Now Pig has to cover the rest of Tomm Moore’s Irish Folklore trilogy. The Song of the Sea and Wolfwalkers are both incredible movies in their own rights.
As an Irish person, I really appreciate you bringing this film to a larger audience. Honeslty needs more recognition. Irish animation and art in general is on another level, I feel like alot of our culture appreciate art and it shows through our media.
I watched it when I was little and loved it. I forgot the name, and so I spent 10+ years trying to remember the name of the movie (I didn't think about asking anyone about it).
I’m American but Song of the Sea is one of my favorite childhood films of all time. I’ll subscribe in hopes that the creator decides to cover that magical movie
I'm glad to hear this! I saw the trailer and thought this would be good to watch with my kids, but the thumbnail for this video said "not for kids", so I wondered. Sounds like he just said that b/c of the dark/scary parts.
Cartoon Saloon is honestly such an amazing animation company that I wished had more recognition, they written and animated WolfWalkers, Song Of The Sea, and animated The BreadWinner all of these movies in my opinion are gut wrenching and just pure art
Im not Irish - Im Welsh - but any Celtic acknowledgement makes me so happy! I love Celtic myths and stories, glad you've brought this great film and source to so many peoples attention!
As a creative person with a massive art block that has lasted for over a year I found myself crying with your words at the end of the video. Thank you so much for this one! I hope you can review Wolfwalkers and Song of the Sea by the same creators.
I was getting ready to watch this movie today!!! This is my twin sister and I's childhood movie. A lot of our relatives and ancestors are Irish, Scottish and Swedish. I wanted to dress like Aisling for Halloween when I was 9 yrs old. I'm 22 and now I might dress like her this upcoming Halloween. This movie is so good and makes me cry every time 😢😭❤
I was born in russia and grew up in america and this was one of my favorite movies as a kid, I absolutely loved it and it made me love irish culture as well
As an Irish person who's been a fan of yours for a few years now, I really wasn't expecting this appreciation towards our art, culture and mythology 😭 thank you
Tomms a god damn national treasure, it's good to see his work get recognised. Shit, even here in Ireland he and his team don't get the notice they deserve so it's nice to see some appreciation for the best art to come out of here in recent memory. Love that you went in on the mythology too!
I didn’t expect to cry so much at 20:10 I had lost my passion for art for a year now, and I feel like I’m drowning everyday. It’s such an isolating and disheartening place to be, especially since I’ve always used art to express myself even as a child. I’ve limited myself to rules and this idea of “perfection” that I had lost why I loved art. Thank you so much. I’ve been searching for the fire for a year and I finally found the spark I needed. ❤
THIS VIDEO CAME OUT AT A PERFECT TIME FOR ME OH MY GOD! I have been looking more into my Irish heritage to feel more connected to my roots and for years This movie has always made me feel so connected to it even if it was only just now with this video had pointed out the more cultural parts that I never knew as a kid. Amazing video and I am so glad more people will know about this beautiful film.
I watched this as a kid, and it sat on the back of my head for years. I forgot the plot or how it looked like, but I couldn't forget that it scared me and made me sad, that I didn't wanna go back to it again. A month or so ago, I watched it with my friend then realized its fantastical aesthetic has affected a good chunk of my life. I'm so glad I went back and remembered that awe I felt back then
So glad you actually went in on this. I'm part Irish (couldn't tell by the look) and grew up with pagan and druidic beliefs founded from the roots of my Irish heritage. I actually hope to live there one day and loved the chance I got to visit it a few years back. Their mythos is so vast and often overshadowed by Greek, Christian and Norse mythology, so whenever I see someone actually looking into it and able to appreciate it, it warms my heart greatly. Also glad the director showed a black Irish person ( even if a little racist in representation) in the Abbey without him being a 'slave' or servant cause that's what I am descended from. Nice to have that representation finally 🥲 Huge Kudos! Great video my guy ❤
Was the black monk actually Irish though? My reading of him (and the other monks) is that they were from all over the world, like maybe he was an Ethiopian Christian who traveled to Kells to be with like minded people. There was also an Italian, an Englishman, a Chinese(?) monk, and several more, all with stereotypical but fitting designs, especially when you know that this movie's stylistic choices are directly inspired by illuminated manuscripts, what with the textures, flat perspective, and framing of certain shots.
