest is clawed. The wolves are called away for a moment but he turns to see two humanoid figures and an entire pack of wolves emerging from the fog with glowing yellow eyes. We come to discover that the glowing eyes indicate the pack is being guided by the Wolfwalkers, but at that moment, Sean's prayer is heartfelt and genuine.Sean: Sweet Mother Divine, save us.
- Mind-Control Eyes: Their eyes glow golden whenever they're under a Wolfwalker's control.
- Non-Malicious Monster: They're viewed as dangerous beasts by the people of Kilkenny. While they can certainly be dangerous when threatened, they're only trying to protect their territory from deforestation, and they can be very friendly and playful when they're not attacking anyone.
- Savage Wolves: It appears so at first, with the wolves of the forest being seen as a scourge by the Irish people and especially the Lord Protector. Subverted when it turns out they're complex creatures who can be loving to those they see as their own, and they're only attacking people because the forests they live in are being cut down.
- The Scapegoat: The Irish are forced to clear more forest to create more farmland to feed themselves and their new English overlords. The wolves, in turn, are defending the incursion of civilization into their forest and attack Irish woodsmen and farmers who are clearing the forest which leads to a fear of the wolves. The Lord Protector encourages this fear and uses it to drive the need to expand civilization. The wolves take the blame which allows the Lord Protector to gloss over where the need for more farmland originally came from.
Sean Óg
- Voiced by: Tommy Tiernan
A woodcutter who encountered the Wolfwalkers early on. He develops a friendly relationship with Robyn, being the only one aside from her who knows the Wolfwalkers are real.
- Big Fun: His more rounded, chubby design contrasts him with the other, more angular townsfolk, to show that he isn't as suppressed and strictly regimented as they are.
- Cassandra Truth: Before Robyn, he was the only one who discouraged further deforestation thanks to having a personal experience with Wolfwalkers. While some older folks entertain the possibility of them being real, the English take him as either a madman or a rebel for saying pagan legends.
- Intro-Only Point of View: He's the viewpoint character of the prologue where he meets the Wolfwalkers. He does show up later on though when he's the one to lead the townspeople out of the city in the rain.
- Mr. Exposition: He's the one who explains to Robyn who the Wolfwalkers are, having encountered them earlier on.
- Nice Guy: He shows proper gratitude towards Moll and Mebh when they save him and heal his wounds.
Padraig the Street Children Ringleader
- Voiced by: Oliver McGrath
The leader of a gang of children who roam the streets of Kilkenny. Since his father was imprisoned by the Lord Protector, he doesn't have a high opinion of the English taking over the town, and he insults and belittles Robyn because of it.
- The Bully: He flings insults at Robyn simply for being English (though he has legitimate grievances with the English, since the Lord Protector imprisoned his father), and he's all too eager to lock Mebh in a cage so he and his friends can make fun of her. He's also seen trying to bully a young boy into being the "wolf" for his friends' game.
- Ironic Name: "Padraig" is the Irish variant of Patrick, as in the patron saint of Ireland. He's definitely not a saint himself, being nothing but a bully.
- Kids Are Cruel: His treatment of Robyn is cruel but slightly understandable as she's English and the English are oppressing the town and his family. However, he and his street clan are later shown bullying another (presumably Irish) younger kid to force him to be the "caged wolf" in their game, and they are also far too eager to overpower and lock up Mebh when Robyn "volunteers" her to play said "wolf".
Villains
The Lord Protector
- Voiced by: Simon McBurney
An English lord who killed the previous king of England and conquered the British Isles. As part of his colonization efforts in Ireland, he orders the clearing of the woods surrounding Kilkenny for farmland, hiring Bill Goodfellowe to kill the wolves living in them. This inevitably brings him into conflict with the Wolfwalkers, which he initially doesn't believe exist.
- Asskicking Leads to Leadership: While his foot-soldiers are shown to be mostly incompetent, the Lord Protector is a skilled fighter and able to lead his men into a semblance of a threat. The final battle is almost completely one-sided with the wolves triumphing over the soldiers but, for a while, the Lord Protector holds his own against Bill in his wolf form and even manages to injure him in the fight.
- Bad People Abuse Animals: Downplayed with the Lord Protector, but he's often shown keeping his horse on a very tight reign to demonstrate his Control Freak tendencies. Likewise, the Lord Protector cages and chains what he thinks is a regular giant wolf, really Mebh's mom and subdues it with fire to demonstrate his control over it. His treatment of his horse in particular is juxtaposed by said steed being shown pulling the Wolfwalkers' wagon at the end, and looking much happier for it.
- Big Bad: The main antagonist of the film and his drive to conquer the wilds moves much of the plot forward.
