With Oscar nominations for Secret of Kells and Song of the Sea, Cartoon Saloon is part of an exciting new wave of Irish animation fuelled, according to co-founder Paul Young, by a passion for drawing.
“I had a very early desire to draw. I didn’t play much sport, but I loved film and television. Sullivan Bluth had opened a studio in Chapelizod, they did American Tale, and the Land Before Time, and needed animators, so the college in Ballyfermot was set up to feed that.
"When we graduated in 1999, we took a gang of animation friends down to Kilkenny. Tomm Moore is from Kilkenny, and he'd been part of Young Irish Filmmakers, a great organisation for kids there, I wish we'd had one in Boyle where I grew up. We made the first trailer for Secret of Kells with a Millennium Arts grant from Fás, subsidised with commercial work, and the Irish Film Board, who supported both films.
"Ideas are fine, but they don't work until the group makes them work. Song of the Sea sprang from a holiday Tomm took with his wife and son in Dingle. They discovered culled seals on a beach. Their Bean an Tí said the fishermen thought the seals depleted the fish stocks, but that they wouldn't have done it 30 years ago out of respect for the Selkie stories. So in a way, the Selkie stories, were connected to and protecting the environment rather than just twee fodder for tourists. He wanted to bring some of these old myths to a new audience, in a fresh story, centered around an Irish family we can all relate to.
"We work in 2D animation, with hand painted backgrounds. Studios like Pixar and Dreamworks have the budgets for CGI, so why copy them? Also we love to draw. This has helped us stand out from the crowd.
“The Oscars were great fun both times, especially in the runup when everyone feels like a winner at the nominees luncheon! After being nominated twice now, Tomm is an Academy member. We’re working on a new film now, and TV series. It’s very exciting.”
Song of the Sea: The Exhibition gives an insider’s view of Cartoon Saloon’s movie-making process at Butler Gallery Kilkenny from July 4th. The film goes on general release on July 10th. See butlergallery.com, cartoonsaloon.ie