Song of the Sea (2014)

Ben, a young Irish boy, and his little sister Saoirse, a girl who can turn into a seal, go on an adventure to free the fairies and save the spirit world.

Director:

Tomm Moore

Writers:

Will Collins (screenplay by), Tomm Moore (based on an original story by)

Stars:

David Rawle, Brendan Gleeson, Lisa Hannigan

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 11 wins & 25 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
David Rawle	...	Ben (voice)
Brendan Gleeson	...	Conor / Mac Lir (voice)
Lisa Hannigan	...	Bronach (voice)
Fionnula Flanagan	...	Granny / Macha (voice)
Lucy O'Connell	...	Saoirse (voice)
Jon Kenny	...	Ferry Dan / The Great Seanachaí (voice)
Pat Shortt	...	Lug (voice)
Colm Ó'Snodaigh	...	Mossy (voice)
Liam Hourican	...	Spud / Bus Driver (voice)
Kevin Swierszcz	...	Young Ben (voice)
Will Collins	...	Additional Voices (voice) (as William Collins)
Paul Young	...	Additional Voices (voice)

Storyline

Saoirse is a child who is the last of the selkies, women in Irish and Scottish legends who transform from seals into people. She escapes from her grandmother's home to journey to the sea and free fairy creatures trapped in the modern world.

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Plot Keywords:

brother sister relationship | selkie | sea | seal the animal | witch | 

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Drama | Family | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some mild peril, language and pipe smoking images

Did You Know?

Trivia

Brendan Gleeson voices Conor, the father of the main characters Ben and Saoirse. In Cartoon Saloon's previous animated film The Secret of Kells (2009), Gleeson voiced Abbot Cellach, the father figure of the main character Brendan.

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Goofs

When Granny finds the ghosts in the bin on Halloween, she threatens to call the police. Being Irish and living unmistakably in Dublin, she would not use the term police, but would instead threaten to call "the Guards" (or "Gardaí" in Irish), the usual term for police in Ireland.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Bronagh: Come away oh human child, to the waters and the wild, with a fairy, hand in hand, for the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.

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Crazy Credits

"Behind the scenes" wireframes and animatics from the production are shown beside the credits as they roll.

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Alternate Versions

In the cinema release, the words 'Feic Off' are written on a wooden door. On the UK Blu-ray release they have been removed.

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Connections

References The Princess and the Goblin (1991)

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Soundtracks

In The Streets
by Bruno Coulais & Kila

User Reviews

Simply beautiful: I defy you not to love it!

"My son, remember me in your stories and in your songs. Know that I will always love you, always." Mother Bronagh

A good kids' animation will usually include some well-known motifs such as in Hansel and Gretel and The Wizard of Oz; Tomm Moore's Song of the Sea does. However, this is no ordinary animation: It swirls with pastels that morph into imaginative lines capturing humans and faeries as if the world supported both in their glory and despair--a phantasmagoric hot mess if you will. As he did in his first spectacular animation, the Secret of Kells, Moore hand draws (without the aid of computer) a maritime story about Ireland, not some nebulous Neverland.

Despite the imaginative, albeit almost primitive visuals, the story hammers home some important themes, especially for kids: the challenges of an older brother with a younger sister and the loss of a parent inducing depression to cause muteness. In addition, the interaction of a domineering grandma with small children plays a part as the filmmakers accurately target the challenges of growing up for any child.

In this Oscar-nominated tale set in 1987, Saoirse (voice of Lucy O'Connell), a mute child living in a lighthouse with her tormenting older brother, suffers the loss of mother, who is actually one of the Selkies (women in Scottish and Irish legend who change from seals to people while hiding their sealness). So, too, little Selkie Saoirse, who struggles to bring back mother from the sea and deal with grumpy grandma at the same time.

Saoirse's responsibility is to save all the fairy creatures from the modern world. Besides meeting an array of eccentric characters, she helps her bro learn to love her, and dad to accept the loss of his wife. If the story is not new enough for you, then relax with visuals that will hypnotize in their simplicity of execution and complexity of theme.

Then you can also consider how this 6 million dollar movie beats the heck out of major studio productions costing twenty times that.

Details

Official Sites:

directors official blog Official site [Japan]

Country:

Ireland Denmark Belgium Luxembourg France

Language:

English Irish

Release Date:

20 November 2015 (USA)

Also Known As:

Song of the Sea

Filming Locations:

Cartoon Saloon, The Maltings, Tilbury Place, James' Street, Kilkenny, Kilkenny County, Ireland

Box Office

Budget:

EUR5,300,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$21,910, 21 December 2014

Gross USA:

$857,522

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,190,884

Company Credits

Production Co:

Backup Media, Big Farm, Broadcasting Authority of Ireland

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1