- Blasphemous Boast: After an opponent is stunned by a cannon blast near the end of the movie, the Lord Protector prepares to kill them while announcing he is an instrument of divine wrath.Lord Protector: By God's glory and punishment, He vanquishes thee!
- Can't Take Criticism: The Lord Protector has Sean put into stocks when he encounters Sean questioning his authority behind his back. Although the Lord Protector claims "if you have grievances you should speak with me directly", it's unlikely a direct confrontation would have resulted in a different outcome.
- Establishing Character Moment: His first appearance has him throw Sean Og into the stocks for speaking out against him, give Bill a strict deadline for killing all the wolves in the forest, and order Robyn to the scullery. From atop his horse, the Lord Protector is the tallest person in the scene and Bill and Robyn are shown to be afraid of him and his cruelty.
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": While he's clearly supposed to be a fictionalized version of Oliver Cromwell, he's only referred to as "the Lord Protector" (the title Cromwell went by during his rule instead of "King") throughout the film. The filmmakers, as revealed in an interview, deliberately did this to avoid an Inglourious Basterds-style depiction of history.
- Evil Colonialist: While Ireland was already a vassal of England before he came along, the Lord Protector seeks to destroy the last of the island's wolves and tame the land under his puritanical views. This isn't far off from historical fact, since the real Oliver Cromwell was known for committing numerous atrocities against the Irish people due to viewing Ireland as a wild land that needed to be "civilized" by English rule.
- Face Death with Dignity: Though it's more out of fanatism and bigotry. Still, when he's left hanging above a chasm with Goodfellowe's wolf form slowly breaking his armour under his jaw and about to kill him, the Lord Protector chooses to say a brief prayer to entrust his soul to God, then unties the straps of his armour, which makes him plummet to his death so that he can die a martyr.
- Fatal Flaw: His Knight Templar mindset. The Lord Protector is utterly convinced that he is following the will of God regarding Ireland, which he views as a wild land that needs to be "tamed". As such he has no regard for what the local inhabitants think about his actions. During his fight at the cliffside, this mindset causes him to choose martyrdom over defeat at the jaws of a Wolfwalker who represents Ireland's pagan "wildness".
- The Fundamentalist: Utterly convinced that his will is God's will. He expects his rules and orders to be obeyed without question, and repeats throughout the film the phrase "It is the Lord's will." He is only referred to as the Lord Protectornote , so one could interpret 'the Lord's will' as meaning 'God's will' or 'My will'.
- The “Lord Ironsides” jab is also taken from history as Oliver Cromwell and his calvary soldiers were referred to as “Ironsides,” (Cromwell himself “Old Ironsides”) for their hardiness in battle.
- Hate Sink: Oliver Cromwell is despised in Ireland and his portrayal in this movie reflects it. The Lord Protector is a stern, humorless, cruel man who is a vessel for violent fanaticism with no care for killing children or innocents, written to have not a single decent quality as a human being.
- Historical Domain Character: Oliver Cromwell serves as the main antagonist of the film. While he's only ever referred to as "the Lord Protector" in-story and in the credits, it's still obvious who he's supposed to be, especially since historically Cromwell went by "Lord Protector" instead of "King" while he ruled England, Scotland and Ireland.
- It's All About Me: During the demonstration to tame Moll, Mebh disrupts it and causes the crowd to laugh when she calls the wolf her "mammy". They may be laughing at the odd turn of events, but the enraged Lord Protector treats it as though he's the one being humiliated as he lost control of the situation to a little girl.
- Knight Templar: He's a religious fanatic determined to carry out what he believes is a holy mission. His vision for Ireland is brutal, authoritarian, and cold but to him, it's a righteous one.
- Lack of Empathy: While he generally doesn't show empathy for anyone, a rather stunning example of it comes near the climax, when he orders that Bill be chained up and asks him if he's gone completely mad because he's clearly distraught and holding his unconscious daughter rather than going after the wolves as ordered.
- Large and in Charge: The Lord Protector is a broad-built man who is also in charge of Kilkenny.
- Obliviously Evil: The Lord Protector firmly believes that he is doing what God wants him to do. Because of this Knight Templar mindset, the Lord Protector doesn't see himself or any of his actions as evil.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: He sees himself as enacting the will of God on Ireland, and he has very strictly fundamentalist views because of it. As far as he's concerned, women should work in the scullery, and Ireland is a wild country that he needs to be civilized and whose citizens should obey him without question.
- Villainous Valour: His reaction when confronted by a huge wolf as tall as him is to draw his sword and fight it one-on-one. Plus, he's also smart and level-headed enough to think on the spot. During his fight with Goodfellowe in his wolf form, he understands that Goodfellowe and the wolf are the same being when he sees them sharing the same wound... and quickly deduces that shooting at Goodfellowe's unconscious human body would also harm his wolf form.