I feel like you should go over Spirit stallion of the Cimarron. The original is such a gorgeous well made 2d animated movie, it deserves way more attention then it got. Its shows a lot of truer history as well as the strength to never give up on what truly matters! Definitely one of my favorite with wolf walkers and secret of the kels!
Irish culture is so interesting and beautiful. I really love the message behind this film and I love what you said toward the end... "People won't remember you for what you say, for what you do. They will remember you for how you made them feel. The hope that you gave them, the inspiration you gave them, the happiness you gave them." So true. Great video pig.
This was on Netflix a really long time ago and as a kid I’ve always loved watching it every single day, wishing to go to that world and to escape this one. Thank you so much Pig for making this video it’s amazing to see this movie get the recognition it deserves.
I once watched this When i was a kid, before this video the only thing i remembered from the movie was: 1 the illuminators wispering to eachover 2 aisling’s “death” 3 the god eating itself
The Book of Kells, Song of the Sea, and Wolfwalkers are all such wonderful movies. And I think you should cover them all. But hearing the music you used from Spiritfarer, I think you should cover that as well. I haven’t seen anyone really do so before, and I think you’d do a great job.
As someone who's from and lives in kells it's really nice to see more people talk about this movie. A large portion of the walls are still up along with the round tower. The vikings actually got the book but we're only interested in the jewels on the cover, so after the took the jewels they threw it away into a bog. Thankfully the bog was able to preserve it until it was found hundreds of years later. Thanks again for covering this movie :). It's nice to see people cover irish folklore, mythology and history:)
To be fair tho, how else are you going to draw a character with the complexion of Brother Assoua and still make his facial expressions readable? There were already too many beards in the group and a single-line mouth would've been basically invisible. Plus he has such a cheerful smile and disposition. With such simple designs large red lips are the best way to get that across, despite the unfortunate history. I dunno. Maybe I just suck 🤷♂️
This has been a favorite movie of mine ever since I first saw it as a small child. It’s one step away from being a masterpiece because the pacing is S H I T at the end my fucking God I know it was probably money and production issues but HOLY SHIT it needs to be remade
It's definitely not a Christian movie, it's just from the perspective of ancient Christians. Doesn't come off as preachy at all. I thought the story overall was kinda meh, but the artstyle and the mixing of ancient Christian and Celtic mythology was really interesting. Definitely worth watching once. I liked their other movie, Song of the Sea, a lot better. It also uses an interesting art style and features Celtic mythology, but has a more traditional adventure story structure.
6:28 I had the same reaction as you. I remember seeing the design and it just caught me off guard. I know it wasn't intentional and I think Tomm Moore apologised about it at one point. Still, it was a very questionable design choice.
I had this memory of a movie with a girl that had white hair in a dark place and snake eating itself and when I saw these specific scenes in this video everything immediately clicked for me! I watched that movie as a child, around 10 years old when I somewhat understood English and I have been looking for this movie for the past 5 years now, I'm so glad that I found it again through a simple interest post and it's comments :D
I know the intro music from a game called Spirit Farer, I highly recommend it if you like chill and games that are beautiful graphically and emotionally.
