Characters who appeared in the film, Song of the Sea.
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Ben's Family
Ben
Ben
Voiced by: David Rawle (English), Kevin Swierszcz (English - younger); James Ó Floinn (Irish), Ríona Farley Nolan (Irish - younger)
The protagonist of the movie. A 10-year-old boy who reminisces about the stories his mother told him.
- Aloof Big Brother: He blames his sister for their mother's disappearance and their father favoring Saoirse only causes Ben to resent her more. When he isn't being actively mean to Saoirse, he tends to shrug off her attempts to bond with him.
- Anti-Hero: Ben can be quite snarky and cynical at times (especially towards his sister, Saoirse). But as the story progresses, Ben manages to show his heroic side by facing the Owl Witch Macha, and conquering his fear of the ocean when retrieving Saoirse's selkie coat.
- Big Brother Bully: When he isn't being an Aloof Big Brother towards Saoirse, he's being this, particularly when he tells her the story of Macha the Owl Witch just to scare her and saying that no one would love her if Macha turned their father to stone.
- Big Brother Instinct: He gradually develops this as he defrosts towards Saoirse and learns to appreciate her, eventually getting to the point where he overcomes his crippling fear of water to save her life.
- Big Ol' Eyebrows: He has rather thick brown eyebrows to accompany his blond hair.
- Bratty Half-Pint: Acts like a real jerk towards Saoirse. Fortunately, however, he gets better.
- Character Development: He starts out as an incredibly petty bully and jerk towards Saoirse, but gradually comes to let go of his earlier resentment and realize he does actually love her—to the point where he risks his life to dive into the stormy sea to recover her selkie coat to save her life, despite having a major fear of water and knowing full well he can't swim.
- Childish Tooth Gap: He sports a tooth gap and when not acting like a bratty Big Brother Bully to Saoirse, he's quite childlike.
- Defrosting Ice King: Gradually lets go of his aloof nature towards Saoirse.
- Gleeful and Grumpy Pairing: Ben shares this dynamic with his little sister Saoirse. Whereas Saoirse is sweet and loving, Ben is more snarky and cynical. Ben does begin to soften up by the film's end though.
- Half-Human Hybrid: Ben has selkie blood in him, but unlike Saoirse, he doesn't seem to have the abilities of one.
- Heroes Love Dogs: Cú is the only one he's nice to, at least to start with.
- Jerkass Realization: After seeing what really happened to his mother, Ben ultimately realizes how much of a jerk he was to his sister.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Especially at the onset, he's a spiteful brat to his younger sister because he sees her as being responsible for their mother's disappearance. The only hint of a soft side shown from Ben to start with is his relationship with Cú. From there, however, the defrosting begins.
- Maternal Death? Blame the Child!: He resents and silently blames his sister, Saoirse, for the disappearance of their mother, Bronagh, on the day of her birth. Not helping his attitude is the fact that their father, Conor, is very loving towards Saoirse, sometimes at the expense of Ben, leading Ben to develop into an Aloof Big Brother at best and a flat-out Big Brother Bully at worst. However, when she's dying from being half turned to stone, he apologizes and admits that none of it was her fault.
- Momma's Boy: Ben deeply loved his mother, and her disappearance greatly changed him for the worse.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Has several moments of this. The first is when he terrifies Saoirse with the story of the Owl Witch near the beginning - although, at this point, he's still too proud to admit what he did was wrong and apologize, settling for quietly reassuring her that it's "just a story" afterward. The second comes when he's shown the events surrounding his mother's disappearance and Saoirse's birth, particularly the moment when he rejected her as a baby, which reduces him to tears.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Ben's red (emotional and mean) to Saoirse's blue (quiet and polite).
- Supporting Protagonist: Even though he's the central character, it's his sister, Saoirse, that is the most important figure.
- Time-Shifted Actor: In the English, Irish, French, and Japanese versions, Ben is voiced by David Rawle, James Ó Floinn, Jean-Stan DuPac, and Manami Honjo as a 10-year-old and by Kevin Swierszcz, Ríona Farley Nolan, Thisbée Vidal-Lefebvre, and Ai Fukada as a 4-year-old.
