Cartoon Saloon

Cartoon Saloon is a animation company based in Kilkenny, Ireland. This company has had Academy Award and BAFTA nominations within the past few years for their works The Secret of Kells and The Song of the Sea.

They caught my eye because of their 2D style. They create everything so that there is the illusion of depth with only 2D planes. I also relate with their stories as they focus on Celtic history and mythology.

Their upcoming feature film, The Breadwinner, will take tell a story very different from their previous ones. Based on the book by Deborah Ellis it tells the story of a young girl growing up in Afghanistan in 2001. It is set for release in 2017 and I can't wait to go see it.

Song of the Sea

This week I wanted to take the opportunity to talk about the Oscar nom no one's talking about: Song of the Sea. In a category with some of the largest animation giants in the industry, Song of the Sea is definitely an underdog, but it's nomination is definitely well deserved.

The story is based around the Celtic myth of the selkie and features two children, Ben and Saoirse. At six-years-old, Saoirse is mute, and has yet to begin speaking. When she discovers a shell flute left behind by her deceased mother, the music introduces her to a world of magic and selkies under the sea. In the end, to keep the tales alive, Saoirse must find her voice.

The artwork in the film is amazing, and the traditional animation style sets it apart from the 3D animation that has taken over the Oscar nominations this year. While its screening has been highly limited, Cornell Cinema will be showing the film in February and I highly suggest that you take the time to go see it.

Oscars Snubs

This awards season, a number of enraged outcries bubbled to the surface when the Oscar nominees were announced. The nominees revealed that the Academy was made up of a number of white, old gentlemen whose tastes in cinema were blinded by their own privilege. Not only did it reveal how truly awful the academy is at recognizing worthy female and minority actors and directors, it also revealed how much of a sham the animation category is. Although the category included some really beautiful foreign animated films (as it should), its domestic nominees were less than impressive. The nominees included How to Train Your Dragon 2, Big Hero 6, and The Boxtrolls. Although the first two domestic films were both critically acclaimed and beautiful, they lacked a certain amount of imagination that one looks for in a fresh animated film, and relied too heavily on repetitive children's film tropes. The Boxtrolls was altogether forgettable. There was one film that was not included in the nominees, which was critically acclaimed, and challenged the repetitive nature of many animated films. This was The Lego Movie, which managed the add a new spin to the animation genre. The film is fun, imaginative, and features some really impressive computer animation techniques. If any film, aside from Song of the Sea (that's some beautiful stuff) deserved to be in the category, it would definitely be this film. It's really unfortunate that this film was snubbed, and goes to show the carelessness involved in this year's Oscars.