User Reviews

Amazing animated movie. I don't know how it didn't win Oscar. I mean Big Hero 6 is also good and cool animated movie but it just isn't better than Song of the Sea. Love the soundtrack and song of the sea is amazing.

The songs and the music is so magical it takes you so deep in the ocean and so high up the Irish highlands traditional stories.

The Oscar nomination was no foul, for me it is as good as Big Hero 6 but maybe the latter has more Action,, yet the storyline and plot here is tighter and more intriguing.

There were some Irish sentences where i'm lost .. couldn't get few words ;) :D but i lived for a while up in Glasgow, Scotland so i kinda got used to these mysteriously "charming" accents ;)

Don't keep your emotions sealed in jars :) It's been really so long since i'v watched an Animated movie with so much heightened emotions :) In the final scene i really felt like crying ...

Overall it's recommended , hope you enjoy it guys ;)

Tomm Moore is an animation genius. This movie isn't just beautifully done. It's a wonderful backbone of a story that shows innocence and grief. It sheds light on taking in your emotions instead of heading them away. The story has a plot but with no true villains only people with misunderstood intentions.

Song of the Sea is a masterpiece. I only wish more people knew of it.

I guess the title kind of gives it away, doesn't it? Still, I'm not one who's given to hyperbole when describing movies, and I'm enough of a critic that I want to nitpick to insane degrees from time to time, but I just can't do it with Song of the Sea. There's just nothing to point out.

This movie is from the same studio that brought us The Secret of Kells (2009), an almost beguilingly charming movie that brought together elements of Druidic myth, passionate Christian faith, history, and Celtic grandeur in a way that I don't think anyone had ever really seen before. When a studio with such a good first effort under their belt takes five years to come out with a second film, you can bet that it's because they're doing something magical.

The only real comparison that's able to be drawn is to the work of Hayao Miyazaki, simply because there's not another animated filmmaker out there who's as honest and earnest with their culture's folklore to compare to. Where Miyazaki-san's work is steeped in spiritual fantasy and a love for his home country not really seen since the Romantic movement, Tomm Moore is a bit more grounded in Western storytelling and keeps his myths well interacted with daily life. His stories are a whimsical blend of magic and the mundane, and it's all carried so well that you wish it could all be true.

The story of Saoirse and her brother Ben is cut from the classic Hero's Journey so closely that you can practically see Joseph Campbell's fingerprints on the screen. In the back of my mind, I was pointing out each and every plot point as it went by, like an eager sightseer out the side of a tour bus. While the story is formulaic, sure, it's executed brilliantly and engagingly. As we so often forget; Tropes Are Not Bad. It's fantastic to see the tools of storytelling so perfectly implemented. It's like watching a master painter or musician craft their art.

Speaking of which, Song of the Sea doesn't lack for anything in the artistic departments. The visuals are jaw-droppingly beautiful, simplistic in design, true to the Celtic roots of the story, and should almost be listed as a character in and of themselves. This story simply couldn't have been told as well with a different art crew, the dynamic is so tied into the feel and flow of the tale. The score is, similarly, simplistic and heartfelt. It doesn't overshadow anything. There's no bombast or leitmotif to be found, but the music is so integral to the plot that you can't imagine the movie without it. Or not even with more of it, the balance is so fine.

And to cap it all off, the voice acting is absolutely brilliant. This is what I long to hear, a return to the days when people were matched to roles that they could play, not a parade of Hollywood "talent" who tries to buy viewers with recognition and star power. Song of the Sea is loaded with people who can actually ACT in their voices alone, and from the adults straight down to the child actors who play the roles of the protagonist pair, every one is a standout.

Honestly, I haven't seen an animated film this heartfelt and earnest since The Lion King, which is probably one of the last times that a studio really just threw their cards on the table and said "let's see what we can really do to tell a story". Song of the Sea hasn't and won't gross well at the box office by Hollywood standards - which is a true shame, because I can't think of a film from 2014 that more deserves to be seen.