- Took a Level in Badass: Getting over his fear of water in order to save his sister's life.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: This happens to Ben once Bronagh disappears giving birth to Saoirse. The young Ben who was initially excited over having a little sister morphed into an older brother who was constantly mean and spiteful towards her.Fortunately, this doesn't last, and then he...
- Took a Level in Kindness: Ben has this happen after experiencing some life-or-death situations with Saoirse, realizing how much he actually loves her deep down and that it was wrong to blame her for their mother's disappearance.
- The Unfavorite: Ben knows he's this to his father, and he deeply resents Saoirse for it.
- An early teaser trailer implies this would have been the case even if Bronagh had lived.
- Used to Be a Sweet Kid: While Ben isn't a bad kid, there was a time before he was consumed with resentment towards his sister. On the fateful night Saoirse was born, he was but an innocent 4-year-old little boy who loved his mother very much and had a strong relationship with his father. What's more, he had hopes of being a good big brother to his unborn sister. But all that changed after Bronagh's passing. Seeing Saoirse as the cause of her disappearance, he became a big brother bully to her.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Ben developed a fear of water since his father repeatedly warned him that going into the ocean at their home was dangerous. Because of this fear, he constantly wears a life jacket, even on land. When Saoirse's life is on the line, however, he finally overcomes this fear, taking off his life jacket and diving into the stormy sea to find her selkie coat.
Saoirse
Saoirse
Voiced by: Lucy O' Connell (English); Fionán Farley Nolan (Irish), Echicha Florijn (Dutch)
The deuteragonist of the movie and the younger sister of Ben. She has never spoken and she has inherited her mother's selkie powers.
- Animal Motifs: The end of her hairstyle resembles seal fins and she has selkie blood in her.
- Anime Hair: She has hair with a curl on the left side, almost resembling the fins of a seal.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: Downplayed; Ben certainly views her as this, since he associates her with his mother's disappearance and at first shrugs off any attempts she makes to bond with him. While Saoirse will occasionally act up towards Ben when she gets fed up with his bullying, she's generally a sweet girl who only wants to be closer to her older brother.
- Badass Pacifist: Her singing of the "Song of the Sea" allows faeries, Mac Lir, and Macha to go home, with the former two also being set free because of Saoirse's singing.
- Big Brother Worship: While Ben may be a jerk to her, Saoirse still has a fondness for him.
- Bratty Half-Pint: Downplayed; while she's normally a sweet-natured girl, she starts to act up towards Ben when they run away from Granny's home and she gets fed up with his bullying behavior. She refuses to budge and kicks him when he tries to send her back, and later forces him to get off the bus and follow the faerie lights and kicks an empty can to tell him they're lost.
- Curtains Match the Windows: Matching black hair and eyes.
- Cute Mute: She can't speak at all, but she's quite the adorable one. She finally speaks after she's reunited with her selkie coat, and after Bronagh severs the tie between her and the fairy world she's able to speak permanently.
- Daddy's Girl: Saoirse is quite close to Conor. Deconstructed in the sense that their closeness causes Ben to feel like the unfavorite child.
- Damsel in Distress: Macha's owls kidnap her for Macha to take her emotions.
- Delicate and Sickly: Saoirse's health starts to fade the longer she's without her selkie coat. She gradually becomes so weak that she's on the brink of dying before she finally sings the Song of the Sea and her health is restored.
- Deuteragonist: The second main character after Ben.
- Disease Bleach: Her hair starts to turn white as her health declines throughout the movie.
- Gleeful and Grumpy Pairing: Saoirse shares this dynamic with her brother Ben. While Ben is a mainly snarky and cynical person, Saoirse is a sweet and loving little girl.
- Half-Human Hybrid: Saoirse has selkie blood in her, but unlike Ben, she has the abilities of one. She loses those abilities when Bronagh severs the tie between her and the fairy world, but in exchange, she's finally able to speak without needing to wear her selkie coat.
- Horrible Judge of Character: She looks up to Ben even though he’s very cold and distant towards her most of the time. Downplayed, though, as she does at times recognize when he is being rude towards her.
- Last of His Kind: She's described in promotional materials as "the last selkie child"; however, this never comes up in the film itself, so it's unclear if she really is the last selkie.
