Song Of The Sea Movie Review

You probably thought that the era of two dimensional animated movies have been fading away or losing its spark. But when you look at Song Of The Sea, with their visually spectacular images, you can see, on the contrary, that it is starting to develop and become more immersive.

Song Of The Sea is an Independent Irish animated fantasy film directed by Tomm Moore who also directed Secret Of Kells (2009). This feature film tells the story of a little girl called Saoirse who is revealed to be a mythological creature called a selkie, a person who can turn into a seal, and embarks on a journey with his reluctant older brother, Ben, to save the spirit world and other magical beings like her. But the question of the story lies with her - should she return to her fellow seal friends or stay with her strict father, Conor and her bossy and annoyed younger brother, Ben?

This film is an independent animated film which was interesting as independent animated films are competitively different from your average Disney or Dreamwork Hollywood films which in its storytelling include characters such as princesses, princes or your average heroes, villains, side kicks and love interests, that we have all grown to admire, inspired by Vladimir Propp’s theory according to Narrative believing in Russian fairy tale characters and role models.

Independent films, in general are created to have an impact on the world as they tend to add elements of real life so the audience relate to the story and characters which make them pure and realistic. Not only was this feature film entertaining but it was also educational as I was enticed by learning about the legendary Irish folk tales, mythologies and listening to celtic ancient folk songs and enjoy the sound of the authentic instruments such as Saoirse blowing into a sea shell.

However on a serious note, this film also raises awareness on people’s inability of speech and language disorders, specifically on younger children as Saoirse’s weakness and struggle is that she is a mute. This means she has yet the ability to speak despite she is six years old which is becoming an issue for their struggling father, Conor and a growing nuisance for Ben as he is forced to look after her little sister throughout the whole journey.

I am aware that according to storytelling, in order to make a character engaging, you must “show” and not “tell.” Tomm Moore used Saoirse’s flaw as an advantage to this rule as she has the inability to speak so we are immediately enticed by her actions and mannerisms. Not only is she enjoyably cute and adorable but she is also seen as adventurous, curious, questionable, very caring and giving - especially to her older brother, whom he sadly does not appreciate it. This shows that the Tomm Moore’s portrayal of this interesting character and her impact on the storyline was accomplished brilliantly.

Since Saoirse’s condition is looked down upon by her people but has no worry in her ocean fantasy world with her seal friends, will this make her decide to leave her family or not? Although Saoirse is already introduced as likeable she still has a lot of character development to overcome and one of them, which is the most crucial, is finding her voice.

However despite the film mainly focusing on Saoirse’s story and her mystical well being, surprisingly the protagonist or hero of this film is her older brother, Ben. Ben is clearly the reluctant hero as you see the constant attitude he gives to his father, sister and grandmother. But a hero nonetheless. Ben is forced to move with his sister from the lighthouse island to the city with their strict and intolerant grandmother.

Ben resents this as he has to say goodbye to his home, his father, who is trying to forget about his mothers past, and his faithful big dog, Cu. Being the dare devil he is, Ben runs away and tries to find his way back home and hopefully be reunited with Cu, his faithful big dog and also his father. But annoyingly, he has to bring his sister along the ride as well because she just won’t leave him alone.

In the beginning of the film, his dislike towards his little sister is understandable and justifiable as her birth is linked to his mother’s disappearance into the ocean. But of course it is also unnecessary as it was not the poor little girl’s fault. She even looks up to him as a guardian.

When looking at their relationship, Ben is the more dominant, older brother as he is smart, cunning, adventurous, brave and on top of all that, unlike Saoirse, he can talk! So without him, Soairse would be lost and she would not know what to do, which is why she keeps constantly following him around which Ben finds irritating. For example her heavy breathing over his shoulder whilst he tries to read a book. “For someone who doesn’t know how to talk, you are really loud!”

However we also find Ben slightly annoying as well when he keeps pulling Saoirse with a string, insultingly attached to her which comically shows that he is in charge of the situation and of her. However his character develops whenever his sister is in danger and the relationship between the two siblings grow to be pure and heartwarming as they both reconcile and Ben apologises for his selfish actions and Saoirse finally overcomes her weakness. Adorably, her own brother is revealed to be her first word. But not only does she talk but she also SINGS as well. What song does she sing, you ask? The Song Of The Sea.

Song Of The Sea amazed me with its heartfelt moments, thrilling adventures featuring magnificent creatures and beautiful artistic animation which will have your eyes glued to the screen until the film is over. Tomm Moore’s animation, style technique is nothing like you have ever seen before as he captures the theme of the ocean, the motion, its mystical creatures and the various emotion it brings to its colourful characters.

The animation is beautiful and innovative and the story is extremely imaginative and creative with a lot of heart and soul - it will make you laugh and cry, as I certainly know it made me.

Glorious artistic and smooth animation, colourful and adventurous characters, interesting myths and folk tales. This film will entertain audiences of all ages as it introduces an immersive, new style of animation, music and storytelling.