Song of the Sea is perhaps known best for being one of the films nominated for the Best Animated Feature Oscar, and after seeing the film it's easy to see why. It's a beautiful and enchanting film, and one of the strongest of the nominees of what was mostly a solid line-up (one where even the weakest of the nominees, The Boxtrolls, had a lot of fine things about it). And as well-done a film The Secret of Kells is, to me Song of the Sea is the superior film, having connected more with the story.

Song of the Sea is so wonderfully animated, the character designs have a real charm without being too cute or stereotyped, but even better are the breathtakingly beautiful colours and very handsomely detailed and at its best magical background art. The music score is equally striking, the melancholic and lilting Celtic sound fitting so well and hauntingly with the story's emotional mood. The film contains a beautifully written script, thoughtful, poignant and with many nuances.

That the story was so easy to connect with was yet another thing that Song of the Sea excelled so well at, it doesn't try to do too much, for one as layered and rich as this one, nor does it feel too slight for the running time. The atmosphere is enchanting, but it was the emotional impact that was even more resonant, it is a subject very easy to identify with and the most emotional parts were just heart-breaking. The characters are interesting and engaging, Ben starts off a little stereotypical but goes through a significant amount of character growth throughout the film that it becomes far easier to warm to him. The voice work is fine, with an admirably nimble Brendan Gleeson and a charming and emotive Lucy O'Connell being particularly strong while David Rawle portrays Ben's development and emotions very believably as well.

All in all, outstanding film and really does cast an enchantingly intoxicating spell on anyone who has the fortune to watch it. 10/10 Bethany Cox

From the Academy Award-nominated director of The Secret of Kells "Tomm Moore"This visually stunning animation masterwork, steeped in Irish myth, folklore and legend,Perfect balance of fantasy & real life.

A sweet journey of love and loss through Celtic mythology with a unique animation style that I've come to love,Song Of The Sea is a triumph in design and animation,The story was rich and quite impressive as well but after you see this film you'll be thinking about how amazing and beautiful it was.

Song Of The Sea gets a 10/10 from me and is well worth to be seen in theaters.

"My son, remember me in your stories and in your songs. Know that I will always love you, always." Mother Bronagh

A good kids' animation will usually include some well-known motifs such as in Hansel and Gretel and The Wizard of Oz; Tomm Moore's Song of the Sea does. However, this is no ordinary animation: It swirls with pastels that morph into imaginative lines capturing humans and faeries as if the world supported both in their glory and despair--a phantasmagoric hot mess if you will. As he did in his first spectacular animation, the Secret of Kells, Moore hand draws (without the aid of computer) a maritime story about Ireland, not some nebulous Neverland.

Despite the imaginative, albeit almost primitive visuals, the story hammers home some important themes, especially for kids: the challenges of an older brother with a younger sister and the loss of a parent inducing depression to cause muteness. In addition, the interaction of a domineering grandma with small children plays a part as the filmmakers accurately target the challenges of growing up for any child.

In this Oscar-nominated tale set in 1987, Saoirse (voice of Lucy O'Connell), a mute child living in a lighthouse with her tormenting older brother, suffers the loss of mother, who is actually one of the Selkies (women in Scottish and Irish legend who change from seals to people while hiding their sealness). So, too, little Selkie Saoirse, who struggles to bring back mother from the sea and deal with grumpy grandma at the same time.

Saoirse's responsibility is to save all the fairy creatures from the modern world. Besides meeting an array of eccentric characters, she helps her bro learn to love her, and dad to accept the loss of his wife. If the story is not new enough for you, then relax with visuals that will hypnotize in their simplicity of execution and complexity of theme.

Then you can also consider how this 6 million dollar movie beats the heck out of major studio productions costing twenty times that.

It's good to know that even in the new 10s, we can still get traditionally animated films of this quality, after even Disney has given up on them. Song of the Sea is of course done with a smaller budget, but you honestly couldn't tell, mostly because the animation style is so simplistically beautiful and partly because of the skill of the animators.

