The document provides an overview and analysis of the 2014 animated film Song of the Sea. It summarizes the film's plot, in which a young boy must overcome the grief of his mother's disappearance by working with his sister, who is revealed to be a selkie, to free trapped spirits. It also analyzes the overarching theme of overcoming grief through accepting loss and letting go of blame. Technical details and influences on the filmmaking are mentioned, and Celtic mythology and folklore that inspired characters and elements of the story are described.

1. How Does It End?
Song of the Sea (2014)
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2. Group Members and Contributions
• Justin Swartz – History, Origin, Presentation
• Felicia Call – Theme
• Maxine Nagramada – Discussion Questions
• Stephanie White - Character analysis, Editing
• Thomas Oo – Presentation Editing

3. How Does It End: Overview
HOW DOES IT END? – A QUESTION THAT HAS BEEN ASKED FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS.
OFTEN TIMES WHEN LOVED ONES LEAVE UNEXPECTEDLY, WE STRUGGLE TO
OVERCOME OUR GRIEF. WE ARE OFTEN LEFT WITH A LARGE VOID THAT MAY NEVER BE
FILLED. WHEN WE DON’T UNDERSTAND DEATH, WE TRY TO COME UP WITH REASONS
TO EXPLAIN IT. THIS CAN SOMETIMES LEAD TO BLAMING OTHER PEOPLE.
IN THE MOVIE, SONG OF THE SEA, A YOUNG BOY IS ABLE TO OVERCOME GRIEF BY
WORKING WITH HIS SISTER TO FREE THE TRAPPED SPIRITS.

4. Song of the Sea (2014) – Director and Technical Aspects
Song of the Sea was directed and written by Tomm Moore (William Collins also contributed to the
writing). Moore is a an Irish filmmaker and animator. Moore says Hayao Miyazaki has had a huge
influence on his films and work. Song of the Sea took Moore over 5 years to complete, using a
combination of hand drawn images and computer animation to help make the film. Moore used water
colors to help give the movie a loose, flowing dreamlike atmosphere.
Song of the Sea has won 11 awards – including an Oscar for the Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
Source: http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/song-of-the-sea/36038/song-of-the-sea-how-an-animated-treat-was-made

5. Origin: Song of the Sea – Mythology/Folklore: Selkies
The tales of Selkies are well-known along the Western coast of Scotland and Ireland, engrained in Celtic history.
Selkies are not gender specific and are described in most myths as beautiful or handsome. Selkies have the ability to
transform. In the ocean they are seals, but they have the ability to transform into a human on land by taking off their
seal skin. It seems the Selkies are heavily drawn to become human while in the water and long to return to the ocean
when they are human on land.
In stories similar to Song of the Sea, a female Selkie comes to shore and turns into a human. A male human then finds
the unattended seal skin and steals it; forcing the Selkie to become his wife. Selkie woman are described as great
wives, but as soon as they finds their seal skin, they will return to the sea without looking back. Typically the child of
the Selkie finds the skin, showing their mother what they found. Unbeknownst to the child, their mother will have to
leave them to return to the sea when their seal skin is returned.
Source: http://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/legends-selkies-hidden-germs-sea-mythology-006409

6. Celtic History:
The Celts originated in central and eastern Europe. The Celtic groups used many different languages, some might
characterize Celts as being linguistically diverse. Although there are some disputes as to when Celtic culture
began, some of the earliest Celtic groups date back to 1200 BC. From 1200 – 700 BC, the Celts spread to Western
Europe (Austria, Switzerland, Germany, and France.) This time period is associated with developing most of the
Celtic Culture. As the Roman Empire expanded, the Celtic people migrated the Northern part of Europe, inhabiting
Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Cornwall.
Power of Music:
• Music was very important to the Celts
• Myths/tales were told with music that often helped to emphasize different emotions or vocal narratives
of poetry.
• Song of the Sea emphasizes how strong the power of music is with the “Song of the Sea,” sung by Saoirse
and Ben
Source: http://www.joellessacredgrove.com/Celtic/history.html

7. Character Name Meanings
Saoirse’s- name means “freedom”, which she eventually finds in her existence.
Connor (The father) name means “hound-lover”, which is well suited as the family dog's name is Cu.
Cu- could be a reference to Cu Chulainn (“Culainn’s Hound”) the great Irish hero of the Ulster Cycle. Cu
is the most constant source of selfless courage in the film. He helps Ben overcome his fears.
Macha the witch is probably named for the many-aspected fertility goddess of the same name. She
famously cursed many Ulstermen with labour pains as she died in childbirth.
Mac Lir (The giant) his name means “son of the sea” in old Irish, is taken from another myth where he is
a sea god.
Bronach (The mother) name means “sorrow”, and is probably a reference to St. Patricks discipline, the
matron of shipwrecked sailors.
Ben whose name in Hebrew means “son”, often used in conjunction with other descriptors like Ben-oni,
as Bronach’s child meaning (“son of sorrow”).

