Review of The Secret of Kells (2009) by Michael A Elkana F — 21 Sep 2010

An Irish/French 2d animated production by the producers of the Triplettes of Belleville. I've always wanted to see what a Samurai Jack movie would be like with a touch of the Critic and Stephen Silver for good measure and what I get is basically a larger than average television production on the big screen.

The story is about a very talented monk boy who follows in his uncles religious footsteps only to have his life changed when an artist monk comes by and inspires him to see the world outside and take chances. However his uncle feels otherwise and wants to lock him up so he wouldn't be poisoned by the influences of the outside world.

But wanting to take a chance and get the equipment needed to draw and carry forth the artistic monk's work, the boy goes out and meets a mystical feral Pagan girl who forever changes his views on the world prompting him to take chances and show the others his inspirations. Sound familiar?

A lot of Celtic art helps keep this otherwise complicated yet familiar plot moving as it is very talky, but the slow pacing really hampers the film down. The art is hardly innovative as this is like a celtic version of the aformentioned productions but the colors and compositions at least keep things interesting.

Overall this is a film I'm glad to see, but at the same time I felt I would've been better off seeing this at home.