The Secret of Kells

Secret of Kells, The (Tomm Moore/Nora Twomey, 2010)

THE SCOOP
Director: Tomm Moore/Nora Twomey
Plot: The animated story of the boy behind the famed Book of Kells.

Genre: Animation/Adventure/Fantasy
Awards: Nom. for 1 Oscar - best animated feature.
Runtime: 75min
Rating: PG

IN RETROSPECT
A surprise entry as an Oscar nominee for Best Animated film, The Secret of Kells left many dumbfounded by its inclusion by the Academy in a year teeming with more quality animated features than before. Plucked from obscurity, The Secret of Kells is thrust into the limelight and placed among a quite stellar lineup of films: Pete Docter’s Up, Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox, Henry Selick’s Coraline, and John Musker & Ron Clements’ The Princess and the Frog.

The Secret of Kells is directed by Tomm Moore and co-directed by Nora Twomey. Its story is as straightforward as it can get. A boy, Brendan, disobeys orders and wanders into the “dark forest” in order to get oak seeds to make ink for a book that has to be completed by him. He meets a fairy-girl who saves him from bloodthirsty creatures. The film is set in a period of constant fear set forth by an imminent attack on Brendan’s people by Vikings bound on demolishing the circumferential wall that is built to repel them.

Like most animated features, The Secret of Kells is rooted in fantasy. The animation here is visually unconventional. Moore and Twomey use special techniques to create a strange world. The images are simplistic but the animators skillfully evoke a sense of “realmic wonderment” by subjecting their characters to numerous patterns and conceptual designs meant to blur the lines between “the fantasy that is animation” and “the fantasy as experienced by the animated characters”. This gives quite an original viewing experience. Perhaps this is the reason for the film’s inclusion in the list of nominees.

If you are looking for a good story, The Secret of Kells does not provide with a satisfying one. It is the visuals that hook us and make us temporarily care for the characters’ plight whenever they face an ominous situation. Not the other way round. Apparently, not enough material is written to develop the characters to a level that would surpass the visuals as the film’s main sustaining factor.

I have to also mention the music score used which is beautiful and serene, and composed by Bruno Coulais (Les Choristes, 2004). In a nutshell, The Secret of Kells is worth a look for fans of the animation genre. Some will find it delightful, but many others will wonder how Miyazaki’s Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (2008) got robbed of that last slot by this relatively poorer work.

SCORE: 7/10
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Recommendations: Toy Story 3 (Lee Unkrich, 2010), To Kill a Mockingbird (Robert Mulligan, 1962), The Visitor

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Last updated: 2010-05-30 02:07:59 by eternality_tan

The Secret of Kells

When the Academy Award nominations came out for Best Animated Film, everyone was like WTF is The Secret of Kells, while I was going, "ZOMG! They nominated the film!" I've been following this movie since the beginning of last year and I finally got a hold of the DVD from the director, Tom Moore. Who is incredibly nice. And I'm going to say this now.. I want this movie to beat Pixar's Up.



The Secret of Kells is set in the 9th century. Twelve-year-old Brendan is educated by his uncle, Abbot Cellach, who holds a firm grip on his nephew and expects him to follow in his footsteps. One day, Brendan meets Brother Aidan, a master illustrator who shows him the beauty of art and stimulates his creativity and fantasy. Finally, Brendan decides to break free in search of his dream: completing the valuable Book of Kells.



I am going to cram in as many pictures of the movie as I can into this review because, God the animation of Kells was just so so so good. This is may just be the most exquisite pieces of motion art I have ever seen.



The film is so lavish. Wonderfully flat in overall perspective, and yet so haunting. It's rich in it's Celtic & illuminated design, yet the characters are so simplistic. It's really really hard do describe what is so good about the style of the film. It's like watching the very definition of art.



Another thing I love about the style of the drawings in Kells is that it is a very close copy of the art style in Samurai Jack, one of my favoritest cartoons of all time. But it didn't seem like a ripoff in anyway. The art style of Kells was mostly Celtic influenced just like how Samurai Jack was Japanese influenced. So if you were a fan of Samurai Jack, you'll be going on a roller coaster of nostalgia watching Secret of Kells.



From what I've been reading online, Secret of Kells pays homages to a lot of Irish folklore and art.Which is great if you were Irish. Personally, I'm not Irish so I guess I wouldn't understand the deep meaning behind the film. But more power to ye Irish folks.



The film introduces many great characters, Brendan, Brother Aidan, Pangur Ban but my absolute fav was Aisling. She reminds me of a girl from my childhood whom I have completely forgotten until I watched this movie. I can't remember her name, I can't remember how she looked like but I just remembered that that bitch was crazy. She was to me what Ellie was to Carl Fredrickson, you know what i mean?



The only letdown of the movie is the ending. After building a great narrative and great relationships between the characters, the movie ended without a satisfying resolution. I felt like, "That's it??!! But... but.. I want more!" The movie really felt incomplete, like the filmmaker ran out of cash and had to finish it up in a hurry. I still didn't get what the book of Kells was for, we do no see much resolution between the characters or the overall Viking invasion. So I was like... "There's going to be a Secret of Kells 2 right? Please tell me there's going to be a Secret of Kells 2! Pleeaseeee!"



Secret of Kells is easily the most well drawn animated film I have ever seen. Is it the best animated film? No it's not. Sadly Kells didn't have a good story to back up it's stunning artistry. No.. Kells is no Toy Story. Kells is no Lion King. But I will say this, The Secret of Kells is one of those animated films I want to own and preserve so that 20 years from now, I can go back, watch it and feel like a kid again.

RATING: 9/10

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NicholasC