Song of the Sea is not a typical Halloween movie. It doesn’t feature zombies, ghosts, or ghouls. There are no jump scares or spooks. But the story does take place on Halloween, so we count it as a Halloween movie, if an unconventional one.

Song of the Sea, which released in 2014, has stunning visuals, beautifully-written characters, engrossing music, and plenty for the whole family to enjoy. The film draws inspiration from Irish legends, particularly the legends regarding selkies. If you are already familiar with these beings from scandinavian/Irish/Scottish folklore . . . well good for you. 

In case you don’t know too much about selkies, here’s a quick summary (but you can read about them here if you’re interested in a bit more information). Essentially, Selkies are beings who can transform from seals into humans by shedding their seal skin. To turn back, they simply don the skin again and return to the sea. They feature largely in Irish and Scandinavian folklore, taking on roles that mermaids or sirens might normally fill in other mythologies. With that educational tidbit out of the way, we now return you to our regularly scheduled program.

Legendary Beginnings

The film centers its story on young Ben and his family. At the beginning of the film, Ben’s mother is expecting a new baby, and everyone is excited. But one night, Ben loses his mother, apparently in childbirth. Before she died, however, she gifted Ben a special seashell that could be used as a sort of flute. That’ll be important momentarily, so just hold onto it in the back of your mind for now.

Now, six years later, Ben and his younger sister, Saoirse, continue to live with their father at the lighthouse where they’ve grown up. Ben blames his sister for their mother’s death, so he’s really mean to her. 

The story really begins on Saoirse’s sixth birthday, which also coincides with the sixth anniversary of their mother’s death. Their granny comes to visit for Saoirse’s birthday, but she’s not thrilled at the idea of her grandchildren living in a lighthouse on an island in the middle of the sea.

That night, while the children are in bed, their father goes into the village for the anniversary of his wife’s death. Ben scares the ba-jeebers out of Saoirse with a story about MacLear and his mother, the Owl Witch Macha, who stole MacLear’s feelings and turned him to stone. Apparently, there is a whole world of faeries and magical beings out there who are trapped in this world by the Owl Witch, and only the song of the selkie can send them back to their own world.

Unable to sleep on account of her brother’s scary story, Saoirse sneaks out of her room and discovers two things: first, when she plays Ben’s special shell, odd magical lights appear, and second, her father has a small selkie coat locked in a trunk in his room.

Well, it turns out that Saoirse is a selkie, and this is her coat. She dons it and goes for a swim, only for her granny to discover her washing ashore shortly thereafter.

Enraged, Granny demands that the children come to live with her in the city. Their father, unbeknownst to the children, locks the selkie coat away again and throws it into the sea. He then sends the kids to live with their grandmother.

But it seems that Saoirse’s flute playing has alerted the entire magical world to her presence. Macha does not want the selkie to sing the song of the sea and release everyone, so she sends her owls out looking for Saoirse. Meanwhile, the faeries are tracking her down too. They need her to sing the song that will send them home.

The catch here is that Saoirse cannot sing the song without her seal skin. In fact, she’s slowly deteriorating the longer she’s separated from it. Now, Ben and Saoirse have to find a way back to the lighthouse to get Saoirse’s skin, save Saoirse’s life, and save the faeries, all while avoiding Macha’s owls.

The Selkie’s Song

Visually, Song of the Sea stands out as a beautifully artistic film. Cartoon Saloon brings a unique style to their films, and it really shines here. What’s more, the film score marries perfectly with the art. The celtic tunes are hauntingly beautiful, and the whole effect of the music, plot, and visuals resonates with something inside of you to give a sense of catharsis once the film is over.

Ben and Saoirse are well-written characters, too. Saoirse is mute, even at six years old, but her face is so expressive. Her expressions convey a sense of innocence and youth, while at the same time giving the viewer a distinct impression of maturity. (Wish I could get my facial expressions to convey a sense of maturity.) She is sweet and kind, but she’s also six and liable to get into things she’s definitely not supposed to get into.

Contrast that with Ben, who’s probably about nine or ten at the time of the film. He resents Saoirse for the loss of their mother, and he’s constantly trying to assert his authority over her as the older sibling. He’s unkind to her, especially at the beginning, and it’s sort of heartbreaking to see the division between them.

But, as the film goes on, you get the satisfaction of seeing Ben change. You can see his walls starting to break down as he tries desperately to protect his sister. His courage and responsibility blossom. His character arc is just really well done.

Unlike a lot of the media we’ve discussed on this blog so far, Song of the Sea does not focus on comedy. Don’t get me wrong, there are some funny moments. Ben and Saoirse get help from some wonderfully humorous characters, including their adorable dog Cú, some overexcited faeries, and a rather forgetful faerie creature who I suppose couldn’t find a barber during COVID and just decided to embrace his new normal.

And while these extra characters bring some levity to the film, it’s really a story about discovery, family bonds, responsibility, forgiveness, and love. The movie weaves these themes throughout the show and does a great job of presenting them without trying to force them down your throat like you were a Thanksgiving turkey in need of stuffing.

I have only a couple of nits with the film, and most of them aren’t even real criticisms, just things I didn’t quite get. The film takes a subtle, nuanced approach to storytelling. That’s a wonderful thing because it leaves a lot up to personal interpretation and application. None of the necessary folklore background information is too heavy-handed, and the plot develops in a natural and engaging way.

But when you tell stories that way, there’s the potential that things aren’t clear enough for the viewer to pull out on their own. In Song of the Sea, some things are (at least in my opinion) not fully explained by the end. I don’t want to spoil anything, though, so I’ll try to give my thoughts without ruining things that come out later on in the film. Let me know in the comments below if you agree, or if you have actually figured out what the answers to these questions are and I’ve just missed the whole thing.

Maybe I’m just not smart enough for artistic storytelling, but I didn’t understand exactly what happened to their mother and why it happened. The film doesn’t tell you why Saoirse’s suddenly sick, either, after she puts on her seal skin for the first time. And I didn’t get why the faeries and other magical creatures were stuck in our world in the first place, or where they were trying to get to, or why they couldn’t get there before now.

None of these questions is a dealbreaker for me. In fact, life is chock full of unexplained occurrences that don’t weave together perfectly, so I don’t mind having a few stray strands of story that don’t get wrapped up completely at the end of a film. Sometimes, it’s enough for things to just be the way they are. And that’s sort of how I feel with this film. It’s a beautiful enough story with so much other merit to it that I don’t mind not having airtight answers to all of my questions about the world and its occupants. It’s worth watching and enjoying, and I highly recommend it to you all.

Who to Watch With

Song of the Sea is a good, clean film for just about everyone. It’s rated PG, and we’d recommend it for folks age five and up. The dialogue is curse-free and smut-free, and there isn’t much in the film that would scare younger viewers. A couple of moments with Macha or her owls could be distressing, and some of the film’s heavier moments near the beginning of the film (such as when Ben and Saoirse have to leave the lighthouse with their grandmother) could be a bit much for really young kids to handle. But otherwise, it’s a film that everybody can enjoy.

If you have other thoughts on the film––things you loved about it or other things you think we ought to flag for families––let us know in the comments below!

And you can get your copy of Song of the Sea here.