When the Wind Blows

It's considered one of the most realistic animated films, and it has a shocking ending, like a firefly's grave. Despite its simple, childish drawing style, it's not for children. The film discusses the problems of nuclear war.

i've seen this animation film twice .. the more you see it, the more you love it .. the whole film is approached with an air of bitter irony .. sometimes it gets slightly emotional but in a very nice way .. animation skills of superior quality .. characters and the dialogs are so well presented that it could be a theatrical play as well .. the quality of the film is such that there are times where you forget that you are watching an animated movie .. one more thing : you HAVE to watch this film!

Jim and Hilda are two English retirees, living in a cottage in the country. War with Russia seems imminent and Jim starts taking precautions against a nuclear attack. Remembering World War 2, Jim and Hilda staunchly believe that everything will be okay, even if nuclear weapons are involved. But will it? Powerful, poignant anti-war movie. Mixes nonchalance and English laugh-in-the-face of danger humour with some incredibly shocking reminders of the effects of nuclear war. Funny and terrifying, all at the same time. Quite emotional too. We see flashes of Jim and Hilda's history, the life they had, the simplicity and innocence of their existence and how this is shattered.

"When the Wind Blows", just like "Grave of the Fireflies" it's a heartbreaking animated tale about two innocent characters that had a childish vision of the world, and how the war has terrible effect on their lives. Despite the cute style of animation, that may look as something aimed for children, this movie is pretty disturbing and sad: The scenes aren't very explicit, but many parts of this movie shocked me a lot. However, I love this film, and I would recommend it to anyone (Unless you don't like to see sad movies) because, despite being pretty depressive and dark, it is also beautiful and moving. "When the Wind Blows" is one of the most intense, powerful and poetic films (animated or not) ever made. If you liked films as "Watership Down" "The Plague Dogs" and "Grave of the Fireflies" you couldn't miss this movie.

It is hard for me to write a positive review of this movie. This is not a reflection of the quality of the animation; the beautiful hand-drawn characters and backgrounds were truly wonderful. Nor is this a disparaging comment on the performance of the actors, for they were brilliant. The writing, directing, score, etc...all are of extremely high quality. The reason it is hard for me to speak well of the film is because of the enormous emotional impact it will have on you. I saw WTWB in my freshman year History of Animation class with Howard Beckerman, with little more warning for what I was about to experience than, "It's a tough little film". I was an absolute wreck. I have not been so emotionally affected by a movie since. Thought-provoking, stirring, and genuinely moving. It's hard to write favorably about something that had such a devastating effect on me. And yet, as you see, I have.

A fantastic little movie. I read an article which said that the first five feature-length British animations were ANIMAL FARM, YELLOW SUBMARINE, WATERSHIP DOWN, THE PLAGUE DOGS and this one. None of them are meant for kids, certainly not in some instances, and yet all have a streak of quality running through them and perhaps say something about the British character or the tastes of the British public. I came to WHEN THE WIND BLOWS as a huge fan of both Raymond Briggs and his book, with THE SNOWMAN an ever-present favourite since childhood, and this is another sterling adaptation. Murakami uses cutting edge animation technology to keep this single-location black comedy involving and entertaining throughout, the voice performances and animation are excellent, and the juxtaposition of knowing humour and touches of working class life with nuclear annihilation is untouched.

This cartoon is not for children; it should not even be for adults as well, but it is a grim reminder of what could have been (and what might still be) if we are not vigilant as civil human beings on this planet. The best nuclear holocaust film since Hiroshima shows us the gradual breakdown of a lovely old couple in the English countryside after a nuclear exchange. It reminds us there are no winners in a nuclear war. The cartoon is described highly inaccurately by IMDB as a comedy. The word comedy and nuclear war should never be used in the same sentence. It is a drama and a tragedy of the highest order. Please fix this outrageous description, despite a few weak attempts at humor by the characters.