Song of the Sea Preview
By: Shannon Denham
Staff Writer
Tomm Moore is an Irish director that has worked on a few animated films in his career. He is also the co-founder of Cartoon Saloon. This studio produced his brand new, traditionally animated movie called Song of the Sea. Cartoon Saloon is an Irish animation studio that has won many animation awards. Although unfamiliar to most, Cartoon Saloon has worked with major companies such as Disney, Cartoon Network, and BBC. The studio is based in Kilkenny, Ireland, and creates films, commercials, and even graphic novels and children’s books.
Cartoon Saloon’s latest creation is Song of the Sea, an animated feature film. This film follows the story of siblings Ben and Saoirse. When their mother disappears, the two children go to live with their grandmother in the city. However, Saoirse isn’t just an ordinary kid. She is also the last of the Selkies. Selkies, in Irish folklore, are women who turn from humans on land into seals in the sea. Ben and Saoirse embark on an adventurous journey where they discover folklore and legends do still exist. Saoirse is the key to their survival.
While it may be hard to view in your country due to its small company status, I really hope you try your hardest to do so. Animation is often written off as something for children, which is indeed the designated target audience for most animated movies. However, who says that kids’ movies can’t handle great character development, heartwarming stories, and complex plots? These movies are created by incredibly talented professionals that put their hearts and souls into every little aspect of the animating process. These movies are even arguably more artful than live-action movies. Watching animated movies is like seeing a whole museum of masterpieces presented before you, except with the added bonus of the artworks thoroughly weaving themselves with enchanting stories.
I highly implore all those reading this to go and see Song of the Sea if they can. Song of the Sea is traditionally animated, meaning that each frame is drawn by hand. This type of animation has been generally surpassed by computer animation, mostly in the United States. Also, since this movie has been created by a smaller animation company, support for this movie is indeed crucial. Of course, it is great to support computer animated movies made by big companies like Disney or Dreamworks, but we also need to help the hand-drawn, smaller movies that are just as good but really need helping hands to get the recognition they deserve.
Song of the Sea is rated PG and is already out in theaters in France, Belgium, and Luxembourg. In America, Song of the Sea starts its release on December 19th and will spread throughout the United States as time passes (for example, in my state it won’t appear until February). It releases in Denmark on February 26th, 2015 and in Ireland in March 2015. Check your local listings to find any showings in your area. For more information, please visit www.cartoonsaloon.ie or visit the official production blog at http://songoftheseamovie.blogspot.ie/
Disclaimer
All images in this article are copyright Cartoon Saloon, The Big Farm, Melusine Productions, Superprod, and Nørlum.