ANI-MOVIES, *Song Of The Sea

Tomm Moore's second full-length animated film with Cartoon Saloon after Secret Of The Kells was a welcome followup deep in Irish lore and European urban fantasy. Where as the previous production took place during the viking era, Song Of The Sea brings the mythology up to modern day.

Ben is a young boy living in a lighthouse on a small inlet in Ireland. He cared very deeply for his mother that supposedly died giving birth to his younger sister, Saoirse, who is a mute. Ben now lives with his father, sister, and their dog Cu. The family gets a visit from their grandmother on Saoirse's 6th birthday, but leads to the young girl finding her mother's old cloak that allows her to transform into a seal, which reveals that her mother was a "selkie", a water spirit with the power to take on a human form for a number of years. After discovering Saoirse's secret, her grandmother convinces their father to let the children move in with her, miles away from the ocean. The ancient goddess Macha sends her owl lackeys to capture Saoirse because a selkie's song could free all the faeries she turned to stone by taking away their emotions. Ben and Saoirse leave their grandma's house on Halloween while encountering the last three local faerie folk not under Macha's curse. The trio tell them of Macha's plans to kidnap Saoirse, so the siblings barely escape the creepy owls, but Ben loses his sister. Luckily, the lad stumbles across an old storytelling spirit who leads him to Macha's lair, and uses the goddess' stolen emotions to make the old crow feel again. Saoirse is still not feeling well, and Macha informs them she needs her mother's robe to heal her. After finally reaching the lighthouse, they use the robe to change Saoirse into a seal again, while Macha uses her magic to free all those still under her petrifying spell. This summons the spirit of Ben and Saoirse's mother who removes the robe from her half-selike daughter, making her now fully human.

Song Of The Sea is very deep in Celtic folklore, although you don't need to have a degree in mythology to enjoy it. The story is easy to accept as a present day fantasy, and despite its dark overtones the film rolls along good enough for all ages to watch. The animation is above the quality that Cartoon Saloon did in Secret Of The Kells, and you can see how far they've come during the five years between movies. Even though it's limited U.S. box office time got it an Oscar nomination, it didn't raise the level of success as your standard Disney animated movie.