- Macguffin Girl: She's essential to the survival of the faeries, and the latter half of the movie focuses on Ben trying to find her and save her life.
- Meaningful Name: Her name roughly means "freedom" in Irish, and she turns out to be the key to freeing the rest of The Fair Folk from Macha turning them to stone so they can return to Tír na nÓg.
- Messianic Archetype: She seems to be the messiah for The Fair Folk, as they hold her on a high pedestal and prophesied she would save them from Macha's curse, which she ends up doing.
- The Millstone: Saoirse appears to Ben as this at times. Her diving into the sea with her selkie coat at night leads to Conor sending her and Ben to live with Granny, which doesn't soften Ben's attitude towards her. While they run away from Granny's, she then forces him to leave the bus that would take them back to the ocean and dives into a shrine pool that leads to Macha capturing her and Ben nearly drowning. Eventually, it becomes subverted, however, since if not for leaving the bus they wouldn't have reunited with Cú, and Ben wouldn't have learned the story of what really happened to his mother.
- Nice Girl: Saoirse is polite and kind, even to her mean older brother.
- Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: She takes after Bronagh, who had such captivating beauty, as well as her black hair and pale skin.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Ben's red (emotional and mean) to Saoirse's blue (quiet and polite).
- The Shadow Knows: When the faerie lights lead Saoirse to her sealcoat, her shadow briefly looks like a seal.
- Silent Snarker: She can't speak without her selkie coat, but gives a few annoyed glances, mostly towards her overbearing Granny or her Big Brother Bully, Ben.
- Someone to Remember Him By: Conor dotes on Saoirse because of her striking resemblance to her later mother and his late love and Living Emotional Crutch.
- The Speechless: Saoirse is six years old and still has yet to talk, with Conor mentioning that they've consulted a doctor about it. This is because Conor locked away her selkie coat, and she can't speak without it. She finally speaks when Ben and Conor reunite her with her coat, and while she has to give up her selkie side to stay with her family, by the end of the story she's permanently able to speak without the coat.
- Water Is Womanly: A polite, kind young girl who is also half selkie. She's also strongly associated with water due to her selkie heritage.
- Water-Triggered Change: Saoirse's selkie coat turns her into a seal pup when she dives into the sea.
Cú
Cú
Voiced by: Unknown
The Shepherd dog of the family.
- Big Friendly Dog: Cú is a giant shepherd dog and quite the sweetheart.
- A Dog Named "Perro": Cú means "hound" in Irish.
- Heroic Dog: Saves the heroes several times, including when he blocks Macha from entering the attic and turning Ben to stone, and most spectacularly when Macha gives him the speed of the wind to carry Ben and Saoirse back to the lighthouse.
- Morality Pet: A literal example. Ben is nasty or cold to almost everyone, especially Saoirse, but he's nice and warm towards Cú.
- Named After Somebody Famous: Most likely named for Cú Chulainn, a legendary Irish hero.
- Undying Loyalty: He will swim over supposed dangerous waters for Ben and Saoirse.
Conor
Conor
Voiced by: Brendan Gleeson (English and Irish)
Ben and Saoirse's father who is still in mourning over his wife's "death".
- Alcoholic Parent: He drinks to null the pain ever since his wife, Bronagh, vanished without a trace.
- Beard of Sorrow: He grows a beard after his wife, Bronagh, vanished without a trace.
- Disappeared Dad: He loses faith in his parenting abilities and allows Granny to take his children.
- The Eeyore: He became this once Bronagh left.
- Happily Married: Had an open and loving marriage with Bronagh.
- Heroic Build: Has the biggest build of the main characters and is a definite good guy.
- Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: With Bronagh.
- Interspecies Romance: He, a human, fell in love with his selkie wife.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Gets this reaction when he loses his patience with Ben and yells at him to stop his bratty behaviour.
- Nice Guy: Even with his faults, Conor is a truly good person.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Although he does it with the intention of protecting his children and is unaware of the consequences of doing so, throwing the key and chest containing the selkie coat into the sea almost leads to Saoirse dying from being kept away from it for too long.
