nothing knows indifference like a sunrise, which will come no matter how loudly you scream, how cruelly you are torn to pieces. it won’t even offer a passing glance, not even a single minute of darkness more. it never asks if you’re still there to see, only casts its cold, unforgiving glow over the corpse of you.
I’ve been in a Movies-About-Sea-Creatures Mood lately so lemme put the ones I’ve seen in a tier of what I would recommend! This is from what I’ve seen so far and of personal choice so if there are other animated films with a whimsical or fantasy setting that ISN’T Disney’s The Little Mermaid, let me know!
This one is one of the more strange ones on the list. There aren’t any magical creatures in it but it gives off a fantasy feel despite the plot being more existential. Two boys were raised in the sea by a dugong, therefore they sense what all sea creatures sense. The rest of the plot was hard to follow for me but I’m sure it was because maybe it just wasn’t my cup of tea. That’s not going to stop me from recommending it to some because the animation is gorgeous and so is the soundtrack.
Lu Over the Wall is a sweet story about a small town fearing legendary merfolk because of their potential to either eat people or turning people into one of them. I can tell it’s like they intended the merfolk to be vampires with their bodies burning in the sun, but changed it due to mermaids being cuter. A boy who’s bored with his life befriends a mermaid child whose tail turns into legs when she hears music. This one is a little bit on the underrated side since most people thought it was a copy of Ponyo when this is clearly not the case.
Speaking of Ponyo, to those who have never heard or seen Ponyo, go watch this one. What are you doing with you life? It has an adorable red headed fish who falls in love with a boy and uses magic to find him thus almost drowning the world to stay with said boy. Also God bless her father who wants her to stay away from humans because they pollute the sea. I love how this film doesn’t deny that humans are selfish and disgusting with how they treat the ocean but it also romanticizes the best parts about being human like worrying about family or eating a nice meal or staying safe in times of need. Most films like The Little Mermaid ignore how cruel humans are and go straight to “No you’re wrong! I love him and he loves me so humans can’t be as bad as you say! They’re perfect!” Pfft.
The Chinese Spirited Away. Or rather, what the people behind the film wanted it to be. This is the story of a girl from a hidden world in the ocean who visited the human world in the form of a red dolphin and accidentally caused the death of a human boy. Throughout the film, she breaks the laws of the world nurse his soul (which is a small red fish) back to life. Pretty enjoyable although I do have my complaints on the main character herself and how selfish she may be at times.
I HAD to put the newest Pixar film in this list because it fits the list and goddamn did I love this film. Its innocent and wholesome and it happens to be directed by Enrico Casarosa who also directed The Good Dinosaur and my favourite Pixar short La Luna. Two sea monsters run away from their life at sea to find a Vespa to ride away and explore the world. It’s so sweet and colourful. To some folks there might be some Queer undertones but whether they were intentional or not, its a cute film!
Now to my favourite on this list: Song of the Sea. Personally it’s Cartoon Saloon’s best film. Some could argue that Wolfwalkers (their newest film in 2020) is their best but I’m just biased for my love of the Sea. After the disappearance of his mother, a young boy named Ben resents his mute younger sister Saoirse for probably being the reason their mother is gone (she disappeared the day Saoirse was born). One night when their granny find Saoirse on the beach with a white coat, their father, after locking the coat in a chest and tossing the chest at sea, send them away to live far away from the sea. Eventually some Faerie Folk find the children and claim that Saoirse is half Selkie, a creature that can go from person to seal with the aid of a magical coat and they need her to sing a Faerie song to save them all. Without the the coat she cant sing and will not last in the next few hours.
I could go on and on about this film in particular but Imma stop right there before I rant about this film being so underrated. I hope some of you try to watch these films and maybe have them in one of your favourites!
