Song of the Sea

I tagged along with my daughter to see the animated film Song of the Sea yesterday. I wasn’t sure what to expect; it’s an Oscar-nominated movie, but it’s also an hour and a half long. Sometimes — for me — that’s a lot of animation.

I’m glad I went!

Directed by Tomm Moore (The Secret of Kells), this is a story about 6-year-old Saoirse, who is also a magical being called a selkie. She and her brother, struggling to return to their lighthouse home from the city, must go on a quest to find Saoirse’s white coat to save the girl’s life, and to free her magical song.

The beautiful animation made every scene a feast for the eyes. The story is charming, a seamless blend of modern-day and myth that made me feel as if I were in a legend. The soundtrack has a haunting quality; I could almost imagine it echoing down the ages, as if sung at a gathering before a peat fire long ago.

The whole movie is a work of art.

Song of the Sea would be great for adults and children. (There are themes of loss and mourning in the story that make it unsuitable for the youngest children: check commonsensemedia.org for more information about parent reviews.) In fact, wouldn’t it be great if kids got to see more work like this to enhance our otherwise Disney-rich fare?

Here’s more info about the movie at IMDb and at Rotten Tomatoes.