The Last Whale Singer

by Mike McGranaghan

The basic premise of the animated feature The Last Whale Singer is this: there is an extremely small number of surviving whales whose songs can heal anything within the ocean that’s dying or ill. Isn’t that a beautiful idea? Not realistic, but beautiful, nonetheless. The movie’s appeal is embedded in the concept. This is an optimistic, big-hearted treat for parents to see with their young children.

Vincent (voiced by Vincent Tong) is the son of the last two remaining whale singers. They meet their demise within the first ten minutes, leaving the songless Vincent in a funk with only his keeper, a suckerfish named Walter (Bruce Dinsmore), to keep him company. When a fearsome octopus-like creature called Leviathan begins killing coral reefs and attacking other sea creatures, Vincent realizes he needs to save the day. He and Walter venture down into the Mariana Trench in search of “the star pool,” a place akin to Heaven where he hopes to revitalize his parents. Along the way, they get help from deaf orca Darya (Jennifer Wheeler-Hughes) and seahorse Ora (Priyanka).

The Last Whale Singer is aimed primarily at elementary school-aged kids and therefore keeps its story on the basic side. Vincent has to deal with his loss and find his voice via song. While there may not be a ton of nuance in that, it does allow for touching messages about believing in oneself and the good feeling that comes from helping others. The plot unfolds with such sincerity that you can’t avoid being uplifted by it.

On a visual level, the animation is very pretty. In a few scenes, it’s even dazzling, as when the Leviathan spews out a massive cloud of purple ink that threatens to envelop our heroes. The look of the star pool is similarly enchanting, giving us a rich, colorful underwater landscape where the presence of magic seems perfectly logical. Animated fare from companies not named Disney, Pixar, or DreamWorks can sometimes come up a bit short in the looks department. The crew behind this film put obvious care into the presentation.

Humor is abundant in The Last Whale Singer, as are action sequences. At the core, though, is the message that a lone voice has the power to help make the world a better place. In a time when mindless kids’ fare like The Super Mario Galaxy Movie rakes in money hand over fist, it’s refreshing to get an animated movie with honest-to-goodness soul.