Jeffrey Overstreet talks about Tomm Moore’s animation. “This time, I invited animator and author Ken Priebe — a man whose imagination seems to exist in a state of perpetual invention. Ken literally wrote the book (books, plural, actually) on stop animation, and we have found that we have very similar passions for the works of Jim Henson, Pixar, and, yes, Tomm Moore.”
Moore’s movies, Song of the Sea and Secret of Kells, are visually arresting, magical animations that stand apart from everything else out there. Priebe says, “The one difference is that in [Song of the Sea], the song itself is almost another character in the film, and a recurring motif that is woven through the story (even the title). In Kells, the song is a highlight of one particular surprising moment in the story.”
Comparing it to another recent movie: “Big Hero 6 also dealt with loss of a family member as a theme, but not with the same level of resonance and beauty as this film does. I’m still trying to figure out why, but I think it may have something to do with the mystical elements, connection to nature, and mythological motifs vs. a story that is driven by lots of fast action and technology, which we are all too bombarded with these days.”
I love this movie! The art is stunning and unique and the story was just lovely, so much more than what the brief movie blurbs and synopses were laying it out to be. I also enjoyed The Secret of Kells but found the pacing much better in this movie. I was rooting for this movie and The Tale of Princess Kaguya at the Oscars last year (alas for both).
I do not know if he is a practicing Catholic but I’m betting he was raised Catholic. For the movie, he took ideas from his own experiences and based characters on his family. A crucifix, which is Catholic, was shown in the movie upon the initial scene at Grandmas house, as well as the picture of Jesus, which could be Christian or Catholic. It would be interesting to hear from Tomm Moore himself.