A gorgeously-animated interpretation of Irish terrain and folklore, complete with cerulean seas, emerald isles, faeries and witches and sleeping stone giants. _Song of the Sea_ follows a bold little boy and his sickly young sister, unwillingly relocated from their remote family home beside the ocean to the crowded, congested confines of the big city. Once there, they waste little time in escaping the embrace of an early bedtime and venture straight back into the countryside, seeking their father and unraveling family mysteries along the way.

Strongly flavored with local color, this was obviously composed by artists with deep personal ties to the region and its mythology. When it’s tasked with visualizing something fantastic, the screen comes alive with all manner of unfamiliar magic and breathless wonder. Such moments grow more frequent near the climax, of course, but the road to get there lacks a certain power that could have pushed it over the top. Many of its eventual conclusions seem foregone in the very early goings, and the film’s methodical pace can be challenging. It’s the type of animation that loves to dwell in a moment, but lacks the extra panache to make such waits worthwhile in its pedestrian scenes. Beautiful, soulful and enveloping at its very best, but too inconsistent to merit top marks.