Like their previous film, The Secret of Kells, Song of the Sea is heavily rooted in Irish folklore and mythology, which is exactly the right choice because we're once again treated to an amazingly deep, layered and emotionally mature story. This time our story follows the life of a young girl named Saoirse (Lucy O'Connell). Her mother was called away when she was born and now she's living on a small island with her dad, Conor (Brendan Gleeson), and brother Ben (David Rawle). Yet she has never uttered a single word in her life, and slowly the past of her mother and the secrets of her own origin start to unravel.

Song of the Sea shines because of the complexity and personality of its characters. You're instantly pulled into the mythology of Ireland and the film is very skilled in explaining and showing the intricacies of its lore without shoving it down our throats. The various mythic characters are especially interesting, threatening, sympathetic and intriguing, all at the same time.

Yet the movie's biggest problem are also some of its characters. Mainly the children. Saoirse is fine, even if a bit passive to my liking, but Ben is simply annoying. He's very much your stereotypical whiny little brat, who thinks he's entitled. And yeah, there are good reasons for it, one of them simply being that he's at that age, but it's still annoying. I wouldn't even complain all that much, but there is a way to make an annoying brat without it being annoying to the viewers.

But, luckily Ben has his redeeming qualities as well, so it's nowhere near enough to ruin the film. Song of the Sea is absolutely worth a watch if you liked The Secrets of Kells or if you're still looking for new traditionally animated films.

Amazing artwork and amazing story! I must say this movie has a story to tell that will work up to your emotion just like sea touching a stone and fills it with life. Music is great! The use of color and environment is so vivid and well thought. "Song of the sea" takes you into a emotional and adventurous journey with Saoirse and Ben. I strongly recommend to watch this animated movie. If you are a fan of animation you will simply love it. I've watched quite a lot of work of Studio Ghibli. 2D work like this is rare to come by these days. Wonderful creation! You should make movies like this and unlock a part of us which has been lost in the waves of time. Thank you. :)

It is generally accepted that only Disney can do animation with strong musical themes. Wrong.

It is generally accepted that only Japan can produce superior animation.Wrong.

It is generally accepted that FINDING NEMO was the best animated story about the sea.Wrong.

The other IMDb reviewer who said this could be the best animated feature ever made may not be wrong. It is one of a kind.

I could go on but hopefully you get the point.

Wonderful. Enchanting. Magical. Perfect.

I couldn't even hit the PAUSE button.

Like most hand-drawn animations, they are often quite the treat to look upon, this is no different. It uses a "watercolors" type aesthetic although much cleaner. I wouldn't say it's the same as anime, but it share some similarities, like how the backgrounds are usually hand-drawn and the characters are drawn digitally (they still fit very well into the scene though, which I can't say for some anime's).

The story takes inspiration from Irish folklore, primarily with the "Selkie". A creature who becomes a seal in water but human on land. One of the two main characters, an odd mute girl is one of these creatures.

The folklore inspiration work quite well, however as far as the story goes - It leaves a little to be desired. It seems somewhat uninspired without anything to make it truly stand out. It'll probably make an excellent kids movie, and one that is very gender neutral. I have however seen much more sophisticated storytelling within these kinds of movies. It's not at all bad - just.. bland. The visuals though are still enough to warrant seeing this movie if find them appealing.

First off, I myself found this movie pretty boring. It's a story about a boy whose sister is a Selkie (a mythological seal person which I knew absolutely nothing about this myth going in and that hampered the movie immensely)

Yes, I understand that this is an Irish movie, and I am sure that every kid in Ireland knows the mythology of Selkies, but as an American....I never learned about Selkies and this story does a TERRIBLE job explaining what they are. They tell you some facts, but leave a lot to 'you should have done your research before you started watching this'.

This type of story is when a 'fish out of water' protagonist would have worked. But because everyone in the story knows what Selkies are, they don't feel the need to explain it. The main character finally gets the revelation and goes 'you're a selkie!' and i am there going 'that's fantastic.....what's a selkie?'

The only reason I had any idea what was going on with the lore of this was because I watched this with my sister and she informed me the rules of Selkies that she learned from A different movie entirely.

That is one of the places where the movie falls incredibly flat. You can't introduce such a foreign concept and just assumes everyone will know it because it is premiered in that country. If you wish to have a worldwide audience, you have to explain your lore thoroughly so no one gets left behind.