- Papa Wolf: He would do anything for his kids. Either rowing a boat in the middle of a storm to get medical attention for one (Saoirse) or diving into the raging sea to rescue the other (Ben).
- Parental Abandonment: A passive one in his case. Conor loses faith in his parenting abilities and allows Granny to take his children.
- Parental Favoritism: Ever since Bronagh left, it's apparent that Conor pays more attention to Saoirse than he does with Ben. This inevitably makes his relationship with Ben grow increasingly more distant.
- Parents as People: Though distant, Conor does try to lavish Saoirse with attention and still loves Ben. However, his grief over Bronagh's disappearance makes him emotionally unavailable for his children much of the time, and he starts to believe in his inadequacies as a father to the point of letting his mother take his children away.
- Strong Family Resemblance: Conor is a taller, muscular version of Ben.
- Took a Level in Cheerfulness: After seeing Bronagh again and bidding her a final farewell, Conor was able to move on from his grief. After that, he starts expressing a happier attitude.
Granny
Granny
Voiced by: Fionnula Flanagan (English and Irish)
Conor's overbearing mother.
- Anti-Villain: "Villain" may be pushing it, but she was adamant on having her grandchildren stay in the city with her because she felt it wasn't safe to raise them in a lighthouse.
- Cordon Bleugh Chef: Offers Saoirse nettle tea and gooseberry buns, claiming them to be "good for the voice"; Saoirse is repulsed just looking at them and Cú spits out a bun after Saoirse feeds it to him.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: As meddling and overbearing she can be, she only has the best interest for the children.
- My Beloved Smother: Constantly tells her adult son, Conor, that he should let his kids stay with her.
- Unnamed Parent: Her full name is never revealed.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Granny truly thinks she's helping by taking them away from their father and the lighthouse to live in the city (which is rife with pollution and urban decay).
Bronagh
Bronagh
Voiced by: Lisa Hannigan (English); Gráinne Bleasdale (Irish)
The "deceased" mother of Saoirse and Ben; wife of Conor. A selkie.
- Anime Hair: She has hair with a curl on the left side, almost resembling the fins of a seal.
- But Now I Must Go: In the end, Bronagh had to return to the magical world. Before she left, she bid a farewell to her family.
- Curtains Match the Windows: Matching black hair and eyes.
- Happily Married: Had an open and loving one with Conor.
- Hartman Hips: Far more present in concept art, as seen here
◊. - Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: With Conor.
- I Choose to Stay: In selkie folklore, when a human falls in love with one, they typically keep the selkie around by locking up their coat, which Conor demonstrates perfectly with Saoirse; their wanderlust is too great to stay and raise a family. Bronagh, however, willingly gave her life and love to Conor, and she continues to wear her coat all through their marriage. Conor understands perfectly that she could leave at any time and trusts that she will stay with the family, and she never betrays this trust until circumstance forces it.
- Interspecies Romance: She, a selkie, fell in love with her human husband, Conor.
- Living Emotional Crutch: Her disappearance/death caused a great shift in her family. Conor became an alcoholic to cope and Ben became a jerkass to Saoirse, blaming her for Bronagh's "death".
- The Lost Lenore: Bronagh is this to both Conor and Ben, though in the latter's case it's a loss of parental love rather than romantic love.
- Mama Bear: She sacrificed herself so that Saoirse could be safely born.
- Meaningful Name: Her name means "sorrow" in Irish, and while not a sorrowful person by nature, her disappearance caused a lot of sorrow to her family.
- Missing Mom: She disappears giving birth to Saoirse in the night. As a result, her husband, Conor, has become wistful and distant and her son, Ben, blames Saoirse for their mother's disappearance. Justified in that the childbirth was going wrong and Bronagh had to quickly assume selkie form to give birth. Toward the end, her spirit bids her family farewell as she has to go across the sea with the other fairies to their homeland.
- Nice Girl: Bronagh was a kind and caring soul to her family.
- Selkies and Wereseals: She's a selkie, being able to turn into a seal at will. Unlike Saoirse, she can still speak since she's never seen without her seal coat.
