Song of the Sea

I recently got around to finally watching "Song Of the Sea" after a friend recommended it to me about a year ago. The story is about a boy called Ben and his little sister Saoirse, who he begins to realise is more than she seems. The film is by the Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon and, like their 2009 film "The Secret of Kells," the story is rooted deeply in Irish folklore, featuring Selkies, giants and faeries, and tied in lots of Irish folk tales. I loved this about the film as there are practically no other animations or even many films that focus on Irish folklore, and Song of the Sea does it so beautifully in such an interesting way. What I also loved about the film was how they connected different aspects of the story in such clever ways, connecting the 'real world' in the film to the folk stories using the characters, such as the grandmother in the film and her faerie counterpart, Macha the owl witch. I also loved how they explored the idea of grief while also keeping it light hearted and touching. This interplay of reality and fantasy was an element of what made the film so special.

The film is visually stunning on top of having a great story, with beautiful swirling hand drawn animation, inspired by Celtic folk art. I particularly loved the background art in the film, and how you could see a clear difference in the art style between the seaside scenes and the gritty Dublin city scenes.The background reminded me sometimes of Ghibli's 'Spirited Away,' I think because of the painterly qualities and the vibrant colours. The characters were also extremely cute and lovable, not only in design but also personality wise, each displaying different flaws but ultimately realising their mistakes. I think this film deserves to be alot more well known than it is.
Below is the trailer for the film;

"Loving Vincent"

Van Gogh is my all time favourite artist, so when i heard of this animated films production I was really excited. "Loving Vincent" will be the worlds first feature length animation done entirely in oil paintings. The film has required more than 100 artists to paint the 12 frame a second animation, all of whom were taught how t paint in a style similar to Van Gogh's. It is supposed to be released at some point this year. The film will focus on Van Gogh's life and also on his controversial death, asking wether he killed himself or if he was actually murdered. It will be based off the many letters he sent to his brother Theo and will feature interviews with the characters closest to Vincent while he lived. I am excited to see how they present the chapter of Van Gogh's life that he spent with Gaugin. I can't wait to see this film as what I've seen so far looks absolutely amazing, as if Van Gogh himself had painted every frame. In total there will be 56,800 hand painted frames. I can't even imagine how much work it must be taking to make the film.

                  The trailer: