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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

‘Song of the Sea’ is one sweet view

Dan Webster

I've already argued that "Song of the Sea" was overlooked by the Motion Picture Academy, which awarded its Best Animated Feature Oscar to the Disney film "Big Hero 6." Following is a transcription of the "Song of the Sea" review that I wrote for Spokane Public Radio

When I was a kid, anything marked “Made in Japan” meant something cheaply made. Toy cars my naval officer father brought home from the Korean War ended up breaking within minutes – and not just because of my penchant for holding junior demolition derbies.

All that changed, of course. For the past several decades, Japanese cars and motorcycles have been among the world’s best. As have been televisions, DVD players and other assorted electronics.

In terms of movies, the Japanese still produce my favorite works of animation. Hayao Miyazaki’s “Spirited Away” won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature in 2003. Miyazaki and the production company he founded, Studio Ghibli, have given us a sterling collection of anime features bearing such titles as “Princess Mononoke,” “My Neighbor Totoro” and “Castle in the Sky.”

Miyazaki, in fact, is the standard I use to gauge animation greatness. And even by that high standard, Irish filmmaker Tomm Moore fares well. Moore’s latest offering, “Song of the Sea” – which opens today at the Magic Lantern – was nominated for an Oscar. Its loss, though, is more a sign of Hollywood provincialism than any lack of quality.

Based on a story dreamed up by Moore, and fleshed out both by Moore and writer Will Collins, “Song of the Sea” involves traditional Scottish and Irish folktales involving “selkies” – creatures that live as seals in the ocean but as humans on land. The central plot device of John Sayles’ memorable 1994 film “The Secret of Roan Inish” is a selkie.

In “Song of the Sea,” Moore’s plot revolves around the family of a lighthouse keeper (voiced by Brendan Gleeson). On the night the keeper’s wife gives birth to their second child, a daughter named Saoirse, the woman – a selkie – is called back to the sea. Six years later, the keeper is still in mourning, his son Ben is resentful of his younger sister, Saoirse has never spoken a word and their grandmother is determined to take the children with her to live in Dublin.

Granny does so just when Saoirse is beginning to discover her own ties to the sea. So when Ben decides to sneak back home, Saoirse insists on tagging along. And together, the two must overcome a gaggle of obstacles – not the least of which is a band of owls bent on kidnapping Saoirse and the witch to whom the owls owe allegiance. Things grow ever more complicated when the children encounter other strange creatures and when the sea begins calling Saoirse, too.

What underscores Moore’s story are the strong emotional ties, especially the link between the siblings that grows as Ben gradually begins to realize the love he feels for his sister. Add this to some of the most beautiful animated backdrops – of the Irish countryside, of the Irish coast and particularly of the Irish sea – and you have not just an animated movie but an actual moving work of art.

One that’s just as good as, if not better than, anything made in Hollywood – or in Japan.