I think this movie's deepest message has to do with finding the divine in nature. Modern day Christianity is a lot different from how it was in the Middle Ages, we live in completely different times and lots of people have stuck their fingers in the Bible pie for one reason or another. When it came to the Christians teaching the Celts about the religion, they had to relate it to them somehow, which came down a lot to the natural world. That's why so much of the Chi Rho page that Brendan completes is inspired by his time in the woods. The Abbot is supposed to be the religious authority, but by giving in to fear (which don't get me wrong, the threat of a terrifying death is. terrifying.) by giving in to fear, he shuts out the world, and therefore shuts out the divine. He reconnects with that when Brendan comes back to him at the end of the movie, and he brings the Book of Kells which is supposed to emulate the divine and be a tool you can bring to the people, instead of having to bring people to the divine.
don't say we have seen enough of norse mythology through the marvel movies because they are norse mythology in name only norse myth is so wild that it makes the Thor movies look like paint drying, Thor has his face melted by a giant snake, Loki gives birth to a horse with 8 legs, there are multiple stories where its just the gods and goddesses are insulting and messing with each other which is hilarious, and the Aesir, you know the Gods themselves, aren't even Gods. they're aliens mistaken as gods.
I watched this when I was in 5th grade like none stop everyday till my mom told me to stop watching it 😂 cuz I was over watching it. But I never knew this was a religion movie I was amazing with the music and the art that goes with the music. I was amazed. I never noticed the black guy either 😂 I always thought he was just a person at that age
This was probably my favorite BionicPig video yet. The conclusion was beautiful and I think you really did the story justice. I learned things I didn’t know before about this film, and now I’m.
working on a Pangur Bán inspired tattoo based on the image from the manuscript. Pig, thank you so much for your effort in creative endeavors. Man I hate RU-vid sometimes, it won’t let me edit or delete my comment to fix my screw-up
if you're looking to watch this movie, I think having some context can be really helpful to fully understand the impact of whats happening. I'm by no means an expert on Celtic history, but what I have learned has helped me to understand this movie a lot deeper. This movie takes place as Christianity was being spread into Ireland, and to teach the Celts (who didn't have a written language and certainly couldn't have read English) they used the enlightened texts as almost a picture book version of the Bible to relate to Celtic culture and span the gap. This was during the Middle Ages as well, about 500 AD, so people were really really obsessed with leaving a legacy, having something of them left behind or to persevere after death, hence the obsession with the afterlife and religion. A book, a written history, was one method this was achieved. You basically just wanted someone to remember you existed. So books were really really important, especially an illuminated text like the Book of Kells which had been worked on by countless masters over years and years. There's a lot of really interesting mixing of culture that goes on between Christians and Celts, which eventually evolved into all we have left of Celtic culture. For example, snakes were often equated with dragons, and if you didn't have any antivenom, they were both equally deadly. Saint Patrick, the guy that gets celebrated on St. Patties day, was said to have killed or driven all the dragons (aka snakes) from the Isle, explaining why Ireland is one of the few places on Earth without any snakes. Sorry for rambling, its a bit of a fixation for me. I hope if you're reading this that it helped give you some cool info :3
HOLY SHIT- I was trying to find this movie forever because I watched it so much when I was younger. I could only remember then Aisling first met Brendon and that was it. I also of remember liking the movie yet being slightly scared of it (I can see why now-). Either way I'm happy that I am able to remember it now so thank you very much lol-
He made WolfWalkers and Song of The Sea, if anyone doesn't know) I really recommend these movies, they really are hidden gems, not just folklore but the animation as well
The Book of Kells is one of my favorite movies ever, I have been watching it since I was little and I have taken so much from the movie not only creatively but mentally. This movie is so underrated and I'm ecstatic to see that it finally got the love it deserved. This is an amazing video man, 10/10.
I love this movie so much. It's one of those hidden treasures in animation, something so subversive and incredible that it feels like the very treasure it was based on.
Dear BionicPig, I wanted to take a moment to say thank you for your amazing videos. I've been a fan since the early days, and your video on this movie brought back some great memories. I loved the film so much that I named my cat Panger after it. It's not a movie many people in my circle have seen, so I was thrilled to find your beautiful video on it. I've been enjoying all of your videos so far, and I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate your work. Keep doing what you do! Thanks again and much love
Fuck yeah..so underrated. My dad showed me this a decade ago and a few years later at an after school program, it was either this or some other movie nobody cared about, and me and this guy were the only 2 not only picking a movie to put on, but advocating for this in particular. The class didnt rly enjoy it but it was nice to have on in the back of the computer room
I absolutely adore Celtic mythology, this movie does wonders to what it was based of. Celtic mythology is such a wonder to learn about. It was and still is beloved in Ireland along with the other movies by the same company.
