#cartoonsaloon

Kindred Spirits: Tomm Moore & Cartoon Saloon Unveil New Animated Feature Cartoon Saloon, the acclaimed Irish studio behind The Secret of Kells, Song of the Sea, and Wolfwalkers, has released the first trailer for its upcoming animated feature Kindred Spirits. Directed by Tomm Moore, the film tells the story of an Irish refugee girl and a Choctaw boy who meet in 1847 New York and embark on a journey across America together. Set against the backdrop of the Great Famine and the Choctaw Nation’s own history of displacement, Kindred Spirits explores themes of resilience, friendship, and cultural connection. The film draws inspiration from the real-life bond between the Irish and Choctaw peoples, who shared solidarity during times of hardship. The trailer showcases Cartoon Saloon’s signature hand-drawn artistry—lush landscapes, expressive characters, and a visual style steeped in folklore and history. With Moore at the helm, audiences can expect a heartfelt story that blends myth, memory, and human spirit in a way only Cartoon Saloon can deliver. Kindred Spirits is set to continue the studio’s tradition of deeply emotional storytelling, and the trailer already hints at a film that will resonate across generations.  

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Animator 03- Tomm moore

Tomm Moore: The Soul-Stirring Animator Who Connected Me Back to My Roots

So I've been having this weird existential crisis lately about disconnection from nature and our own cultural stories, and then I stumbled across Tomm Moore's films at 2am in my dorm and honestly? I haven't been the same since.

The Man Behind the Magic

Tomm Moore is this incredible Irish animator and filmmaker who co-founded Cartoon Saloon, an animation studio based in Kilkenny, Ireland. He was born in 1977, Moore grew up in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, which probably explains why his work feels so deeply connected to healing cultural wounds and rediscovering lost connections.

What makes Moore special isn't just his technical skill (though it's INSANE), but how he's dedicated his career to reviving and reimagining Irish folklore in a way that makes these ancient stories feel urgently relevant to our modern lives. His "Irish Folklore Trilogy" - "The Secret of Kells" (2009), "Song of the Sea" (2014), and "Wolfwalkers" (2020) - has earned multiple Academy Award nominations and critical acclaim worldwide.

But what strikes me most about Moore isn't his accolades - it's how he's remained so committed to telling stories that matter, stories that restore our sense of wonder and responsibility toward each other and the natural world. In interviews, he comes across as this genuinely thoughtful person who creates art not for fame but because he believes these stories need to be told now more than ever.

His Soul-Touching Art Style

Moore's animation style is like this visual lullaby that somehow manages to be both soothing and electrifying:

These absolutely gorgeous hand-drawn illustrations that feel like illuminated manuscripts come to life

A deliberately flat, 2D style that references Celtic art, medieval illustrations, and folk art

These geometric patterns and spirals that seem to breathe with ancient meaning

Color palettes that shift between earthy, grounded tones and these moments of transcendent brilliance

What moves me most about his approach is the intentional rejection of the 3D hyper-realistic animation that dominates the industry. Moore's style feels like this beautiful act of resistance, reminding us that animation doesn't have to mimic reality to move us - sometimes the stylized impression of something captures its essence more truthfully than photorealism ever could.

The way he handles movement in his films is mesmerizing too. Characters transform in fluid, dreamlike sequences that blur the boundaries between humans, animals, and the natural world. Water, trees, and stones pulse with life and intention. Everything feels interconnected in a way that's hard to describe but impossible to forget once you've experienced it.

Why His Work Breaks Me Open Every Time

I didn't expect to find myself sobbing over animated films at my age, but here we are. Moore's work hits me in places I didn't even know were hurting

When I first watched "Song of the Sea," something inside me recognized a loss I couldn't articulate before - this sense that we've forgotten how to listen to the world around us, forgotten the stories that once helped us make sense of our place in it. The scene where Ben finally understands his mother's sacrifice just wrecked me because it felt like watching someone rediscover a connection I've been missing too.

His films speak to that lonely part of me that feels adrift in our digital, disconnected world. There's this moment in "Wolfwalkers" where Robyn experiences running with the wolves for the first time - that wild freedom and belonging to something greater than herself - and I realized I was holding my breath, my heart aching for that feeling.

Moore's animation reminds me that the boundaries we've created between ourselves and the natural world, between reality and magic, between past and present, are more permeable than we think. His characters always exist at these thresholds, teaching us that healing often begins when we're brave enough to cross over, to see differently.

What destroys me (in the best way) is how genuinely his work holds both joy and grief. His stories don't shy away from showing real loss - parents die, cultures are suppressed, environments are threatened - but they also show us that love persists, that compassion matters, that reconnection is possible even after terrible severance.

In my darkest moments of climate anxiety and cultural alienation, Moore's films offer not empty comfort but a gentle reminder that we come from storytelling traditions that have weathered dark times before. His animation feels like a hand reaching across time, inviting us to remember what we've forgotten and imagine what might yet be possible.

If you haven't experienced Moore's work yet, please don't wait. Start with whichever film speaks to you most - they're all portals to the same beautiful understanding. His art reminds to all of us that the old stories aren't relics; they're medicine for exactly what all our modern hearts.