The story of the last Seal Child’s journey home. After their mother’s disappearance, Ben and Saoirse are sent to live with Granny in the city. When they resolve to return to their home by the s...
Song of the Sea lyrically paints Irish folklore with limited narrative brushing techniques. In Celtic and Gaelic mythology, a selkie is a seal with the ability to shed its skin and become human, a process known as therianthropy. The enormous Mac Lir, commonly associated as the Sea God, was a noble warrior. A valiant knight suffering an eternity of pain due to the loss of his lover. His tears would heighten the ocean’s water levels to gargantuan heights, placing the coastal civilians of Ireland at risk. His mother, Macha, relinquished Mac Lir of his melancholy. Portrayed as an Owl Witch, she stole his raucous emotions thus turning him into stone. Determined to rid the emotional output from everyone, including herself. The seal folk, now destined to release musically inclined faeries from their petrified state of stone, must act fast before the path to Tír na nÓg closes forever. Leaving the whimsical creatures as mere decorative ornaments in this world.
Cartoon Saloon’s second feature, founded and directed by Moore himself, continues the exploration of Irish mythology from ‘The Secret of Kells’. A mystical realm nestled in stupendous folklore and grandiose mythos. Reminiscent that of a bedtime story, Moore’s ornate sense of world building is unequivocally outstanding. The blustery Irish Sea. The endless fields of rural countryside. Magical ruins sprinkled throughout the landscape. Moore’s team of illustrators have, once again, produced a flawlessly designed animation that repeatedly expresses the creativity behind hand-drawn techniques. Its style, from repetitious swirls to water-coloured backdrops, grants the other-worldly story a consistent mythical presence. Character models, particularly animals such as wild seals and pet sheepdog Cú, inhibited a child-like aesthetic that reminded maturer audiences of the imaginative stories they grew up with, and how we perceive them now. Those accustomed to Irish folklore tales will be familiar with the creatures on display, supplying bountiful amounts of imagination throughout.
There’s a hint of influence from Ghibli’s Miyazaki that transforms a relatively unknown culture into an attempted accessible family-friendly animation. The score, ranging from ethereal ocean waves to Irish folk music, heighten the central mystical premise of “Song of the Sea”. A melody that acts as a portal, a line of communication, between the human world and the faeries. Voice acting was solid all-round, Rawle in particular was a stand out. Gleeson’s sorrowful tones adding an ounce of delicacy to the emotional output.
However, for all the justified acclaim Song of the Sea has received, alas it is a story with basic storytelling capabilities. For Ben and his younger half-human half-selkie sister Saoirse, who traverse the land in desperation for solace, the merging between Tír na nÓg and reality places them in the midst of a story about courage and familial love. Ben treats Saoirse poorly, jealous of the attention she receives. Their father, a lighthouse keeper named Conor, send the children away to live with their grandma in the city, due to the increasing dangers of living on a remote island. The family is internally suffering with grief, after the disappearance of their selkie mother Bronagh, whom Ben blames Saoirse for. Their quest to save the petrified faeries is simultaneously a journey of reconciliation. For a family to move on as a collective unit. The overbearing problem is with how the fictitious tale of mythology is unable to blend with the complexities of this real family. Moore, equipped with Collins’ script, expends most of the runtime detailing the components of the folklore story. A story that is indeed painted on the very walls of Ben and Saoirse’s bedroom. This grants the characters several opportunities to produce expositional dialogue regarding the mythos behind Mac Lir.
Due to the inaccessibility of the world Moore is attempting to illustrate, with many having no prior knowledge, he had no choice but to explain every single component heavy-handedly. When Ben meets the Great Seanachaí, whom still remains unknown to me, the plot’s entirety is spelt out to us with restricted characterised consequence. Ben reacts for a second when given his next task, only to then rapidly move onto the next question or piece of exposition. Yet, despite being explained the story, certain narrative aspects still felt ignored, as if the audience should’ve known beforehand. A selkie is not explained. At all. The visual storytelling alone may elude to the capabilities a selkie possesses, but it then requires further research to clarify those initial findings. Arguably, the more engaging aspect of the tale was the familial drama that had subsided after the first act. Conor seemingly exiting the feature had consequently relinquished the melancholia that powered the visual style. Only to surmise their familial woes in the climactic lyrical performance.
Moore’s second feature is too monotonous for adults, yet too complex for children. The abundance of imagination and gorgeous visual styles pushes this animation to admirable heights, however personally constantly finding myself at a crossroad. Yearning to love a film that deserves so much attention, but only managing to like it. Unable to connect to a story of grandeur and wondrous mysticism. Song of the Sea drowns me in a world of heavy lore and light relatability.
