The Secret of Kells

[Trogdor2010]

I've seen this movie a few days ago and I though it was an excellent animated film. I see how the Academy would nominate it. It may not be the crowd pleaser of a Dreamworks film, but I found it resonate to the imagination. I made a review on facebook for anyone interested



Ok the poster doesn't look so great, but the movie is more impressive than advertised.

[Show spoiler]The Secret of Kells: 3.5 out of 4

It is easy to forget the power of simplicity in animation, as if you respond for what it offers, not really for what it tries to offer. The modern era of animation thanks to the pop culture excess of Post-Shrek influence a generation that pop culture references matter more than the story it’s trying to tell. Political correctness rises to tell tales of romanticized folklore and little awareness of human nature comes to play, I think this desensitizes children since they cannot think for what they saw. The Secret of Kells is a simple story that has as much depth as many of the recent epics twice as long and with as much exposition to it. This is a truly endearing, powerful and terrifying film that doesn’t need to lower its denomination or excess in adultery to be grim or wonderful when it needs to be, and while the child isn’t exactly smarter than the adults, he is open minded and has his sense of belief and justice. It doesn’t insult the intellect of the children, nor does it withdraw to them; which many children’s films do, but this is a film all audiences, without a sense of cynicism or insulting escapism, can enjoy.

In Ancient Ireland, a small guarded city Abbey of Kells, armored to protect it from the marauding Vikings (Portrayed as violent, murderous savages; most movies glorify Vikings) that burn nearby towns, loot and murder; Kells is a haven for the refuges and the center of monks writing scriptures and books, ran by a tall, somewhat irrational and defensive monk Abbot Cellach. He is the uncle of a young 12 year old monk Brendan, who is curious of the secrets of a sacred book, that later an old and friendly monk Brother Aiden shows him the secrets of the book. There is a single page that was not complete in the book that required a special glass eye that allows them to draw and write in such detail. Despite his uncle’s irrational manner, Aiden asks Brendan to look for berries containing ink in the forest, which he later meets a fairy that saves him from the wolves, and shows him the wonders of the forest, and begin a fast friendship that she welcomes him to return to the forest. When he returns to Kells, he returns to help write the book, while his uncle was not very pleased that he hid to the forest and is locked up until he obeys him. His uncle is more concerned of the town being bombarded by Vikings.

The world of Kells is alive with each combination of animation influenced by Ancient Ireland culture; combine with hand drawn animation, water-color, flash and computer animation that it works as well as a visual feast, which contains highly imaginative visual creations and sights that it could be the ticket price of admission. The film doesn’t hold back when it needs to, and many of the characters are vulnerable to hurt them. There is so much depth to the simple story that you may feel you want the film to keep rolling even when it’s over, but you’ll be glad you get to see it. This is not a showy and flashy comedy of something like DreamWorks, which I’m thankful it isn’t, or the masterpieces that Pixar produced, but that it doesn’t need to be, because it doesn’t need those peers. It has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated picture, but also one of the better animated films in recent memory.

Interesting fact, while it opened on the day in our nearby theater, day 1 we were at a 10:00 showing and a friend and I were the only ones in the theater. It was a private showing done cheap.