8. Storyline
Song of the Sea starts with a fisherman’s family that lives on a small island off the coast. At the very beginning
of the movie the mother tells her son numerous stories of mythical spirits and sings him a song with a special
seashell when putting him to sleep. The mother gives birth to Saoirse (girl) but disappears after the birth. We
are led to believe the mother has died. Both the son and husband are filled with grief and sorrow due to loss
of the mom.
Being a young child, the boy (Ben) blames his sister for the disappearance of his mother – this turns into a
sibling rivalry. The boy holds his seashell very close and never allows his sister to touch it. One night she gets
ahold of the seashell and plays it. The spirits lead her out to the ocean where we the audience find out she is a
selkie.
The sibling relationship really begins to build once the brother discovers his sister’s power. The brother’s
knowledge of folklore/tales told to him by his mother and the sister’s selkie power allows them to take on a
variety of challenges. Throughout the rest of the movie, the brother and sister both work together to help free
the lost spirits that have been kidnapped by Macha. This ultimately leads to a family reunion that allows
closure between the mother and the family. The daughter Saorise is given the choice to join the mother in the
Selkie world, or to stay with her brother and father. With the newly formed relationship between the brother
and sister, Saorise decides to stay.

9. Theme: Overcoming Grief
The constant theme in this film can be identified as overcoming grief. In this film the magic world and the real
world intertwine constantly and both display this theme. The intertwining happens so frequently that there really isn’t a lot
differentiating the two. In fact the real world often mirrors the magical world. Characters like Connor (the father) who is so
consumed by sorrow that he struggles to function is like Mac Lir , the giant , who is so full of sorrow that his mother Macha
turns him to stone so he can no longer feel. Macha mirrors the real life granny who is so desperate to soothe her son’s
sorrow that she takes away the children in the hopes that Connor will get better. Yet what both Grandma and Macha failed
to realize is that repressing grief does not solve anything. This is evident when Ben frees Saoirse from Macha and in the
process releases all the emotions Macha literally has bottled up.
Once the emotions come back to Macha, she realizes all the damage that she has caused in an effort to avoid
feeling or facing grief. As Ben goes on this journey he faces his own grief as well and begins to realize that he cannot blame
his sister for their mother’s loss. He starts to accept it and realizes how much she means to him when he comes to the
realization that he could lose her the same way he lost his mother. The movie comes to a peak when Ben dives into the
ocean and reclaims Saoirse’s jacket and teaches her the song of the selkie that his mother taught him. He shares the
memories of his mother with her by teaching Saoirse her songs and relinquishing her shell to Saoirse. This represents him
letting go enough grief to stop punishing Saoirse for something she had no control over. After she sings, Mac Lir comes back
to life along with the fairies. Then their mother visits Ben and Saoirse and gives Saoirse the option of staying or going.
Because Ben has finally accepted Saoirse into the family and pushed past the bitterness he felt, she chooses to stay;
acknowledging that Ben has in fact changed.

10. Theme: Continued
This theme is also supported by cultural aspects. Folklore was a way of oral storytelling to pass on traditions,
customs and wisdom to future generations in Ireland. What this movie plays on is characters from folklore like Mac
Lir, Macha, selkies, etc. However, when Ireland transitioned from Gaelic/Celtic to European (Christian) they lost a lot
of this part of their culture. This movie reminds people of the way of the past. Much like Ben feels a loss when his
mother (a creature from folklore) leaves, the people of Ireland felt a loss when some of their heritage was lost in this
transition from celtic/gaelic to European. The reawakening of Mac Lir could also represent the need for Ireland to
overcome the way it was when it transitioned to European and return to it’s roots. When he reawakened everything
came back to life and flourished, perhaps Ireland would do the same if it reawakened some of it’s folklore.

11. URL: https://youtu.be/KpFW-Fevxuw