[INSPIRATION] Cartoon Saloon - Song of the Sea

Song of the Sea was a charming animation and a refreshing look at modern hand-drawn 2D animation. The thing that made Song of the Sea so special to me was the fact that it followed it's own animation conventions, it was original and didn't try to mimic any other animated style. It was a sort of eye opener as to the potential of what modern hand-drawn animation can become, without tween cheats or model animation to make the process quick and easy. Song of the Sea was created by the animation studio Cartoon Saloon, with it's previous film titles The Sectet of Kells, an animation which also felt original and took hand-drawn animation to a new level. 

The animators were told to match carvings and paintings on old rocks in Ireland (where the animation was created) for the visuals, whereas The Secret of Kells tried to match old tapestry for the visuals. I find this a very original concept, to match ancient art-styles to create something completely new and modern. Cartoon Saloon are currently in the production of another animated feature called 'The Breadwinner', which is set for the summer of 2017.

I found Song of the Sea inspiring, it was something new and original and a stepping stone towards mainstream animation being brought back to the big screen. Since Disney has stopped producing hand-drawn feature films, its up to independent studios to start creating inspiring animated films , and I believe that Cartoon Saloon will be the hand-drawn animation company that mainstream animation needs. During an interview with the founder Tom Moore, he had this to say;

"I think today 2D animation has a responsibility, much like painters had after photography was invented, to reinvent what it is. It can’t go after realism, because there is no point; it has to do something only 2D can do. In painting, we got Expressionism, Impressionism, Cubism and other modern movements because of photography." (Thill, S, 2015)

Thill, Scott. "Tomm Moore on 'Song of the Sea,' Reinventing 2D, and Dodging the Studio System". Cartoon Brew. N.p., 2015. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.