Trivia / Wolfwalkers

• Approval of God: Although it was not their intention, co-directors Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart nevertheless have welcomed the interpretation of Robyn and Mebh being a young lesbian couple and occasionally retweets and likes ship posts of them on their social media accounts.
• Celebrity Voice Actor: Sean Bean (Bill Goodfellowe) and Simon McBurney (Lord Protector) are the two big name actors of the film.
• Children Voicing Children: Honor Kneafsey (Robyn Goodfellowe) was twelve and Eva Whittaker (Mebh Óg MacTíre) was eight when recording for the film started. Honor Kneafsey had previous roles, but Whittaker never acted before.
• Completely Different Title:
  • The French title is Le Peuple Loup (The Wolf People), though the term "Wolfwalker" was left untranslated in the movie, strangely enough.
  • The Russian title is Legenda o volkakh (The Legend of the Wolves).
  • The Polish title is Sekret wilczej gromady (The Secret of the Wolf Pack).
• Cowboy BeBop at His Computer: Various synopses of the film, such as on IMDb, state that Robyn first saves Mebh's life, though it's more of the other way around.
• Descended Creator:
  • Nora Twomey, one of the producers for the film, also voices Brigid the head scullery maid.
  • Niamh Moyles, the voice coach for the child actors, voices the fishmonger.
• God Never Said That: In the official artbook, a page◊ containing doodles and memes by the creators includes a drawing of Bill, Robyn, and the apparent ghost of a blonde woman standing between them. Fans immediately speculated that this is Robyn's mother, but the creators later clarified that these drawings are completely unofficial, and Robyn's mother was never developed, much less designed.
• Hostility on the Set: During the film's production, Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart reportedly got into heated arguments over what type of falcon Merlyn should be, with Moore (a cartoonist) wanting him to be an expressive Talking Animal sidekick, and Stewart (a nature artist) wanting him to act more like a real bird. Eventually, the two came to a compromise by making him a mostly realistic bird who is still very intelligent and expressive.
• Inspiration for the Work: The film was first inspired by legends of the Werewolves of Ossory, which Tomm Moore first learned about when taking part in the Young Irish Filmmakers program. Years later, after watching a documentary series about Oliver Cromwell and his aim to wipe out Ireland's wolf population in order to "tame" the country, Moore was inspired to combine those events with the stories of the Werewolves of Ossory.
• One-Book Author: So far this is Honor Kneafsey’s only voice acting role in an animated work.
• Roger Rabbit Effect: Because of COVID, the 2021 Annie Awards were virtual and the winners were notified ahead of time so they could prepare a video segment of them accepting the award. When Ross Stewart accepts the "Best Indie Feature" award for the film, he ends his thanks by turning into an animated wolf himself and howling joyfully.
• Those Two Actors: Sean Bean and Maria Doyle Kennedy (Moll MacTíre) previously appeared together in Jupiter Ascending.
• Voices in One Room: Honor Kneafsey (Robyn) and Eva Whittaker (Mebh) recorded their lines together, as described in this video.
• What Could Have Been:
  • According to this interview and the official artbook, Robyn was originally going to be a boy, but the filmmakers realized early on that Robyn's character and the overall story would work better if she were a girl instead. This was because the struggles women had to go through during the time period the story is set made for a more interesting conflict.
  • Robyn and Bill's introductory scene was going to take place while they hunted together in the woods when they still lived in England, and there was a scene written for it (which can be seen in the conceptual trailer). This scene was eventually cut from the script, and instead Robyn and Bill are first introduced after they've already moved to Kilkenny.
  • Tomm Moore originally wanted Meryln to be a Talking Animal who can actively communicate with Robyn. However, this was opposed by the other co-director Ross Stewart, who preferred him to act like a real bird to make him distinct from the Wolfwalkers. This caused the two to fight over it for a bit until Moore conceded to Stewart's idea, albeit with the condition of him being expressive as a form of compromise.
• Word of Gay: Of the Shrug of God variety. While co-director Ross Stewart does not give a definitive answer on Robyn and Mebh's relationship, preferring to keep it open to interpretation, he has stated on Twitter that nothing is stopping them from becoming "more than friends" down the line, implying that both are sapphic.
• Word of God: According to co-director Ross Stewart, Bill and Moll remain single and do not hook up at the end, with him saying "it's just a big pack of wolves and wolfwalkers". Likewise, he also makes it clear on the same tweets that Robyn and Mebh don't become step-sisters and that there is nothing stopping them from becoming "more than friends" down the line. That said, he also admits the ending is meant to be ambiguous and open to all interpretations, so make of that what you will.
• Word of Saint Paul: A number of voice actors share insights about the characters they voice in interviews and the art book. For instance, Nora Twomey, who voiced the Head Housekeeper, imagines her real name is probably Bridgette. Twomey imagines Bridgette has had to survive the Lord Protector's harsh patriarchal world by keeping her head down, following orders, and trying to stay beneath notice, and tries to instruct Robyn on how to survive by doing the same.
• Write What You Know: The story is set in Kilkenny, Ireland, which is where Cartoon Saloon itself is located.
• Write Who You Know:
  • Robyn was partly based on director Tomm Moore's wife as a little girl. A bit in appearance, mostly being determined, strong-willed, and loving nature and animals.
  • Mebh was based on one of Tomm Moore's best childhood friends growing up, a tomboyish girl named Shirley. Robyn's friendship with Mebh was largely fashioned after Moore's friendship with Shirley; they came from very different families, but their friendship was a "happy oasis" when they were going through personal problems.

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