Song of the Sea (2014)

September 7, 2015 8:27 PM

Ben, a young Irish boy, and his mute little sister Saoirse, who can turn into a seal, go on an adventure to free the faeries and save the spirit world in this visually stunning animated feature.

99% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, 8.2/10 on IMDB.
The film was nominated for Academy Award for Best Animated Feature at the 87th Academy Awards (2015).

posted by gemutlichkeit (6 comments total)

This was a gorgeous movie. I love the style of it (and Book of Kells, which was the same animation studio).
posted by immlass at 8:30 PM on September 7, 2015

I saw this last winter (I think?) when it came to our local art theatre, because I loved The Book of Kells so much. It was amazing but also, fair warning, I did not expect to cry quite so much at an animated movie.
posted by WidgetAlley at 9:27 AM on September 8, 2015

I especially appreciated that Saoirse was voiceless. It's an extraordinary animation company, and it was a pleasure to watch them create a character entirely through action.

I also liked that the Tuatha Dé Danann had a sign that read "feic off."
posted by maxsparber at 9:55 AM on September 8, 2015

I saw this a few months ago. It was absolutely incredible. The animation was superbly done and often breath-takingly beautiful. I can't recommend it highly enough.
posted by Magnakai at 10:14 AM on September 8, 2015

I just came into the thread to brag on Nolwenn Leroy, the French singer who performed the title song and was also Bronagh's VA in the French dub. When Nolwenn was in high school, she stayed for several months with my aunt and uncle as an overseas exchange student, and it was only a few years afterwards that she launched her music career on the TV show Star Academy, the French sister show to American Idol, starting out in pop and branching out into folk and world music. Nolwenn's come back to the U.S. to visit my family a number of times since (she enjoys travelling in the States because nobody recognizes her), and I can verify that she is indeed a genuine talent and a real class act, and hasn't let fame go to her head in the slightest. Her albums are up on the major streaming services, so go check 'em out if you liked her here!
posted by Strange Interlude at 1:40 PM on September 8, 2015 [3 favorites]

There's so much I loved about this movie! Starting with the gently stylized and abstracted animation, and the music, and the parallels between the family drama story and the mythological story (including doubling the voice actors for some of the roles). And the dog. Mostly the dog was awesome.

I really liked this Twitch review:

Unlike virtually anything in American animation today - up to and including Pixar - this is a film that does not feel like a product in any way. Song Of The Sea is not about selling units, it's about story and heart and emotion and wonder and craftsmanship and because of that it becomes timeless.

A couple of months I put it on in the library meeting room, with some trepidation -- usually I come back to find the floor of the meeting room covered in plastic dinosaurs. But as the end of the movie got closer, I came back to the meeting room, and it was just... kids staring transfixed at the screen. Which really surprised me, because it's such a quiet movie. But it really is that good. Just... earnest and sincere and vulnerable.
posted by Jeanne at 1:58 PM on September 8, 2015 [5 favorites]