#Song of the sea series#
But after studying animation at Ballyfermot College in Dublin, Moore found that the studios around him were gradually disappearing Bluth’s studio had gone bankrupt in 1995 following a series of commercial failures, while Murakami Wolf Films had vanished by the end of the decade.įaced with the choice of relocating to the US to find work or setting up his own studio, Moore opted for the latter, founding Cartoon Saloon with fellow animator Paul Young in 1999. That an entire animation industry had sprung up in Ireland was an inspiration to Moore, who’d grown up in Ireland with a passion for drawing, film and animation. Former Disney animator Don Bluth set up a studio in Dublin in 1979, where such films as The Secret Of NIMH and An American Tail were created. Jimmy Murakami, the veteran animator who directed The Snowmanand When The Wind Blows, set up two studios in Ireland: Quateru Films in 1971 and Murakami-Wolf Films in 1989 – the latter produced the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesanimated series. To put that in perspective, Pete Docter’s Up, which actually won the Best Animated Feature Oscar in 2010, was made for $175m.Ĭartoon Saloon’s success provided a boost to Ireland’s small yet vibrant animation scene, which stretches back to the 1970s. Suddenly, this little animation house based in Kilkenny was being mentioned in the same breath as Pixar and Disney – a considerable achievement, given that The Secret Of Kells‘ distinctive 2D animation was created on a budget of around $7m. Nominated for an Oscar, The Secret Of Kellsbrought Moore and his studio Cartoon Saloon to global attention. Released in 2009, The Secret Of Kells was a colourful, disarmingly tender fantasy based around the Book of Kells, an illuminated medieval manuscript now kept at the Trinity College Library in Dublin. Moore’s first feature film was similarly steeped in Irish history and legend. “I was hoping to make a film that reinvigorated the folklore for kids of my son’s generation, and I thought an animated film would be an ambitious vehicle to do that with.” Ireland’s animation heritage “I realised that these were stories that we were losing – that connection to the landscape, that folklore, was dying out,” says Moore. He thought about local folktales, the myths and legends that were once passed down from parent to child – the stories that bonded people to their environment, and that were in danger of vanishing from Ireland’s culture. Like a slowly-developing photograph, the idea for a new story began to form in Moore’s mind.
0 kommentar(er)
