The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf

Last updated
The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf
The Witcher Nightmare of the Wolf.jpg
Official release poster
Directed byKwang Il Han
Screenplay byBeau DeMayo [1]
Based on The Witcher
by Andrzej Sapkowski
Produced by Lauren Schmidt Hissrich
Starring
Music byBrian D'Oliveira
Production
companies
Distributed by Netflix
Release date
  • August 23, 2021 (2021-08-23)
Running time
83 minutes [2]
Countries
  • United States
  • South Korea
  • Poland
LanguageEnglish

The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf is an adult animated dark fantasy film for Netflix, produced by Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, and starring Theo James, Lara Pulver, Graham McTavish, and Mary McDonnell. The film serves as a spin-off of the Netflix series The Witcher. [3] It focuses on the origin story of Geralt's mentor and fellow witcher Vesemir. [4] The film premiered on August 23, 2021. [5] [6]

Contents

Plot

In 1165, [7] the witcher Vesemir saves a child from a leshen in the forests of Kaedwen. Before dying, the creature says something in an archaic elven dialect to Vesemir, leading him to suspect that it was under someone's control. Vesemir is visited by the elf Filavandrel, who thinks the leshen was controlled by Kitsu, one of many elven girls who have gone missing. Meanwhile, the sorceress Tetra Gilcrest, an advisor to the Kaedwen king, argues that witchers should be outlawed and hunted down, but the elderly courtier Lady Zerbst is sympathetic to the witchers and speaks in their favor.

Vesemir reminisces about his youth when he, along with his best friend Illyana, were servants for a noble whose mistress was saved from a mahr by a witcher named Deglan with Vesemir's help. Enticed by promises of fortune and desiring to make a name for himself, Vesemir traveled to Kaer Morhen and underwent the training and mutations to become a witcher.

In the present day, Vesemir and his fellow witcher, Luka, are arrested for killing two Kaedwani knights in a bar fight. Lady Zerbst persuades the king to send Vesemir, accompanied by Tetra to rid the forest of Kitsu. She personally delivers the mission order to Vesemir, who recognizes her as Illyana. Vesemir and Tetra set out and she tells him the story of a young sorceress wrongfully killed by a witcher as part of a con, an act which convinced her that witchers are too powerful and cannot be trusted. They find Kitsu, mutated and now able to cast powerful illusions, and fight her basilisk. They kill the monster, but Kitsu escapes.

Following Kitsu, the pair come across an old and abandoned elven school where they find the bodies of the other missing female elves. They rescue the captured Filavandrel, who explains that Kitsu tried to replicate the experiments that were done on her, and they come to the conclusion that corrupt witchers are responsible, wanting to terrorize the locals into hiring them. Vesemir surmises that the monsters he encountered were probably created in Kaer Morhen and leaves to confront Deglan, who has risen to a high position of leadership. As he departs, Tetra destroys Kitsu's den, finds Kitsu later surveying the destruction, and blames the witchers. Back at court, she reveals the witchers' culpability, and is granted use of the Kaedwani army to lay siege to Kaer Morhen. Illyana sees a captured Luka being put to death and flees to warn Vesemir.

Deglan admits to Vesemir to creating the monsters, including Kitsu, to protect their way of life and are alerted by Illyana of Tetra's assault, which is assisted by Kitsu's monsters. Illyana helps the witcher recruits flee into the mountains. Vesemir confronts Tetra, who has captured the order's mages and is holding them hostage. Kitsu arrives and traps him in an illusion where he never became a witcher, instead having a family with Illyana. However, Vesemir is able to break out of the illusion and engages in a fierce battle with Tetra and her forces. He seemingly kills Tetra and Kitsu, only to realize that Tetra had deceived him with another illusion, killing the mages to destroy the knowledge of creating witchers and mortally wounding Illyana.

Tetra reveals she is the daughter of the sorceress killed by the witcher from her story before the dying Deglan strikes her down. Knowing that the recruits are still alive, he urges Vesemir to guide and watch over them as the new leader. At the behest of Illyana, Vesemir allows Kitsu to flee with her life. Vesemir takes Illyana to a lake, where she always dreamed of living by. The two share a brief moment before she peacefully passes away. He then sets out and catches up to the recruits, including a young Geralt, with the understanding that they are the last of their kind.

