Jesper Brun The animation for this little fantasy flick is just so beautifully crafted and takes the crown of haunting animated movies these days.The style reminded me of Genndy Tartakovsky's Samurai Jack with its sharp edges to the character designs and the extensive use of colour to underline certain moods. And it really works! I could talk forever about that animation, because it is the crown achievement of the movie. The rest is good, but could have been deeper and have explained a little more about the book itself and certain passages in the story. The ending was also a little abrubt even if it was conclusive it just felt like it left off a little too early. We could have dived deeper into the interesting mythology and have had more of the awesome battle scenes. But what the movie does right is absolutely phenomenal!The beautiful animation and the both epic and soothing musical score really make The Secret of Kells enjoyable despite the short amount of running time. Go watch it, I guarantee you will enjoy it.

elicopperman Every now and then, you find an animated film that should have gotten far more widespread love than it deserved, and that film is the Oscar nominated animated Irish film, The Secret of Kells. Despite meeting with rave reviews, it simply did not get enough worldwide attention outside its home country, or even outside Europe. Nonetheless, this is a beautiful movie that offers just the right amount of substance to click with audiences.The main story centers around the abbot Cellach of Kells, who is very determined to keep the small village protected by a giant wall from a possible viking attack. Meanwhile, his nephew Brendan gains a golden opportunity to embrace his imagination in the abbey's scriptorium to help famous illustrator Aidan finish the famous book of Kells to keep knowledge going. Such tasks include dodging wall buildings, venturing into the forbidden forest in search of berries to make ink, and getting help from the forest spirit Aisling. Simple enough storyline, yet what really elevates the movie is the artistry and passion displayed on the screen. The artwork is a gorgeous throwback to ancient illustrations created in a more geometric albeit symbolic design rather than realism. The character designs look like they came out of an Irish painting, the character animation is pretty smooth and crisp, and the use of color is astonishing, from the more simple calm green Irish atmosphere, to the darkish red tones for the vikings, to even a great use of mellow blue to emphasize sadness and fear.As for the characters, pretty much all of them are well thought out and intriguing. Brendan is the curious lad who grows enthusiastically fascinated by the book and how it is made (as well as the audience), Aisling does mess with Brendan at first but soon helps him complete the book to shine light in the dark, and Cellach may be stern and tough but is only trying to protect himself and his people from vikings out of fear which isolated him from the real magic of the book. Finally, there's Brother Aidan of Iona; despite showing his old age, he is very determined to keep all knowledge in literature and will do anything to keep such work passed on so that the language of art and literature won't be forgotten. The other characters like Pangur Ban and the other illuminator monks do serve a good purpose in keeping the book's magic in tact and by being good supporters for Brendan along the way.Overall, by blending fantasy and darkness with phenomenal illustration, The Secret of Kells is an all around gorgeous film with a clever story, engaging characters, interesting philosophies on Celtic culture, breathtaking animation, and sublime music. While I do think it could have been longer to answer a few character arcs and to pad the ending out a little bit, I still deem it a very wonderful film with great respect for art and knowledge. Had it not been for wise men and literature, there's a good chance knowledge would be forgotten and the darkness would not be lifted, which is something me must relinquish to remember the hope that lies in the world. As someone who wishes to bring light into people's eyes with his own work, I deem this movie a big influence, and I thank it for inspiring me to create cleverly imaginative stories and for giving me an interest in Irish culture itself.

gummo_rabbit I went into this expecting it to be just decent. But as the movie went on I started loving it more and more. Even whispering "Oh my goodness" to myself near the end. Why? Because it's so gorgeously made. And it had me captivated like I was a little kid (I'm 35). Sure, the story holds no surprises - I would refer to it as 'classic storytelling'. It's the way it is told, though, that is the whole deal here. And that is just - like I said - gorgeous, even epic at times. A true work of art.The attention to detail has been mentioned before. I would like to add the use of color and also the different techniques and materials used in the drawing. All of it is done with such taste and skill. Plus I find the signature style very pleasant to look at.Then there is the use of sound and music. It has pleasure, magic and downright terror in it. Really well done.I watched this on my laptop and it got me captivated so I can only guess what the viewing experience on a big screen would be. For me, this was like seeing Finding Nemo or Wall-E for the first time - that gut sense of awe at what human hands can make. Having seen the actual Book of Kells, in Dublin, and being a lover of illuminated manuscripts in general, it's pretty much that same awe one feels at what human hands and imagination combined can achieve. This deserves to be as famous as Pixar and Ghibli.

hayashimegumi The Secret of Kells (2009) is quite unusual but interesting. It has beautiful art direction, both colorful and traditional, and a fictional story of how the Book of Kells is miraculously created. After watching it for some time, it feels like as if we are being teleported into their enchanting world.Aside from the visuals, this animated feature has serene music which makes the whole film feels otherworldly. It is magical and we certainly can have a glimpse of the lives of the Kells in the eighth century. Even just a short screen time of the many locations in The Abbey of Kells, it is already able to show the ancient civilisation of the Kells; the abbey is a monastery that shelters people from harm and there is also a scriptorium dedicated to the writing, copying and illuminating of manuscripts. We can see how the society in that era works and live interdependent.The characters in The Secret of Kells (2009) comes in all sizes and shapes but the main characters such as Aisling and Brendan are particularly sweet and innocent. If I have to mention, my favorite characters would be Aisling and the odd-eyed cat Pangur Bán.For instance, we should not forsake what we choose to believe in and we will not know what the world can offer until we explore.In brief, I love the art and backstory of this film. It is sad that the world they live in isn't perfect but it is still a vibrant world. There are only two things I would complain is that why there is no information on the contents of the completed Book of Iona (Kells) and this film is too short!