Other than that, I really didn't care for any of the characters. The girl was quiet and annoying, the boy was uninteresting, and the mother was a terrible terrible person.

I know everyone is heralding this movie as wonderful and beautiful, but I have to say that I didn't really enjoy it. I was too confused about the mythology and the characters weren't interesting enough to draw me in. The father was a jerk and the kids were boring. It wasn't a TERRIBLE movie I just....didn't care. And that's almost worse than being bad. I'm probably going to get a negative response as I didn't give this movie an amazing score, but, I can't help how I feel. I didn't enjoy it and a 5 is exactly what I feel it deserves.

This movie is not just good, it's amazing! Magical! The directors have done a great job, it's full of art.. did not even made me feel im watching a 2D movie even for a second. Enjoyed every second of it. Loved this :)

A vacation to a recurring place, like that cabin in the mountains you visit once a year, is one of those nostalgic memories that you treasure so much that you'll try hard to recreate it when your turn comes to be a parent. For most, there are either mountain people or beach people; one set enjoys the sea air and playing in the sand while there are those that prefer the smell of pine and the wide openness of nature. I've had the privilege to have both, though I consider myself more of a beach guy.

One place that my parents would take my brother and I (and still do to this day) is the lovely Laguna Beach. The conflicting scents of sunscreen and ocean water give me such a relaxing buzz that I can't help but feel that the sea itself calls to me. Being about to observe the tide corals and touch them, as well as sticking my feet in the water just seems to define Southern California. It's such a laid back atmosphere and it's something that I hope to observe more in the future. The call of the ocean is the subject in Song of the Sea.

It's set in Ireland where we find a family living on an island in a lighthouse where a young boy named Ben loves his life with his lighthouse keeper father and his mother whose ready to give birth to a daughter. One night she disappears into the sea but the daughter is born safely. The father becomes distant from his kids out of guilt that he couldn't have saved his wife, leaving young Ben to care for his sister.

Six years later, the girl, named Saoirse, has yet to speak and easily frustrates Ben as he's remained fearful of the ocean water and forbids her to enter it. The two are your typical brother sister set who tend to fight and play pranks on each other, even though Ben is usually the troublemaker. Their grandmother comes to visit on Saoirse's birthday and tries again to persuade her son to let the grandkids come live with her. Things seem to go fine until Saoirse finds her mothers seashell that was given to Ben. She finds that when she plays it, a magical force leads her to find a coat where upon wearing in the sea, will allow her to turn into a seal. The incident convinces the father the kids might be better off and send them to their grandmother. The kids don't like the arrangement and set off to return to the lighthouse while coming across some other mysterious Celtic legends.

The team behind this picture also made the previously Oscar nominated Secret of the Kells. As with their last film, Song of the Sea is beautifully hand drawn, which is something we really need more of. Some say that computer animation is all what people want, but I think if marketed well, this would have done as well as a regular Disney movie (maybe not Frozen levels, but a lot).

As a story, Song of the Sea is a nice coming of age story that nicely shows a genuine relationship of brother and sister. A lot of the brother-sister sets we see are usually fighting or really close, yet this one is a bit a both, and because of that, feels more real. I too would be just as stressed should my sibling have never talked.

The legends of giants turning into stone islands, trolls living in cities and owl witches are fun to hear about and have a timeless quality that more Americans should hear about. That might be the Irish ancestry inside of me but what are young gonna do?

I'll give this nine seashell flutes out of ten. Song of the Sea has plenty of mysterious fantasy without any unnecessary pandering that one might receive from Nickelodeon. This is a film a highly recommend to not just families, but to those that have had a sibling.

It's so great that such a small film like this will now get seen because it got nominated for an Oscar, whereas if it had not it would've gone very much underseen. I have to start off by saying that while the voice acting here is decent (surprisingly a little underacting by Brendan Gleeson), the sound mixing and sound editing is truly spectacular. At times the sounds were so real that if I closed my eyes I would really believe I was near the ocean. The animation as well, for being an independent film, is truly beautiful. Simple, but the colors are really vivid and strong and they have a great effect. Overall, the film is just gentle and joyous and so hard to dislike. It's a bit light, but harmless.

