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Song of the Sea Trailer

2009 saw the release of big-budget animated films like Monsters vs Aliens, Up, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and Coraline, in which the Hollywood studios spent millions of dollars because they know parents taking the kiddies to watch these films in the summer would ensure a return of their investment many times over –Pixar’s Up for example earned a total lifetime gross of almost three quarters of a billion dollars worldwide.

Yet in that year, with only a small fraction of what the major studios spent, the fairly obscure Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon released the movie The Secret of Kells, directed by (then) 32-year-old Tomm Moore, which turned to be a revelation on several grounds: Firstly because in an era dominated by CGI and impressive visual effects, the decidedly ‘flat’ style and gorgeous designs of Kells –inspired by the movie The Thief and the Cobbler— showed you CAN captivate an audience without 3-d animation and expensive gimmicks. Secondly, because Moore’s choice to base his 1st major motion picture in an important piece of Ireland’s heirloom–the Book of Kells, an illuminated manuscript from the early Medieval period– instead of a more ‘profitable’ idea like a popular novel, a toy, or the remake of a remake, proved there’s plenty of untapped potential to tell a compelling story in ancient folklore.

Alas, The Secret of Kells was not a financial success –perhaps because it was only released one week in the US– but it gained a lot of critical acclaim and was even nominated for an Academy award in 2010.

Now Tomm Moore’s newest film Song of the Sea is about to be released in North America. Judging by the trailer below, it looks like once again there’ll be plenty of magic, ancient sites and supernatural creatures inspired by the old Irish legends of Fey folk and selkies:

Song of the Sea opens on December 19 in New York city and Toronto, followed by an expansion to Los Angeles and other U.S. and Canadian cities throughout the holidays. Here’s hoping it has a better success than its predecessor, so I can get to see it in a proper movie theater instead of the screen of my laptop. And also because 5 years is too long a wait to be illuminated by Moore’s talent.

[H/T Cartoon Brew]

  1. Song of the Sea
    I actually saw the preview of this trailer quite a while ago and posted it on another blog I belong to. As someone who lives by the sea, collects things I find on the beach, and loves animated films (as you damn welll know) I have been looking forward to this film.

    Kells was underrated in the US, and didn’t win an Oscar because the Oscars are owned by Disney. No matter what film a brilliant animation studio puts out, such as Ghilbli, the Pixar film for that year will win. It’s a shame too because I’ve seen some better contenders for best animated film than Big Hero 6.

    At least Miyazaki got this though:
    http://dailygrail.com/blogs/LastLoup/2014/11/Hayao-Miyazaki-receives-Lifetime-Achievement-Oscar

    I miss 2D animation. Call me old school but I feel it takes more skill to draw “flat” than to animate on the computer in my opinion, having done both.

    1. Flat
      I think by now animators and artists should be aware of each medium’s strong and weak points. Personally, there’s a certain charm to traditional animation I’ll never stop loving, yet at the same time I remember the humble beginnings of CGI –exhibit A: Tin Toy– and ever since I watched Toy Story I keep marveling at how the manage to make more breakthroughs.

      http://youtu.be/4cpCH7hnM0o

      At the same time, to think lotsa flashy polygons and caustic reflections is going to compensate for a lousy story is why the market’s been flooded with forgettable movies.

      But the biggest problem by far is that American studios still go by the delusion that Animation is ONLY about children films. When the hell am I going to see an adult-oriented story from Pixar??

      If Miyazaki’s reading this –and I’m sure he is– here’s an idea: Partner with Moore in order to help him make more films like Kells and Song of the Sea 😉

      1. More like…
        [quote=red pill junkie]If Miyazaki’s reading this –and I’m sure he is– here’s an idea: Partner with Moore in order to help him make more films like Kells and Song of the Sea ;)[/quote]

        ^This

        I just hope we don’t eventually get to a generation of children who don’t get to see what animation used to be and respect it for how far it has come. Even Disney movies nowadays seem like they are trying to outdo themselves. Sure you still see little kids dressing up like Snow White and Cinderella, but once those children become adults and have their own kids, will they show them 2D animated films or just ones like Frozen?

        …and yes, I remember seeing Tin Toy and the first Toy Story when I was a kid and it blew my freakin’ mind.

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