Man I’m Irish and I’ve been waiting for someone to recognise Irish mythology since it doesn’t get much recognition. And the person ended up being one of my favourite RU-vidrs
I am Super Glad You Did This Film. This Film Is Absolutely Beautiful To The Core. And The Music Reminds Me Of Studio Ghibli Music. It Is Just That Amazing. I Have Not Seen This Film In Years. But You doing A Film Review On Is Makes My Heart Happy. Thank You For This. Keep Up The Amazing Music. Also You Should Review Some Studio Ghibli Films. That Would Nice To See.
The best thing about Pangur Ban is that it was an informal poem. Eraly Medieval Ireland, as well as the rest of the British Isles, had a strong bardic tradition that obeyed certain rules and structured and was a very prestigious thing (Welsh fili had to study for a decade to master it), and then there was some guy in a small hut-like cell scribbling down a few verses about how his cat and him are kindred spirits "inspired by the old English poem" - THEM'S FIGHTING WORDS
this was one of my all-time favorite movies as a kid. rewatched it recently and caught a bunch of things i didn't get as a kid. btw i love the spiritfarer music
My favorite line and response to the line. in the whole movie. Line: "You are the Abbott of Kells. You must get up." Response: Cellach's face is absolutely priceless. 😂
this movie was great i loved the cat character.. i like how he wasnt evil like in most movies, for some reason people make cats evil.. but this time he was just a cat that follows you. it was a great movie but song of the sea and wolfwalkers will always be my favorite. now i just have to figure out how to watch The Breadwinner. already watched my father's dragon man i love cartoon saloon
I was so excited to see you made a video on the film my first comment was short and quick, but taking Brother Aiden's word, seconded here by you, I'm going to finish what I started with this last comment. First of all, let me take a while to thank you properly, especially because I am never this early! Bionic, I LOVE your channel so much! I wish I was a better subscriber because I have so many of your videos to catch up on (🤣🙃), but I always come back and even have recommended you to some friends. I remember there was a time, I think you expressed it in some videos or more likely it was in a post you made here on RU-vid about how you were getting all these critiques on your videos, something about you having doubts. I love you keep driving forward and keep up the amazing work! I enjoy your style of commentary, I think there is a definite uniqueness than others I have seen. I just want to say thank you and pay you the highest compliment I think suits your particular channel: watching your videos are second best to actually watching these films for me, I find them just as enjoyable and that's saying a lot, especially when it's a favorite, like this one, which definitely is. Now to Cartoon Saloon. They are one of the last stands for 2D animation and ALL of their films are masterpieces. The level of beauty is just other-worldly. I could not rest until I saw all four films. After watching Song of the Sea when it was on Netflix, which was the first I saw, although I had seen the trailer for the Secret of Kells years prior but forgot about it, I rented the Secret of Kells because I wanted to watch it so bad. When Wolfwalkers came out, it brought more attention to the studio and when it was made available on Apple TV, I got an Apple TV trial just to watch it and then ended up renting Breadwinner. Breadwinner is the only one not based on an Irish story and it the saddest of the four, but it is hauntingly beautiful. I know these films can be difficult to find or watch if you want to avoid renting or subscribing and unfortunately I believe Apple TV is still the only place you watch WolfWalkers but: Secret: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-B7RgUYCjEHo.html&ab_channel=T%E1%BB%ADH%E1%BA%AFc (here on RU-vid itself) Song (two parts): www.dailymotion.com/video/x2jxral www.dailymotion.com/video/x2jy2ok There are amazing souls that always seem to make Kells available here on RU-vid under different names, that link is just the more recent one. And the other two are legit, when I wanted to rewatch the film Song with a friend, those are the ones I personally used. Go watch and thank these people! I have yet to see the newest one, My Father's Dragon but it has been high on my list! I am sure it will not disappoint! Just sharing the love ❤