Song of the Sea (2014 film)

Song of the Sea
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Tomm Moore
Produced by	Tomm Moore[1] Ross Murray[1] Paul Young[1] Stephan Roelants[1] Serge Ume[1] Marc Ume[1] Isabelle Truc[1] Clement Calvet[1] Jeremie Fajner[1] Frederik Villumsen[1] Claus Toksvig Kjaer[1]
Screenplay by	Will Collins[1]
Story by	Tomm Moore
Starring	David Rawle Brendan Gleeson Fionnula Flanagan Lisa Hannigan Lucy O'Connell Jon Kenny Pat Shortt Colm Ó Snodaigh Liam Hourican Kevin Swierszcz
Music by	Bruno Coulais Kíla
Edited by	Darragh Byrne Darren T. Holmes (consulting editor)
Production company	Cartoon Saloon[1] Mélusine Productions[1] Big Farm[1] Super Productions[1] Noerlum Studios[1] Irish Film Board[1] Film Fund Luxembourg[1] Eurimages Fund of the Council of Europe[1] Broadcasting Authority of Ireland[1] Film and Audiovisual Centre of Wallonia Brussels Federation[1] Inver Invest[1] Versus Productions[1] Magellan Films[1] Tax Shelter Programme of the Federal Government of Belgium[1] Belgacom[1] Danish Film Institute[1] West Danish Film Fund[1]
Distributed by	StudioCanal (Ireland and United Kingdom) O'Brother Distribution (Belgium) Haut et Court (France) GKIDS (US)
Release dates	6 September 2014 (2014-09-06) (TIFF) 10 December 2014 (2014-12-10) (France/Belgium/Luxembourg) 19 February 2015 (2015-02-19) (Denmark) 10 July 2015 (2015-07-10) (Ireland and United Kingdom)
Running time	93 minutes[2]
Country	Ireland[3] Belgium[3] Denmark[3] France[3] Luxembourg[3]
Language	English Irish
Box office	CN¥15 million (China)[4] US$857,522 (US)[5]

Song of the Sea (Irish: Amhrán na Mara) is a 2014 animated fantasy drama film directed and co-produced by Tomm Moore, co-produced by Ross Murray, Paul Young, Stephen Roelants, Serge and Marc Ume, Isabelle Truc, Clement Calvet, Jeremie Fajner, Frederik Villumsen, and Claus Toksvig Kjaer, and written by Will Collins from Moore's story. It was an international co-production from Ireland, Belgium, Denmark, France, and Luxembourg, and is the second feature film by Cartoon Saloon.

Song of the Sea follows the story of a 10-year-old Irish boy named Ben (David Rawle) who discovers that his mute sister Saoirse, whom he blames for the apparent death of his mother, is a selkie who has to free faerie creatures from the Celtic goddess Macha.

Like other Saloon films, the film was hand-drawn. The film began production soon after the release of The Secret of Kells (2009), premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival on 6 September in the "TIFF Kids" programme.^[6] The film had a limited release in certain countries, but received overwhelming acclaim and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature at the 87th Academy Awards in 2015.^[7][8]

Plot

Conor, a lighthouse keeper, lives on an island with son Ben, his wife Bronagh, and sheepdog Cú. Bronagh disappears late one night, presumably dying after childbirth, leaving behind daughter Saoirse.

Six years later, Conor is broken, Saoirse is mute, and Ben is antagonistic towards Saoirse, blaming her for Bronaugh. On her birthday, she is visited by Granny, the grandmother. That night, Ben scares Saoirse with a story of Mac Lir and his mother Macha, the Owl Witch, who stole his feelings and turned him to stone. Later, Saoirse plays a seashell horn given to Ben by their mother, leading her to a white sealskin coat in Conor's closet. She wears the coat and walks to a group of seals in the sea, revealing her as a selkie. After swimming, she is found by Granny, who insists upon taking the children to the city. Conor reluctantly agrees despite Ben's protests, and locks the coat in a chest, throwing it into the sea.

