Two young siblings face a magical journey home in this 2014 animation, based on the Irish myth of the selkie.
Like Inside Out, the film concerns childhood sadness, but unlike Inside Out, it’s not a complete headache. The hand-drawn animation is nothing short of beautiful, with majestic Celtic shapes, patterns and colours set against twinkly psychedelic backdrops. Visually, it’s somewhere between Studio Ghibli and Sylvain Chomet (Belleville Rendezvous).
It sounds gorgeous too, the Irish music integral to the fantastic story. Brendan Gleeson leads a talented voice cast, but director Tomm Moore lets his wonderful images do the talking. The result is an ethereal, transcendent and deeply heartfelt animation, whose parallels with Irish mythology lend it a rich folktale quality. Not to mention the brilliant dog.
Screen Goblin 
I have just got this film for Christmas, after having wanted to see it for so long so I’m glad it’s got your approval as well as (hopefully) mine very soon!
My sis and I loved this film! We had our youngest cousins watch it too. I loved the animation style as well, and the little quiet moments in the film that were simply heartfelt. And the Irish folklore was a new experience to me, so knowing about selkies and other myths were totally fascinating 🙂
This looks absolutely stunning! 🙂 I don’t think it has played in cinemas here – I’ve never heard of it before. I do want to see it though.
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