Cartoon Saloon toasts success of its ‘Song of the Sea’

Irish animated film Song of the Sea will compete against some of the biggest players in the movie business after being nominated for an Oscar.

It is the second film produced by Kilkenny’s Cartoon Saloon to have received an Oscar nomination — the first was in 2010 for The Secret of the Kells.

The company, which employs 45 staff, is pitted against some of the film industry’s power houses of animation, including DreamWorks and Walt Disney.

so completely overwhelmed http://t.co/dDq8UzYABI

— Cartoon Saloon (@CartoonSaloon) January 15, 2015

Song of the Sea will be vying for the award of Best Animated Feature with How to Train Your Dragon 2, The Boxtrolls, Big Hero 6, and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, and its presence among the nominees means animated blockbuster The Lego Movie misses out entirely.

The film tells the story of Ben and his little sister Saoirse — the last Seal-child — who embark on a fantastic journey across a fading world of ancient legend and magic in an attempt to return to their home by the sea. The film takes inspiration from the mythological Selkies of Irish folklore, who live as seals in the sea but become humans on land.

Directed by Tomm Moore (The Secret of Kells), it features the voices of Brendan Gleeson, Fionnula Flanagan, David Rawle, Lisa Hannigan, Pat Shortt, and Jon Kenny.

#OscarNomination party in @CartoonSaloon Well done @tommmoore and all the Gang! pic.twitter.com/iZNsMfVtrj

— Sla (@AlanSla) January 15, 2015

Music is by composer Bruno Coulais and Irish band Kíla, both of whom previously collaborated on The Secret of Kells. It will be released in Irish and British cinemas on July 10.

Commenting on the Oscar nomination, chief executive of the Irish Film Board James Hickey said a second nomination for the animation company had cemented its reputation as a “world-class talent”.

Saoirse came to visit us #songofthesea pic.twitter.com/PGBjckh9Q2

— Cartoon Saloon (@CartoonSaloon) January 15, 2015

“With their previous feature film The Secret of Kells, Cartoon Saloon proved themselves more than capable of standing alongside the most renowned names in global animation and a second Academy Award nomination for the company has cemented this reputation of world-class talent,” said Mr Hickey.

“Song of the Sea is a beautiful film, bringing Irish myths and legends to the big screen with stunning storytelling and visual perspective.”

Salooners celebrating pic.twitter.com/frX8SQ1tCi

— Cartoon Saloon (@CartoonSaloon) January 15, 2015

Show business satire Birdman and colourful caper The Grand Budapest Hotel lead the Academy Award nominees with nine nods apiece, including best picture.

The two films are joined in the best picture Oscar race by American Sniper, Boyhood, The Imitation Game, Selma, The Theory of Everything and Whiplash.

British Second World War biopic The Imitation Game garnered eight nominations, including best actor for Benedict Cumberbatch, while Iraq war portrait American Sniper and coming of age tale Boyhood each earned six.

Julianne Moore is considered the favourite to win the best actress Oscar for her portrayal of a woman with early-onset Alzheimer’s in Still Alice. Another Golden Globe winner, Eddie Redmayne, is a strong contender for best actor for his role as physicist Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything.

The Academy Awards ceremony will take place in Los Angeles on February 22.