Song of the Sea, the new feature film from Kilkenny-based animation studio Cartoon Saloon, has been described by international critics as “absolutely gorgeous”, “delightful” and “blissfully beautiful” following its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Directed by Tomm Moore, the film is Cartoon Saloon’s follow-up to the Academy Award-nominated feature The Secret of Kells.
The Hollywood Reporter described Song of the Sea as a “gorgeously rendered animated feature from Ireland” and praised the visual flair of the film, describing it as “pleasingly old-school” and saluted the “wondrous watercolor backgrounds and 2D animation in which the impressions of depth and perspective are almost exclusively suggested through overlapping flat surfaces”. The review also speculated that the film could achieve similar success to The Secret of Kells, saying it “stands a solid chance of capturing some of that earlier film’s success both on the awards circuit and at the box office.”
Mark Adams, writing for Screen Daily, hailed the film as “quite delightful piece of magical animation”, comparing its visuals to “like that of a gorgeously illustrated favourite book”. He praised the film as “Sophisticated enough to appeal to adults and packed with enough humour and adventure to work for youngsters, Song Of The Sea is a real animated gem, and one of the real pleasures of the Toronto Film Festival. It will likely appeal to discerning distributors and should mop up awards when it comes to animation festivals.”
Carlos Aguilar writing for Indiewire.com described the film as “an even more stunning work of art” than its predecessor. He continued: “As if wrapped in a blanket made of gorgeous magical dreams, watching Song of the Sea is a spellbinding experience that captures fantasy in its purest form. Cartoon Saloon has once again reinterpreted Irish folktales and crafted a world so unimaginably alluring is hard not to surrender to its charm.” Aguilar also compared director Moore to legendary Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki, director of Spirited Away and My Neighbour Totoro.
Todd Brown, editor and founder of TwitchFilm.com, described Song of the Sea as a “timeless delight for all ages” and noted that it surpassed the high expectations it came with. Brown noted the film was “A tale that weds absolutely gorgeous artwork with beautifully nuanced characters and a deep but natural rooting in ancient folk tales and magic, Song Of The Sea has an assured and timeless quality to it. It is the sort of story that feels as though it always existed somewhere, just waiting until now to be told.” He further noted that the film was “a beautiful piece of art that will delight audiences old and young and confirms what many suspected of Moore after Kells: The man’s a master storyteller, and we can only hope he has many, many more stories to tell.”
Song of the Sea tells the story of Ben and his little sister Saoirse — the last Seal-child — who embark on a fantastic journey across a fading world of ancient legend and magic in an attempt to return to their home by the sea. The film takes inspiration from the mythological Selkies of Irish folklore, who live as seals in the sea but become humans on land. Song of the Sea features the voices of Brendan Gleeson, Fionnula Flanagan, David Rawle, Lisa Hannigan, Pat Shortt, Jon Kenny, Lucy O’Connell, Liam Hourican and Kevin Swierszsz. Music is by composer Bruno Coulais and Irish band Kíla, both of whom previously collaborated on The Secret of Kells.
Song of the Sea is produced by Cartoon Saloon in co-production with European partners Melusine Productions (Luxembourg), The Big Farm (Belgium), Nřrlum (Denmark) and Superprod (France), with the support of The Irish Film Board, Broadcasting Authority Of Ireland, TG4, Eurimages, Luxembourg Film Fund, Wallimages, Centre du cinema et de l’audiovisuel de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, Danish Film Institute, West Danish Film Fund and Danish Radio.
West End Films have signed as sales agents for this highly anticipated film which will be distributed in North America by GKIDS.
Song of the Sea will screen as part of the BFI London Film Festival in October. It will receive a US release in December, followed by an Irish release in early 2015.