Sightlines · reception
How Song of the Sea was received
2014 · Tomm Moore · Song of the Sea on Sightlines
The arc
A small Irish hand-drawn film that critics adored on release but few actually saw in cinemas, its surprise 2015 Oscar nomination put it on the map — and it's since grown into a Letterboxd comfort-film staple as Cartoon Saloon's reputation has soared.
What’s debated
The perennial fan gripe: Cartoon Saloon keeps getting Oscar-nominated and keeps losing to bigger studios (this one lost to Big Hero 6) — plus the friendly trilogy debate over whether it's better than Kells or Wolfwalkers.
Its footprint
Its watercolour, circle-obsessed frames are endlessly screencapped as proof that hand-drawn animation never died, and Lisa Hannigan's Irish-language lullaby 'Amhrán na Farraige' has a devoted afterlife of its own.
Where it stands
The beloved middle chapter of Tomm Moore's Irish folklore trilogy — a fixture on 'best animated films of the century' lists and a Letterboxd 'watch this instead of Disney' recommendation.
Did you know? Its Best Animated Feature nomination came in the infamous year The Lego Movie was snubbed — the tiny Irish film's slot became part of one of the most-argued-about Oscar omissions ever. The idea itself was born on a family holiday in West Kerry, where locals told Moore that seals wouldn't have been killed when people still believed in selkies.
Named by the director
- Hayao Miyazaki — Moore has repeatedly cited Miyazaki as a model for treating local folklore with the seriousness and wonder of a child's-eye view.
- My Neighbor Totoro (1988) — Moore pointed to Totoro as the touchstone for a gentle, myth-infused family story told at a child's pace.