--- description: Find out why "Wolfwalkers" is on TIME's list of the 50 most underappreciated movies of the 21st Century. title: 'Wolfwalkers' Is on The 50 Most Underappreciated Movies of the 21st Century image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt66860f79c5b3e61c/6998cd42e1ba00414698e4cf/Underappreciated-Movies-Wolfwalkers.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Feb 04, 2026 # _Wolfwalkers_ Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart by [Stephanie Zacharek](/author/stephanie-zacharek/) ## Stephanie Zacharek Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Film Critic  Apple TV/Everett Collection In Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart’s 2020 animated adventure [_Wolfwalkers_](https://time.com/5914535/best-movies-2020/ "undefined")_,_ Robyn (Honor Kneafsey), a young English girl in 17th century Ireland, longs to become a wolf hunter like her father, Bill (Sean Bean), who’s been brought to Kilkenny by a dictatorial Lord Protector to protect the city from the wolves who roam the surrounding forest. One day, having followed him into the woods, hoping to do some hunting herself, she accidentally shoots her beloved pet falcon, Merlyn; heartbroken, she gives the bird up for lost, only to soon learn that a sprightly redheaded firebrand forest dweller named Mebh (Eva Whittaker) has healed him. It turns out Mebh is a wolfwalker: as she explains it, she’s a wolf when she’s asleep and a girl when she’s awake. She and Robyn become fast friends. But the wolves are in trouble, as Robyn herself knows: Fearful humans, including herself and her father, are trying to wipe them out. Not only that, but it turns out that Robyn is more like her new friend than she knows. _Wolfwalkers_ is a beguiling animated delight. Aside from the wolves, whose fur has a pleasing, woodcut-like texture, there are badgers, stags, and plenty of birds, all sharing space beneath gently burnished skies. Largely hand-drawn, with some digital effects added, the picture has a pleasingly 2D midcentury-modern vibe: It looks old and new at once, fitting for a story filled with so much hushed, whispery magic—one that understands that wild creatures must have their place, even in the world of humans. 'Wolfwalkers': 50 Most Underappreciated Movies ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/50-most-underappreciated-movies/7353565/wolfwalkers/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/50-most-underappreciated-movies/7353565/wolfwalkers/"},"headline":"Wolfwalkers","datePublished":"2026-02-04T12:52:28.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T01:05:01.188Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/50-most-underappreciated-movies/7353565/wolfwalkers/","keywords":["movies"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt66860f79c5b3e61c/6998cd42e1ba00414698e4cf/Underappreciated-Movies-Wolfwalkers.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Stephanie Zacharek","jobTitle":"Film Critic","url":"https://time.com/author/stephanie-zacharek/"}],"creator":"Stephanie Zacharek","articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt66860f79c5b3e61c/6998cd42e1ba00414698e4cf/Underappreciated-Movies-Wolfwalkers.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/50-most-underappreciated-movies/7353565/wolfwalkers/","name":"Wolfwalkers"}}]}] ```