200% Wolf (U)

Werepoodle Freddy Lupin is training to become pack leader but he wishes he could be more aggressive like his father Flasheart and ancestors. A foolhardy wish transforms him into a werewolf and Freddy assumes guardianship of a luminous fallen spirit named Moopoo. Accompanied by Batty and his dog pals, Freddy seeks out scheming outcast Max to remedy his dire situation.

LondonNet Film Review

200% Wolf (U) Film Review from LondonNet

Every dog has its day, including a werewolf trapped in the body of a white toy poodle, in a scruffy sequel to director Alexs Stadermann’s life-affirming computer-animated adventure based on the books of Liverpudlian children’s author Jayne Lyons. Returning screenwriter Fin Edquist trades The Lion King-lite coming-of-age of the first film for an otherworldly escapade replete with a mischievous moon spirit whose madcap mannerisms recall Disney’s earthbound alien Stitch and a witch antagonist cosmetically enhanced from Madam Mim in The Sword In The Stone…

Humour is broad to appeal to young audiences. Thus, a self-anointed guide dog implores fellow mutts to follow his lead by hastily escaping from city sewers by holding onto one end of a fully extended dog leash and clicking the handset button to retract to the surface. 200% Wolf is a shaggier dog story than its predecessor, dispatching characters onto parallel sub quests to pad out the running time and justify the addition of cute critters including a giant purple bat that wants to play fetch with dislodged fungi. Jennifer Saunders savours every generously elongated vowel of her cackling villainess, who harnesses dark earth magic to feed a hunger for power and transform innocent bystanders into monstrosities dubbed Whoopsies.

Painfully self-conscious werepoodle Freddy Lupin (voiced by Ilai Swindells) trains hard to succeed his father Flasheart (Peter McCallum) as high howler of the Wilford wolfpack but he isn’t ready to accept the mantle. Other wolves openly question Freddy’s abilities because his huge heart is trapped inside the body of a toy dog with a crown of shocking pink hair. This distinctive physical appearance makes him a liability during covert night-time missions. “How will they respect me if they don’t see me succeed?” Freddy berates his father. In a fit of petulance, Freddy seeks out the ancient Summing Stone at Wolf Rock and calls upon moon spirits to hasten his graduation to greatness.

Mother Moonspirit (Sarah Georgina) and the elders ignore his plea but mischievous baby moon spirit Moopoo (Elizabeth Nabben) is moved by Freddy’s prayer and summons enough energy to transform the young pretender into a fully-fledged werewolf. The spell propels Moopoo down to Earth where the celestial being’s inner light begins to wane. To save Moopoo, Freddy vows to locate exiled wolf Max (Saunders) in the company of best friend Batty (Samara Weaving) and a canine troupe comprising Twitchy (Sarah Harper), Bruno (Alexs Stadermann) and Hamish (Akmal Saleh).

200% Wolf promises twice the enjoyment but Stadermann’s sequel is too light on its paws to make an indelible mark beyond surface level. Crisp and colourful visuals support the linear storytelling and a solid vocal cast permits Saunders to shamelessly scene steal with her amusing theatrics. When fur flies, violence is cartoonish and subtlety howls enthusiastically at the moon.

– Sarah Lee