- Shapeshifting Lover: She was a selkie who fell in love and had a son and daughter named Ben and Saoirse with a human lighthouse keeper, Conor. However, she returned to the sea on the night of her daughter's birth. The story focuses instead on Ben and Saoirse's journey to save both the lives of the fae folk of Ireland and Saoirse after their father throws her selkie coat into the sea which makes her ill.
- Strong Family Resemblance: She looks like an older version of Saoirse since they share black hair with a curl on the left side, black eyes, and fair skin.
Fairies and Other Mythical Beings
Lug, Mossy, and Spud
Lug, Mossy, and Spud
Lug voiced by: Pat Shortt (English); Donncha Crowley (Irish)
Mossy voiced by: Colm Ó Snodaigh (English); Niall McDonagh (Irish)
Spud voiced by: Liam Hourican (English); Tomás Ó Súilleabháin (Irish)
Spud (far left), Lug (top middle), Mossy (far right), Saoirse (bottom center).
Three Daoine Sidhe who encounter Ben and Saoirse when they try to make their way home.
- Big, Thin, Short Trio: Mossy is big, Lug is thin and Spud is short.
- I Have Many Names: They aren't too thrilled about Ben calling them "fairies" and they mention other names their kind are known as, such as the Good Neighbors, the Other Crowd, and of course the Daoine Sidhe (which seems to be their proper name).
- Leprechaun:
Word of God is they're meant to be a nod to them and modern friendly faeries in general, which is shown through their short heights and green skin. Notice how much taller and more majestic they become when Saoirse sings her song that sends them home. - Plucky Comic Relief: Although they do help guide Ben and Saiorse on their journey, they're mainly just meant for comic relief, and to take a break from the main storyline with a little singing.
- Running Gag: Spud keeps wanting to sing, and Lug is always reluctant to let him.
The Great Seanchaí
The Great Seanchaí
Voiced by: Jon Kenny (English)
A very old and forgetful fairy whose long hair contains stories relating to the Daoine Sidhe. He directs Ben towards Macha's house so Ben can save Saoirse.
- And You Were There: He resembles Dan the ferryman and shares the same voice actor.
- Barefoot Sage: He is a wise old creature who is reminiscent of the Hermit Guru archetype, and wears no shoes on his feet.
- Eccentric Mentor: He is wise, and his hair contains all the stories from the history of Ireland - and yet he is quite quirky and forgetful.
- Forgetful Jones: He doesn't have a very good memory; he keeps trying to remember the words to various Irish songs, he forgets who Ben is once Ben leaves him, and it seems that he'd forgotten his own name until Ben reminded him.
- Meaningful Name: "Seanchaí" means "storyteller", and all his hairs contain stories relating to the Daoine Sidhe.
- The Storyteller: His name literally means "storyteller", and he's the keeper of all stories related to the fairies of Ireland. Each of his incredibly long hairs contain a story, as he demonstrates when showing Ben a hair that has the story of Mac Lir being turned to stone.
Macha the Owl Witch
Macha the Owl Witch
Voiced by: Fionnula Flanagan (English and Irish)
The mother of Mac Lir and a witch who can steal the emotions of others — turning them to stone.
- Alas, Poor Villain: When Ben released her feelings back to her, Macha begs his forgiveness and tells him that she couldn't bear to see her son in such pain.
- Animal Motifs: Owls. She has owls as minions and she looks rather like an owl herself.
- And You Were There: Resembles Granny, and shares the same voice actress. This is the first sign that her actions are born of misguided good intentions.
- Anti-Villain: She does what she does with the best possible intentions in mind. And is polite.
- Big Bad: Macha, a witch who steals the emotions of magical creatures, leaving them turned to stone, and who wants to capture Saoirse to keep her from singing her song. Somewhat subverted when it turns out she's more of a polite Well-Intentioned Extremist who thinks she's helping magical creatures by taking all their pain, grief, and worries away rather than acting out of malice. In fact, she's partly turned herself into stone for the same reason.
- Easily Forgiven: When liberated by the song, the fairies kindly drop by Macha's house and welcome her among them. Justified that Macha was repentant for her actions and her sanity had slipped too far into her well-intentioned extremist deeds before she could truly regret it.
- Evil Is Bigger: While corrupted by her own magic, partly turned to stone herself, she towers over Ben. But when Ben returns her sanity and emotions to her, she shrinkss, barely coming up to his waist.
