BEN HAS A little sister called Saoirse – and she’s not your average younger sibling.

She’s the last Seal-child, and she’s soon to be called on a journey back to their home by the Sea. Their story is told in this stunning Irish animated film, Song of the Sea, which will get its world premiere in Toronto.

The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) takes place next month, and Song of the Sea is highly anticipated – because it’s the follow up to the Academy Award-nominated feature The Secret of Kells.

The producers, Cartoon Saloon, say the film follows Saoirse “across a fading world of ancient Irish legends and magic, a world that needs Saoirse to find her voice and sing the ‘Song of the Sea’ to save all of fairy kind from being lost forever”.

Cartoon Saloon Cartoon Saloon

The film is jam-packed with voices of people like Brendan Gleeson, Pat Shortt, Lisa Hannigan, Jon Kenny, and Fionnula Flanagan. Plus, the music is created by composer Bruno Coulais and the band Kíla, so it will be both a treat for the eyes and the ears.

The film’s director Tomm Moore said:

This film has been a labour of love for many years now for our team of artists, not just here in Ireland but in all five of our co-production studios. It is an honour to premiere it at such a prestigious festival. I trust it will prove a great launch pad for the film internationally to animation fans and families who are looking for a film full of music, magic and myth.

James Hickey, Chief Executive Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board said they believe that Song of the Sea has everything it takes to achieve similar success to the Secret of Kells when it comes to the Oscars.

The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is one of the most prestigious film events of the year and is seen as an early indicator of what will be popular with the academy.

If you’re not lucky enough to get to the festival (that makes us, too) you’ll get to see Song of the Sea in early 2015 here in Ireland.

Read: Irish based animation company bring home three Emmy Awards>

Read: Animation secrets: You won’t believe how long it takes to create a nine-second clip*

Read: Here’s how you bring an animation from page to screen>

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