Song of the Sea has beautiful visuals throughout and is always a treat to look at. It's an intimate fantasy tale of a family living in the wake of their mother having went into the sea because she's a creature thing to become a creature thing. Now the brother and sister must get back home from their Grandmother's house and also solve the fantasy thing because the girl is a Selkie (half-seal) like her Mom was. This movie didn't really make sense to me.

Watching the movie is a nice experience because the images look like well-crafted, detailed drawings like a painting from a children's book. But beneath these visuals is a story that feels like it makes enough sense to pass off, but I can't figure out why anything really happened. To put it best, this movie made up its own rules as it went along. It's like someone is telling you a bedtime story that they're just making up as they go along. It lacks proper stakes and explanations for why things in its fantasy world are the way they are.

I'm not just trying to nitpick, here. Towards the beginning, I was getting a hint that this story didn't have anything at stake. They want to get home, and separately, the girl is discovering that she is a seal creature. With this discovery, which happens out of nowhere, she has a task. What is this task? She has to un-stone creatures and fairies from this fantasy world that she meets as if she is a chosen one, but she isn't. We don't know why they want her specifically or what she is getting from them by doing this. We don't know what it means for her to be a Selkie. We do know that she is going to die for some reason if she doesn't do it.

So what are her tasks for accomplishing this? The one thing that makes sense is that she has to get a coat from her house, but most of the story is the two siblings wandering wherever in this fantasy world. She has to follow some little shiny things and then she'll solve the fantasy thing. I call it the "fantasy thing" because she's not really solving anything at all. She's just going on a thing that she needs to do because the movie said so. There's a shell that she plays that makes bad things go away when convenient, established by the movie when needed. There's a water portal in a house in the middle of nowhere that leads to a guy whose beard grows and I guess each strand tells a story. I don't know what this guy did for the story or for the characters. There are seals who help the characters ride to where they need to go in the ocean just because.

The pieces in this story add up to what looks like a proper film but they don't actually make any sense, and therefore mean nothing. Unlike other fantasies, this one establishes its rules on the spot and without any grounding. By the end of the movie, I had realized that no explanation was coming for me, and that this movie simply didn't make sense. I can't say, however, that it was unpleasant to watch. The characters, while not that developed, were nice to watch and had loving relationships with one another that gives the movie some emotion. The score, I should mention, is very very good. I had a warm feeling while watching much of it, but it's hard for me not to be weighed down by its lack of making any sort of sense, and I have a hard time believing that apparently no critics see this.

Song of the Sea is a singularly exceptional film. It hides complexity in both story and fabulous art behind a simple, beguiling tale of two children, Saoirse and Ben, their father, Connor, their mother Bronach, and a very adorable dog, Cu, who struggle to cope with loss, and find in magical realism a way to understand and find the world afresh.

Using superb metaphors and meaning from Irish folktales and legends the film can be viewed on one level simply as an adventurous fairy tale set in modern times, but viewed deeply, it speaks deeply to the human condition; and for this viewer is one of the most singular films of the decade. It is fun, funny, and sorrowful and, importantly, as unpatronising as children themselves. It is totally suited to all ages, including very small children, who will adore the seals and Cu, and adults, and even teenagers, who may be enticed to see something more.

It is this aspect of understanding the human condition in Tomm Moore's film that lifts it from another animated film to the absolute finest cinema. Yet he does so with such a light touch that many viewers will accept the magical realism and simply enjoy the charm and whimsy and be swept along. However, it also poignantly asks if happiness can exist without sorrow, and given the choice, would we want to live without either or both, and does so with some terrific touches.

In addition, here is a world of sublime artistic technical skill and excellent voice acting - the film is hand-drawn and was 4 years in the making - the detailing with swirls and lines in the backgrounds and the tiny movements, while still keeping a simply line drawn animation, deserves multiple viewings. Tomm Moore has with this and Secret of Kells turned Irish animation into a world class powerhouse. This is not American or Japanese, Moore has successfully defined in two films, a unique approach that marries Celtic line art with simple 2D animation and a non-vibrant colour palette and has created a new school of animation.

