Review of Song of the Sea (2014) by Ian H — 03 Aug 2016

One of (maybe the most) beautifully animated films I have ever seen. Tomm Moore's previous film--The Book of Kells--was so amazing, it's hard to even comprehend how Song of the Sea is a better, more inventive, more emotionally wrenching film.

Moore and screenwriter William Collins tell a tale that elegantly weaves Irish folklore with a grounded story of grief and siblinghood. The story goes to surprising, magical places, but is really just a solid emotional skeleton on which Moore animates some of the most unique and jawdroppingly exquisite images ever put to film.

Front to back, it's breathtakingly gorgeous and imaginative. It's a shot in the arm in an era dominated by 3D animation, which, though cutting edge, lacks the ability to really tell a complete story.

It feels outside in, rather than inside out (if that makes sense, and pardon the pun). It's a vehicle to serve the storytelling, whereas the art and storytelling in Song of the Sea work together in perfect harmony.