Song of the Sea

This enchanting, gorgeously drawn Irish animation from the same team as 2009’s Oscar-nominated ‘The Secret of Kells’ mixes heartbreaking family drama with the mystery and wonder of folklore. Perfect for kids, its dazzling craft and sensitive soul should seduce adults too.

Set in the early 1980s – although only a Walkman gives that away – we meet a young couple, Bronagh and Conor, and their son Ben, living on a remote island off the Irish coast. Early on, Bronagh disappears from home after giving birth to a daughter, Saoirse, causing Conor to slip into depression and the kids’ stern grandmother to move them to the city.

The rest of this melancholic but magical tale is coloured with grief and longing, as the children struggle to deal with their loss and a less down-to-earth legacy left to them by their mother. ‘Song of the Sea’ is impressively tuned in to deeply felt childhood emotions, but it’s not all gloom and doom by a long stretch: its real-world problems are offset by some very charming and funny fantasy elements. It feels like a well-worn illustrated children’s book come vividly to life.