This is a great film - several critics pounced on Kells for a lack of a defined story, here they cannot possibly complain: the interweaving of Irish legends with the modern day, is both inspired and strong. Also strong is a wonderful sly sense of humour and real, not forced, emotion. It is both entertaining and deep - and works.

Finally, it is the meaning and value of family and above all, the place of the mother, that makes Song of the Sea exceptional - I have seen few other film that explores loss with such wonderful metaphors as this, and certainly none as beautiful and with such a light touch as this. It is constantly surprising, full of wonder, and is, in the best sense, simply magical. Above all, it never defines where reality ends and magic begins and that is its real magic.

I was already aware of the work of the director of this film, Tomm Moore, when I saw his previous animated feature film The Secret of Kells (2009). That film like this one was very distinctive in that it was based around Irish folklore. It is highly encouraging to see a nation not really associated with much cinema output like Ireland start to release their own unique animated movies. As it turned out, both of these films got additional visibility by being nominated for Oscars at the Academy Awards, so it seems like the Irish have certainly hit on something here and I hope that more such features emerge from the Emerald Isle in the future.

The Song of the Sea is another animated fantasy-adventure. It focuses on a boy and his little sister, the latter of which is a Seal child, also known as a Selkie. They live in a lighthouse on a small island with their dad, their mother having died while giving birth to the daughter. Despite being almost six years old, the little girl has never uttered a single word, alienating her from her brother. But soon the mysteries of her origins begin to emerge and strange events follow.

Like Moore's last film this is another that has been made using traditional animation methods, i.e. its hand drawn. This pleases me a lot as this type of animation always seems to have more soul that CGI. The whole thing is awash with great Celtic art and it really feels like every frame is constructed with consummate care. The story tells of primal things like the call of the ocean and interweaves this with imaginative fantasy creations such as an Owl Witch. Although it has to be said that I thought some of its best and most atmospheric moments were during the domestic scenes such as the parts set in Dublin. Whatever the case, the beautiful art-work creates a feeling all of its own. I have to admit to not being entirely drawn in by the characters though, with the boy Ben being somewhat irritating to be quite honest. If I had made more of a connection with the characters then I would have rated this one higher no doubt. Nevertheless, this is a lovely piece of animation which climaxed with a sequence of extraordinary beauty when the little girl sings the 'Song to the Sea'. I have to admit it put a lump in my throat and was genuinely emotional and beautiful. This ending alone is worth watching the movie for. All-in-all, this has to go down as a creative triumph.

I'am probably the most spoiled member of the public, when it comes to animated movies. Dreamworks and Pixar, well they just buy me with their style of animation, so any other is unacceptable for me, well let me just say how stupid is that. No, rely that is the most stupid thing from me for a while. And for a while I skip to watch "Song of the sea". This movie convinced me that magic is real. Why? Well it make me fell as a child for a hour and some, as long is the movie. It make me to remember all that stories, innocent stories which my grandfather told me before sleep. Thank you for that. I get used to all that action in animated movie, that I forgot that innocent magic piece of a story. "Song of the sea" brings all that to the screen. All the magic, all the story telling beauty, with appropriate animation. Why is this appropriate animation, well if you are born in late '90, you would probably not understand that, but it is time to got it, and the best way for you to got it, is to start watching this movie. It is like all those illustration in Grimm brothers books, and it is so much beautiful that is the shame for me that I didn't look this movie earlier. But I did watched now. And how Japanese say, the best time is now. Maybe this movie is special and for bringing that beautiful idea of early Disney, it is all about making some magic for the audience, it is about making audience to fell special for watching that, I think that that is the some definition of art, and pure art this movie is.

I respect the views of the majority of reviewers but as I'm inclined only to express my opinion,the movie is bad.In other words it's not my cup of sea.I hate animations when they are slow and this is so slow from start to end with an unenjoyable irish tale.Dissapointed