Review of The Secret of Kells (2009) by Sey G — 21 Sep 2010

NOTE: This review was originally written and posted on April 1, 2010. I am reposting it because the profile for this movie on RT seems to have been moved, and the original review appears to not be associated with any movie. So please enjoy my "retro" review of "The Secret of Kells".

I was intrigued the first time I even heard of the Academy Award-nominated Secret of Kells, and independent Irish animated film based the ancient Book of Kells, known for its beautiful illustrations. I thought that the idea of creating a movie with not only a story based on the book, but with the animation inspired by the Book of Kells, was fascinating. There was also a sense of mystery, that this was the dark horse that nobody had heard of going up against "Up" and all of the other films nominated for the Best Animated Feature Oscar.

The plot of the Secret of Kells is not excellent, but it did manage to keep my interest. It is about a young apprentice, Brendan, who works for his uncle, the Abbot Cellach of Kells. When his idol, Brother Aidan of Iona, arrives in Kells, Brendan becomes absorbed in the Book, which Aidan has brought with him. So when Aidan requires a special kind of dye that is only found deep in the forest, Brendan is happy to disobey his uncle and escape the walls of Kells for the first time in his life. Once in the forest, he meets a mystical fairy named Aisling who shows him how things work in her forest and in this huge world that she represents.

All of this is happening over the backdrop of the impending Viking attack that drove Aidan from his island home in Iona. There is a dispute in Kells over whether their priorities should be to finish Aidan's sacred book, or, as the Abbot believes, to continue building thick walls to keep the Vikings out. This sets a time limit on the movie, and is important in keeping the plot moving quickly.

That plot is somewhat interesting, but it is not a great story. The Aisling character is a breath of fresh air, and all of her forest scenes are fantastic. However, the Abbot is annoying, Brendan is simple, and Aidan is unoriginal. The Vikings aspect is important, and it really is key that there is this force that keeps the story moving along.

That notwithstanding, the true magic of this movie comes from the animation. This may be, visually, the greatest movie I've ever seen. The animation is inspired by the illustrations in the real-life Book of Kells, and this style's translation into animation is striking and works very well. The movie is very stylized, and things like the Abbot towering over all of the other monks will stand out immediately. But the impressive task that the animators have succeeded at is taking such a defined style of art and making it move cleanly and easily. The flow of the drawing is as good as any 3D animation, and that makes a huge difference in the viewing experience.

If it were just for this story, the Secret of Kells would be only a 60% movie. But the beautiful and striking visuals make it a must-see on as big a screen as possible. Find out if it is showing in your area, and just get lost in the world that the artists of this movie have done such a wonderful job at creating.