- Heel–Face Turn: Upon seeing how wrong her idea of "helping" is, Macha gives Cú the speed of the wind to carry Ben and Saoirse back to the lighthouse.
- Historical Villain Upgrade: In-Universe. Macha laments how the old myths and legends paint her as a Wicked Witch who steals emotions and has turned her son, Mac Lir, to stone all For the Evulz. In truth, the story fails to mention how she stole her son's emotions to save the world from drowning in his tears, which she couldn't bear to see, while the theft of other fairies' emotions stems from her belief that she's helping them, not out of pure malice. She's still doing wrong, but she at least has a somewhat logical argument to justify it all. Of course, she sees how wrong she's been after getting her own emotions back.Macha: Well, now, those stories always paint me as the bad one. But I'm not so terrible, you know. I'm just trying to help everyone.
- The Man Behind the Curtain: After all the build-up to her as a terrifying Wicked Witch, she turns out to simply be a kindly old woman who wants to get rid of the faeries' negative emotions, and is partially turned to stone herself as a result of her own spells.
- Ominous Owl: Her overall motif; she's closely associated with owls, and the stories about her cast her as an evil witch who turns people to stone. However, it turns out that she's not so ominous once she's realized the consequences of her actions.
- Rousseau Was Right: Despite all the build-up to her sinister, intimidating nature, once Ben actually meets her, observes her half-stoned body, he finds himself trying to reason with her and pleading for her aid, understanding that she was more of a tragic figure than a villain.
- Small Parent, Huge Child: Macha, a short elderly witch, has a mountain-sized giant son named Mac Lir.
- Taken for Granite: When she removes someone's emotions, it turns them to stone. She's also partially turned to stone herself, due to having used her own powers on herself whenever she's had an emotional outburst.
- Tragic Villain: The audience and Ben eventually learn that she stole her son's emotions because she couldn't bear to see him in such pain, while the theft of other fairies' emotions stems from her belief that she's helping them, not out of pure malice. In fact, she's partly turned herself into stone for the same reason.
- Walking Spoiler: Though she is the primary antagonist of the story, it's her motivations and backstory that recontextualize everything that happens up to the confrontation with her.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: She truly believes she's helping the magical beings of the world by stealing all their emotions, turning them to stone. Since turbulent emotions bring pain and grief, she thinks she's easing their suffering.
- Wicked Witch: Is painted as one in the story Ben tells Saoirse. Turns out she's Not Evil, Just Misunderstood.
- Would Hurt a Child: Not intentionally of course but she turned her own son to stone and nearly does the same to Ben and Saoirse.
Mac Lir
Mac Lir
Voiced by: Brendan Gleeson (English and Irish)
A legendary giant, and Macha's son. He suffered a great tragedy in the past, which made him so sad that he literally almost drowned the world with his tears; his mother Macha turned him to stone to ease his pain.
- And You Were There: His appearance and heartbreak is analogous to Conor and his own grief over Bronagh's disappearance.
- Broken Tears: He suffered a great tragedy (which is implied to be the loss of a loved one), which caused him such anguish that he cried enough tears to flood nearly the entire world.
- Canine Companion: In the past, he was accompanied by two fairy hounds who could grow just as large as him. The dogs later reunite with him towards the end of the film, and they cross the sea together.
- Last-Name Basis: He's clearly supposed to be Manannán mac Lir, an Irish god who's typically depicted as either a sea god or the guardian of the Otherworld, but in this film he's mainly known as Mac Lir (though Mossy does call him by his first name, Manannán, while singing his verse of "Dúlamán").
- Monster-Shaped Mountain: He exists as a huge island some distance away from the main characters' lighthouse home, as a result of Macha turning him to stone to ease his emotional pain.
- Noodle Incident: It's never explained what exactly caused him such sadness in his backstory, but some of Macha's dialogue implies it was due to the loss of a loved one.
- Taken for Granite: Done by his mother out of a desire to ease his suffering. At the end, when Saoirse sings the Song of the Sea, the spell is finally broken.
- The Voiceless: He has no dialogue in the film, only making sounds such as sighing or wailing in anguish.
