As we all know, Ireland is a small country in terms of size and population. However, they are well-known literary powers, giving birth to many great writers and popular Irish fairy tales. This is closely related to their folklore, customs and ballads. The inspiration for "Song of the Sea" is also based on this-Tom Moore and his children were on vacation on the west coast and saw the carcasses of seals on the beach. The fishermen caught the seals because of the decline in their catches, plus a book he was reading. "The Man in the Sea: A Journey in Search of a Legendary Seal" also reminded him of the soul of the dead as a symbol of the seal, thinking that people have lost respect for nature and tradition, so he conceived this story.
The story takes place on a small Irish island. Ben, a four-year-old boy, spent the last unforgettable night with his pregnant mother. The mother just gave birth to her sister Saoirsa and died. Six years later, Connor, the father of two children, was devastated because of years of grief, and Saoirsa has not spoken since she was born. Grandma asked the children to live with her in Dublin. The brothers and sisters could not adapt to city life. When walking around the streets, they encountered three strange little elves...
Unlike the director’s predecessor, "The Secret of Kell’s Sutra", this film can capture the audience’s The cognition of Celtic legends and powerful emotions provide support for the story. Using the adventurous spirit of the brothers and sisters to draw closer to their estranged relationship, the elder brother regarded his sister as a freak from the beginning, making things difficult at all times, but he was finally awakened by the sinisterness on the road and the sister’s truthfulness, goodness and beauty, and assumed the responsibility of the brother. This is also the mother. Dying teachings. These have positive meanings for children's audiences, and provide them with a kind of spiritual growth. These stories do not sound as beautiful as Grimm's fairy tales and Andersen's fairy tales, but they are enough to arouse the imagination of children.
Traces of Celtic legends can be seen everywhere in the film. "The Seal Girl" is the soul that runs through and Saoirse is the last Seal Girl. The film does not expand to explain the background of the seal girl, but everyone who is familiar with the legend knows them. According to legend, the seal girls live in Donegal County in the northernmost part of the island of Ireland, as well as in the waters near Orkney and Shelterland in Scotland. They look the same as ordinary people, but are wrapped in a layer of smooth seals. Skin, so that they can swim freely in the water. When they come ashore, they will fade away and hide them, turning them into beauties. If the leopard skin is lost, they can't go back to the ocean. Once found, they will return to the ocean without mercy. This explains well why Connor hides the seal skin in the box in the film. He doesn't want to repeat the same mistakes and wants to keep his daughter by his side. This is the film's portrayal of the relationship between father and daughter. Saoirsa is not only an extension of the seal girl, but also an extension of blood for her father, and a kind of redemption for losing her wife.
director set the background in Ireland in 1987, which is definitely imprinted with his childhood. The story should take place in Donegal County. As mentioned earlier, most of the legends of seal girls happened here. In addition, there is a phonetic transcription of "Dúnnan Gall" in this room, and we can assume that the location occurred at a lighthouse on the northwest coast of Donegal. As explained in the film, grandma's home is in Dublin, including the appearance of the landmark Jasmine Malone statue. On the way, I wrote the word "Benbulben", which is the necessary route from Donegal to Dublin. As for the years when the movie took place, it was 1981 and 1987, which also coincided with Tom Moore’s childhood.
In addition, the giant Mike Lear in the film is also one of the legendary sea gods in Ireland, but why does he cry? No clear explanation is given in the film. Legends have different versions. The most common one is that his wife Fang departed from him and eloped with the savior, Kuchurin. Cause Mike Lear to cry into tears, tears filled the ocean. In the movie, his mother "Owl Witch" Macha had to turn him into stone, forming an island. Macha is the goddess of war and death in Celtic mythology, often turned into an owl. But in the legend, Macha and Mike Lear are not a mother-child relationship. It's just that when the director made up the script, he fictionalized the two together. In terms of character creation, Grandma/Fisherman Connor and Macha/Mike Lear are mirror images of each other. Think about it carefully, not only the appearance, but also their psychological characteristics are exactly the same. Both Mike Lear and Connor were depressed by the loss of their lover, and finally became depressed under the "intervention" of their mother. The characterization of grandma and Macha is most similar. Even the old ferry steward on the island once called her "old witch" behind her back. These nuances can be seen from the good intentions of the choreographer. Whether it’s ancient legends or contemporary reality, isn’t the relationship between people "surprisingly similar"?
Of course, the most interesting thing is the little elves in the film. They are all portrayed as little old men instead of girls waving wings. This is also the characteristic of Celtic fairy tales-both in Scotland and Ireland Elf. I once watched an early fairy tale film "Sleepwalking in the Little Man Kingdom" (1959) filmed by Disney in Ireland. There are beautiful scenes of elves dancing fox hunting in the forest. They are almost all dressed up by old men. people. In this way, the men, women, and children in the film are reflected. Tom Moore also uses this process to allow audiences of all ages to resonate emotionally. Each audience may be able to find their own identity in the film. . Adult audiences can see the sense of mission for family and protecting family members, which is also positive.
The reason why "Song of the Sea" applies to everyone. It's because it doesn't have the cliché plot like Hollywood animation, which has something to do with the Irish sticking to their own traditions. Even more because it can arouse everyone's original intention to pay attention to traditional culture. From this point of view, domestic animation does still have many deficiencies in hardware and software, and there is a long way to go. I hope that domestic animation can go further on the road of "beautiful in appearance" and "beautiful in heart" in the future!
View more about Song of the Sea reviews
