Review of The Secret of Kells (2009) by Neum D — 21 Sep 2010

The Secret of Kells, an Irish animated film leveraging Celtic folklore and Irish Catholic history to spin a lovely yarn behind the creation of the actual Book of Kells, is so dazzling and transporting - both visually and tonally - that the world it inhabited felt so liberating and elastic. The shapeliness of its characters - the rounder, softer-lined figures of good monks; the angular, rough, and pointy-sharp drawings of evil Vikings - were exaggerated to wonderful effect, lending a verve to the story's mythos. Even trivial things, like one important monk (Brother Aiden) resembling a whimsical cartoon rendition of Willie Nelson or George Carlin, helped make this movie so much fun. The story follows young red-haired Brendan in and out of the Abbey grounds as the township prepares for an imminent Viking assault (apparently building itself to the same spire-based architectural mock-ups as Isengard from Lord of the Rings), and his meeting and mystical companionship with Aisling, a sprightly childlike fairy that protects the wood outside the Abbey.

The movie's chronicling of their adventures bleed mellifluous visuals at every bend, emphasized by the aforementioned character designs as well as endless spirals, weaves, and Trinity knots that are so pronounced in Celtic lore and literally skittering off the edges of each frame, creating a consistent and nourishing visual impression across its brisk 70-ish minute runtime. The natural enchantment that accompanies these characters and visuals comes without swelling instrumentation to signify tonal shift, but rather a straight-faced melding into the mythological, as if it's an expected part of the reality. The story has enough dramatic darkness to propel it forward, but so much emphasis is placed on the creation of the Book of Kells that, without knowing some history behind it going into the viewing, the cumulative experience may seem a little lightweight. Still, it's a very spirited film that gleefully leaps over the boundaries of regular 2D animation to create a very memorable experience.