On Halloween, Saoirse plays the shell, alerting Færie to her. Ben and her attempt to go home, but encounter the Færie, hopeful that Saoirse will allow them to go to Tír na nÓg. However, they are attacked by Macha's owls, turning the Færie to stone. They take a country bus, where they run into Cú, who had followed them. However, Saoirse is growing ill. They come across a sacred well that Saoirse falls into. Ben follows and meets the Great Seanachaí: They learn that she was kidnapped by Macha, and that she is mute because she needs the coat otherwise she will die. He gives Ben one of his hairs that will lead him to Macha, showing that Bronaugh - a selkie herself - returned to the ocean, remorsefully watching.

Ben then meets Macha, who claims that when Mac Lir suffered from a broken heart, she turned him into an island near their home. Ben manages to rescue Saoirse, giving Macha her feelings, recognizing that taking away feelings doesn't help. She helps them fly them back home, and Conor attempts to take Saoirse to a hospital; simultaneously, Granny is near the island to find them. Ben dives into the sea in search of Saoirse's coat, and recovers it with the seals and Conor. The group is then washed up on Mac Lir's island, where Saoirse is fully healthy and sings the song of the sea. Færie rise and travel to Mac Lir and he emerges with Macha and his dogs as they head to Tír na nÓg.

Bronagh appears preparing to depart with Saoirse, but since she is half-human, Bronagh takes her coat and departs. After a tearful goodbye, the Faeries depart across the sea, and Ben and his family happily return home to their island, where Granny finally arrives, and decides the children can stay with their father. Ben and Saoirse reconcile and become friends.

Voice cast

• David Rawle as Ben^[3]
• Brendan Gleeson as Conor and Mac Lir^[3][9]
• Fionnula Flanagan as Granny and Macha^[3][9]
• Lisa Hannigan as Bronagh, Ben and Saoirse's mother^[3]
• Lucy O'Connell as Saoirse^[3]
• Jon Kenny as Ferry Dan and The Great Seanachaí^[3]
• Pat Shortt as Lug^[3]
• Colm Ó Snodaigh as Mossy^[3]
• Liam Hourican as Spud and Bus Driver^[3]
• Kevin Swierszcz as Young Ben^[3]
• Will Collins as Additional voices
• Paul Young as Additional voices

Music

The original music for the film was composed by Bruno Coulais, in collaboration with the Irish group Kíla. The film also features songs by Nolwenn Leroy. A soundtrack album, consisting of 25 songs from the film, was released digitally on 9 December 2014 by Decca Records.^[10]

Track listing

Release

Song of the Sea premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival on 6 September 2014 in the TIFF Kids program.^[6] Theatrically, it was released in France, Belgium and Luxembourg on 10 December 2014.^[11] It received a limited release in North America on 19 December 2014, which qualified it for an Academy Award nomination.^[12] It was released in Ireland on 10 July 2015.^[13]

Reception

Box office

The film has grossed CN¥15 million in China^[4] and US$857,522 in the United States and Canada.^[14]

Critical response

Early reviews have been overwhelmingly positive. Todd Brown, founder and editor of Twitch Film, gave a highly positive review of the film, saying that "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". "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 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." ^[15]

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a score of 99% and an average rating of 8.4/10 based on 77 reviews.^[16] It also has a score of 85 out of 100 on Metacritic from 24 reviews.^[17]

Writing in the Toronto Review, Carlos Aguilar said of the film: "Watching Song of the Sea it is easy to assert that this is one of the most blissfully beautiful animated films ever made. It is a gem beaming with awe-inspiring, heartwarming magic".^[18]

Sara Stewart from the New York Post said "If you want some real cinematic magic this holiday season, don’t miss this enchanting Irish film about a pair of siblings and a piece of Celtic folklore that turns out to be true".^[19]

Accolades

See also

• List of animated feature-length films
• Cartoon Saloon

References

External links

• Song of the Sea at the Internet Movie Database
• Song of the Sea at Box Office Mojo
• Song of the Sea at Rotten Tomatoes
• Song of the Sea at Metacritic