Voice cast

Additional voices by Sara Cravens, JP Karliak, Andrew Morgado, Fred Tatasciore, Courtenay Taylor, and Abby Trott.

Production

In January 2020, Netflix announced that an animated film adaptation was in the works from Korean animation studio Studio Mir. [12] Writer Beau DeMayo explained that the team chose to make the film animated rather than live-action because it presented them with some "exciting" storytelling possibilities. [13] The film uses a mix of both traditional and computer-generated animation. When designing Vesemir, animation director Han Kwang Il believed he "shouldn't be too handsome, but he had to be quite good-looking and appealing because he's the main character". [14] For a majority of the character designs, the team aimed for a "European/American style", with the exception of Tetra, whose design fell in more closely with a "Japanese style". [15]

Release

During the virtual WitcherCon event in July 2021, a "Date Announcement" teaser was released. [16] [17] A teaser trailer was released on July 21, [18] followed by the full trailer on August 9. [19] The film was released on August 23, 2021. [6] [20]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 100% of 27 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.1/10.The website's consensus reads: "Focusing on the adventures of a strapping young Vesemir, Nightmare of the Wolf is a fluidly animated addendum to the Witcher story that will delight fans with its swashbuckling action." [21] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 67 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. [22]

The film was nominated for Best Animated Special Production at the 49th Annie Awards. [23]

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References

  1. ↑ "'The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf' Headlines Netflix's Upcoming Anime Lineup (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. June 15, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  2. ↑ "Netflix's The Witcher movie, Nightmare of the Wolf, now has a runtime". Games Radar. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  3. ↑ Darcy, Ann (February 9, 2020). "Everything We Know About 'The Witcher' Animated Film Coming to Netflix". Showbiz Cheat Sheet. Archived from the original on July 27, 2020. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Nightmare Of The Wolf Will Provide The Witcher's Most Important Backstory". ScreenRant. February 14, 2021. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  5. ↑ "The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf is coming to Netflix in August". The Verge. July 8, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  6. 1 2 "'Nightmare Of The Wolf': Netflix Sets August Premiere Date, Teaser For 'The Witcher' Anime Film". Deadline. July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  7. ↑ "Vesemir Kills a Leshy". www.witchernetflix.com. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Netflix Reveals The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf Anime Cast and Characters". IGN. July 21, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  9. ↑ "David Errigo Jr. as Young Vesemir". Twitter. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
  10. ↑ "Tom Canton as Filavandrel". Twitter. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
  11. ↑ "Matt Yang King as Luka". Twitter. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
  12. ↑ Hipes, Patrick (January 22, 2020). "Netflix Sets 'The Witcher: Nightmare Of The Wolf' Anime Movie". Deadline. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  13. ↑ Ankers, Adele (2021-11-01). "Why The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf Is an Anime, Not Live-Action". IGN. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  14. ↑ "Hot Vesemir: 'The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf' creators explain why Vesemir is an anime stud". SYFY Official Site. 2021-08-05. Retrieved 2021-12-25.
  15. ↑ The Witcher: Nightmare Of The Wolf | Behind The Animation with Studio Mir | Netflix , retrieved 2021-12-24
  16. ↑ "The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf Anime Teaser Trailer Confirms August Release". ScreenRant. July 10, 2021. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  17. ↑ Netflix (July 9, 2021). The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf | Date Announcement | Netflix. YouTube. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  18. ↑ The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf | Official Teaser | Netflix , retrieved 2021-12-24
  19. ↑ The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf | Official Trailer | Netflix , retrieved 2021-12-24
  20. ↑ Skopp, Sam (2021-08-09). "The New Trailer For The Witcher: Nightmare Of The Wolf Will Get You Hyped". Looper.com. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  21. ↑ "The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved November 29, 2022. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  22. ↑ "The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  23. ↑ Giardina, Carolyn (2021-12-21). "'Raya and the Last Dragon' Leads 2022 Annie Awards Feature Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
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