ccs ‘Song of the Sea’
‘Song of the Sea’ is an animated film produced by Cartoon Salon Ireland and co-produced by various studios in Belgium, Denmark, France and Luxembourg, directed by Tom Moore. It tells the story of a seal woman who gives birth to a baby before she goes away with a human, and it’s based on a Celtic myth. Legend has it that there is a creature called Seal Man, who lives in the form of a seal in the sea and turns into a dark-haired beauty on shore. If anyone wants to stay with them, they have to hide the seal skin so they can’t go back to the sea. But once the seal woman finds her skin, she will return to the sea and never come back. However, the basic structure of the story has been changed and the animation incorporates the Irish mythology of the sea god, Malmanor MacLear.
In one version of his mythical story, MacLear had a beautiful wife and several lovely children. It is said that a girl was jealous of them, so she turned the children into swans by magic. According to the sources, the movie’s owl witch Marcha, the mountain and rock spirits, and even the great storytellers Fairy Fort and Holy Well all have their own mythological parallels and references. Just because the film was presented without too much introduction background, it would be difficult to understand the information behind it at that time if you simply watched the film.
The plot is relatively simple, but it doesn’t look boring . The main reason is the film’s amazing art. It can be said that the main creative team successfully presented in the animated film a plane aesthetics that reaches or even surpasses the picture book, which is really amazing. Because the plot takes place in the modern world, but with the modern elements of the bus lighthouse, and at the same time having these elves contained in the witches, in the world. It has managed to create a world that is both close to everyday life and mysterious. And then the reality of the front end of the story, the gradual transition to the imagination and fantasy of the back end seems to be a seamless transition. The direct communication between the mythological world and the real world gives the audience a strange experience.
Other than that, there are owls, witches and grannies and even little firepots and McLeard Terriers. All have obvious image correspondence. This correspondence brings a sense of visual mystery, as if the characters and characters that once belonged to myths and legends are reappearing in this era. If children hear about mythical characters, they will also have a familiar person or image to substitute for them in their imagination. The overlap of these mythological characters with the real characters gives the story another layer of mystery. Is it a real event or a picture book story told by a narrator? This is because of the similarity between these mythological characters and world characters, thus increasing the possibility of films as children listening to a story of rich imagination.
In fact, a lot of children’s literature has this characteristic. Even though there is a simple outer story, there is an inner mystery. Sometimes it’s even scary, like ‘Life of Pi.’ The overall tone of the film is also more mysterious and sad. Sources say the director wanted to make the undersea world look like the afterlife. So we can see the dark bottom of the sea, and finally the elves are singing together to go to heaven. In fact, one theory is that the legend of the seal woman can be used to comfort the children who have lost their mothers, so that they do not have to grieve too much. In this sense, the mother’s tearful ‘I love you’ at the end is all the more moving if the sea and land are interpreted as living and dying. In fact, the story of Song of the Sea seems simple and childish, but actually has arigorous structure and can be repeated many times interesting. Coupled with the art of the acme, it is quite an excellent work.
In the story, the mother had to go to sea to give birth to Saoirse safely, and finally could not come back for some reason. And he was very affectionate to his family. As for the theme of the film, perhaps it can be seen from the final scene. The owl witch sealed her emotions and turned the sad people into stone. Their grief seemed to be resolved in numbness, but it was not. But when Saoirse sings the song of the sea at the end of the film, all those sad elves seem to accept the pain that has happened to them, and thus are liberated.
Reminiscent of the past, the family is not willing to accept the fact that Saoirse is a seal daughter, let her away from the sea. The elder brother was reluctant to accept the fact that her mother was gone, and directed his anger toward the younger sister. Even the father was reluctant to accept her death. Get drunk all day. In fact, the TV wall to convey such a kind of humanistic feelings, please the thing has happened. Don’t accept it in the middle of the night. It will set you free. At the end of the story, the family finally accepts each other and lives happily together, which is probably the best ending.The main character’s mother may never come back, but what can it do? Is already let him so, let oneself from the past of these memories reflect the value of love, and calmly go on.
The film has a painting style similar to the picture book, and each frame can be regarded as a fine illustration. And this stylized work is not just a cartoon salon from the company that produced “Song of the Sea.” It was preceded by ‘The Secret of Kells’, which is also set in Irish culture. The stylized and cultural works they have created have earned them many accolades. Starting in 1998, Cartoon Salon has experienced more than a decade of efforts to achieve commercial success and artistic acclaim.’The Secret of the Kyle Book’ and ‘Song of the Sea’ were both nominated for an Annie Award and an Academy Award for Best Animated Product.