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Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart have made one of the best films of the year in Wolfwalkers, an utterly enchanting animated fable that just premiered out of the virtual Toronto International Film Festival. Moore and Stewart are from Cartoon Saloon, the Irish animation studio responsible for The Secret of the Kells, Song of the Sea and The Breadwinner and it was a thrill to get to talk to them about their latest (and arguably best) project – live from Ireland!

In the interview, we discuss the impact that Don Bluth, the former Disney animator who caused a minor revolt within the studio in the late 1970s (that, among other things, set back production on a number of animated features), had when he moved his studio to Ireland; what it was like creating the jaw-dropping “wolf-vision” sequences in the film (an absolutely wild combination of CGI and traditional animation); why they left in the “rough” lines in the finished animation; what their influences were; and what is next – including a new short film that will be attached to the theatrical Wolfwalkers exhibition (it is also coming to Apple TV+ later this year).

It’s a fun chat and one that will make you even more stoked for Wolfwalkers (if you aren’t already).