Written and directed by Giovanna Ferrari, Éiru is the smallest child of an Iron-Age clan. All she wants is to be a mighty warrior who is taken seriously by her kinfolk. But when the village’s well mysteriously dries up, only she is small enough to descend into the belly of the earth to investigate and bring the water of life back to her people. Voiced by: Coco Teehan Roche, Michael McGrath, Richie Cody, Susie Lamb, Niamh Moyles and Lydia Deegan.
There’s something wonderful in how easily you can spot a Cartoon Saloon project. They have such a distinctive style to their animation which is so charmingly old-fashioned with its love of hand-drawn animation, how the films burst with colour and how they always bring through a feel of heritage and culture. Éiru is another fantastic example, it’s filled with youth and a lively energy, and it moves with curiosity and determination.
Giovanna Ferrari delves into the extremely familiar topic of the underestimation of young women, and does so with a lot of personality and a great sense of humour. The animation style nicely reflects the tone of the story and the quality of its leading character: tough, relentless and a little rough around the edges, imperfectly perfect. The historical setting was a lovely choice which allows for the addition of a lot of excellent detail to the backgrounds. Brining the feel of the mystical and not limiting itself to strictly reality as we know it, without feeling entirely disconnected from it.
Coco Teehan Roche leads the film excellently, she creates a quintessential young heroine who will not be denied. She guides this story with confidence, travelling captivatingly through its tale of compassion and sympathy. Ferrari puts together a lovely story demonstrating the power of coming together versus the weakness of conflict. It’s simple but very effective, it has a lot of sweetness and warmth.
Éiru is a lovingly animated short film that captures the power of compassion and the joy to be found in helping one another. The strength of taking the time to understand one another rather than simply acting in fear and anger, nicely reflecting how the young can often recognise that better than adults. The voice performances are charming, the animation is terrific, it’s a delightful tale with a lot of personality.
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