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Description
Show: Movie
Episode: Movie
Year: 2014

Writer(s): Will Collins

It’s not every day you find an animated film that tackles Celtic mythology, let alone one that does so with such tact and beauty. Is it accurate to the mythological text? No, last I checked selkies (seal-women) weren't on the same level as the most powerful of Irish gods! But regardless of accuracy or whatever, this film is absolutely RADIANT! I wouldn't know if it's better than The Secret of Kells since I haven't seen it yet, but it looks excellent even without the comparison.

This film manages to take a very obscure creature in Irish myth and makes a very beautiful Hobbit-esque epic out of it. Along with that, this film acts as a wonderful family drama of a pair of twins who had to deal with the loss of their selkie mother, with the sister Saoirse also being of selkie descent. Now, yes, the brother is a TREMENDOUS asshole towards his sister in the beginning, scaring her and indignant of the fact that she can't talk at age 6 (which for a selkie makes sense in a way); I know we want to see this kid get better throughout the movie, and I do grow to like him, but at the start, I wanted to throw this bastard off his cliff-side home! Although considering this film's point is showing how this family became broken with the death of the selkie mother, I can forgive this.

What they manage to do with this material is pretty interesting honestly. Selkies in this film are made out to be this near-extinct race of super shape shifters with magical songs. I can accept this film as its own thing to take liberties with the myth and all, so it doesn't really bug me too much they made what amounts to a seal god. They are more akin to mermaids in this film rather than less violently kelpies. As the film goes on, we get thrusted deeper into this magical world where we see a nice variety of magical beings that work very well with the storybook style animation.

They even managed to make their villain out to be a very sweet and oddly sympathetic character Macha a soul-stealing witch of all things! While a lot of people tell tales of this evil and extremely bitter wicked witch, but really, she only did what she thought right to protect her owls and her own child. In many ways, she's actually a better character than Yubaba of Spirited Away! Stealing away emotions so nobody ever has to feel pain or loss... too bad this turns those she afflicts to stone. Even so, I can see where she's coming from, and she does come to understand what she did was wrong and very misguided on her part. It's with her that we learn that as painful as the emotions of grief, pain and loss are, it's even worse to just keep them bottled up inside rather than letting them out.

Do I even have to mention how beautiful the music is in this thing? The music of this masterpiece is done by the same people as The Secret of Kells after all! And that classic Irish folk song you hear throughout the picture will stick with you with enough time! All in all, this is a wonderful magic journey through the land of Ireland! Even with the liberties taken, it still helps you learn a lot about the Irish culture and mythos in its own way that I'm sure anyone will enjoy.

Song of the Sea is owned by Universal Pictures and GKids.

1001 Animations is from

Regulas314

Description
Show: Movie
Episode: Movie
Year: 2014

Writer(s): Will Collins

It’s not every day you find an animated film that tackles Celtic mythology, let alone one that does so with such tact and beauty. Is it accurate to the mythological text? No, last I checked selkies (seal-women) weren't on the same level as the most powerful of Irish gods! But regardless of accuracy or whatever, this film is absolutely RADIANT! I wouldn't know if it's better than The Secret of Kells since I haven't seen it yet, but it looks excellent even without the comparison.

This film manages to take a very obscure creature in Irish myth and makes a very beautiful Hobbit-esque epic out of it. Along with that, this film acts as a wonderful family drama of a pair of twins who had to deal with the loss of their selkie mother, with the sister Saoirse also being of selkie descent. Now, yes, the brother is a TREMENDOUS asshole towards his sister in the beginning, scaring her and indignant of the fact that she can't talk at age 6 (which for a selkie makes sense in a way); I know we want to see this kid get better throughout the movie, and I do grow to like him, but at the start, I wanted to throw this bastard off his cliff-side home! Although considering this film's point is showing how this family became broken with the death of the selkie mother, I can forgive this.

What they manage to do with this material is pretty interesting honestly. Selkies in this film are made out to be this near-extinct race of super shape shifters with magical songs. I can accept this film as its own thing to take liberties with the myth and all, so it doesn't really bug me too much they made what amounts to a seal god. They are more akin to mermaids in this film rather than less violently kelpies. As the film goes on, we get thrusted deeper into this magical world where we see a nice variety of magical beings that work very well with the storybook style animation.

They even managed to make their villain out to be a very sweet and oddly sympathetic character Macha a soul-stealing witch of all things! While a lot of people tell tales of this evil and extremely bitter wicked witch, but really, she only did what she thought right to protect her owls and her own child. In many ways, she's actually a better character than Yubaba of Spirited Away! Stealing away emotions so nobody ever has to feel pain or loss... too bad this turns those she afflicts to stone. Even so, I can see where she's coming from, and she does come to understand what she did was wrong and very misguided on her part. It's with her that we learn that as painful as the emotions of grief, pain and loss are, it's even worse to just keep them bottled up inside rather than letting them out.

Do I even have to mention how beautiful the music is in this thing? The music of this masterpiece is done by the same people as The Secret of Kells after all! And that classic Irish folk song you hear throughout the picture will stick with you with enough time! All in all, this is a wonderful magic journey through the land of Ireland! Even with the liberties taken, it still helps you learn a lot about the Irish culture and mythos in its own way that I'm sure anyone will enjoy.

Song of the Sea is owned by Universal Pictures and GKids.

1001 Animations is from

Regulas314