3 Short Paragraphs: Song of the Sea

2014, Tomm Moore (The Secret of Kells) -- download

Despite the popularity of Frozen I think the heyday of animated features has come and gone. Moreso, when you consider non-3D animations. The Pixar and Disney films will continue to come out, but traditionally animated films will forever be relegated to niches. I think it was about a decade ago with The Triplets of Belleville and Howl's Moving Castle and Persepolis that traditional animation almost felt like it was returning, at least for a more mature audience. The problem is that animation will always be seen as a kid's thing. Cartoons are not for adults. Still, I hope work continues on for passionate works like this one.

Song of the Sea is definitely for kids and adults. It is about a child born of a mythical relationship with a selkie and how her half-brother has to overcome his rivalry to rescue her, and in turn, save the mythical world from extinction. Ben and his sister Saoirse live on an island with a lighthouse on the west coast of Ireland. When Saoirse was born, their mother had to run, and Ben has resented his sister since. When forced to the mainland, to live with their grandmother, Ben discovers a pair of fae living in a fairy mound in the centre of town. And with them, he finds a destiny beholden to his sister. He must be her heroic protector against the evil witch Macha.

The movie is astoundingly beautiful. It is simply animated, no, not simple -- less complicated. The visuals are grand geometric shapes punctuated by lush watercolor backgrounds. Think of the best painterly children's books you may have read and wave them up to the screen. The story telling is, well, storyteller-y; the rhythms and beats are in the tradition of heroic myths & legends. The music, celtic and haunting, is introduced with Yeats, "Come away, O human child! To the waters and the wild with a faery, hand in hand, for the world's more full of weeping than you can understand." This is the mood, warm and inviting.

31 Days of Horror: Outcast

2010, Colm McCarthy (a bunch of british TV) -- download

Last night we actually turned off a movie, the 2003 Australian zombie flick Undead. I have nothing against the comedy gore horror movies that I have seen come from Australia and New Zealand (Peter Jackson got his start in them) but they have to have something going for them for me to enjoy. This starts out silly, continues to get stupid and never actually reaches entertaining. We gave up after about 20 minutes and moved on.

We moved onto a monster movie from the UK that once again touches on a couple of genres. One thing we are getting from this whole viewing experience is the idea that horror is very subjective and so many movies that call themselves as much may be be weak on the horror or stronger on other themes. Outcast is a fantasy horror about a boy & his mother running from the boy's father. The escape has taken them to a council estate in Scotland where the accents were so thick some of them flabbergasted my Cape Breton roots. The father (James Nesbitt) gathers himself some magical favour and the assistance of a traveler clan and chases the pair down, despite the mother's powerful misdirection magic. Meanwhile a monster is stalking the estate killing people, we knowing it has something to do with the magic afoot but not exactly what.

This was a tale of celtic magic and mythos. We were amazed at how much we recognized in the plot elements as spells are cast in blood and tattoos, as well in the interactions between Nesbitt and the traveler factions. It became very apparent that these were not just the average gypsy style travelers of the british isles but descendants from faery and the whole tale was mixed up in the old blood. When it was revealed the boy was a troll and his father stalked him seeking to hang onto his own human skin via the sacrifice of blood relation, we were none too surprised. With the interwoven star-crossed love between lost girl and the boy of bad blood, it was a wonderful tale of magic and monsters.