Brendan and the Secret of Kells
Encyclopedia
The Secret of Kells is a 2009 Irish-French-Belgian animated
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...

 feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...

 by Cartoon Saloon
Cartoon Saloon
Cartoon Saloon is an Irish company which provides illustration, design, animation, film and TV services. The company is based in Kilkenny City. The company developed the successful cartoon series Skunk Fu!. Skunk Fu was nominated for a BAFTA Children's Award in October 2008. The company has...

 that premiered on February 8, 2009, at the Berlin International Film Festival
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...

. It went into wide release in Belgium and France on February 11, and in the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

 on March 3. On February 2, 2010, it was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature
Academy Award for Best Animated Feature
The Academy Award for Best Animated Feature is one of the annual awards given by the Los Angeles-based professional organization, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...

.

Plot summary

The story is set in the seventh century and gives a fictionalized account of the creation of the Book of Kells
Book of Kells
The Book of Kells is an illuminated manuscript Gospel book in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the New Testament together with various prefatory texts and tables. It was created by Celtic monks ca. 800 or slightly earlier...

, an illuminated manuscript
Illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders and miniature illustrations...

 Gospel book
Gospel Book
The Gospel Book, Evangelion, or Book of the Gospels is a codex or bound volume containing one or more of the four Gospels of the Christian New Testament...

 in Latin. Abbot Cellach, obsessed with building a mighty wall to keep marauding Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...

 raiders from destroying the early-Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

 Abbey of Kells
Abbey of Kells
The Abbey of Kells is a former monastery located in Kells, County Meath, Ireland, 40 miles north of Dublin. It was founded in the early ninth century, and the Book of Kells was kept there during the later medieval and early modern periods before finally leaving the Abbey in the 1650s...

, expects his young nephew Brendan to follow in his footsteps. Brendan has apprenticed in the scriptorium
Scriptorium
Scriptorium, literally "a place for writing", is commonly used to refer to a room in medieval European monasteries devoted to the copying of manuscripts by monastic scribes...

 of the monastery and has heard the story of Aidan of Iona, a master illuminator who is working on the Book of Iona. Aidan later comes to the monastery, accompanied by his cat Pangur Bán
Pangur Bán
"Pangur Bán" is an Old Irish poem, written about the 9th century at or around Reichenau Abbey. It was written by an Irish monk, and is about his cat. Pangur Bán, "white fuller", is the cat's name. Although the poem is anonymous, it bears similarities to the poetry of Sedulius Scottus, prompting...

. Brother Aidan has escaped from the Vikings who have destroyed his own monastery, and had brought the unfinished Book of Iona with him. Taking Brendan under his wing, Aidan asks Brendan to venture into the forest to look for gall nuts to make ink, though the boy is fearful as he was forbidden to go into the forest by his uncle. Brendan eventually enters the forest, where he meets a forest spirit named Aisling
Aisling
The aisling , or vision poem, is a poetic genre that developed during the late 17th and 18th centuries in Irish language poetry...

. She is suspicious of Brendan at first, but soon befriends him after helping him find the gall nuts. Though Cellach learns of his adventure and forbids him from leaving the abbey's confines, Brendan secretly defies it as Aidan teaches him illumination while Aisling introduces him to a wider world.

Eventually, Brendan learns that Aidan needs his help to finish Book of Iona due to his failing eyes and hands, and the loss of the Eye of Collum-Cille
Columba
Saint Columba —also known as Colum Cille , Colm Cille , Calum Cille and Kolban or Kolbjørn —was a Gaelic Irish missionary monk who propagated Christianity among the Picts during the Early Medieval Period...

, a special lens he possessed. Aidan reveals that his predecessor obtained it from Crom Cruach
Crom Cruach
Crom Cruach or Cromm Crúaich , also known as Cenn Cruach /ˈkʲɛnˠ: ˈkɾˠuəxˠ/ or Cenncroithi /ˈkʲɛnˠ: ˈkɾˠoθʲɨ/, was a deity in pre-Christian Ireland, reputedly propitiated with human sacrifice, whose worship is said to have been ended by St...

, a Celtic pagan deity
Celtic polytheism
Celtic polytheism, commonly known as Celtic paganism, refers to the religious beliefs and practices adhered to by the Iron Age peoples of Western Europe now known as the Celts, roughly between 500 BCE and 500 CE, spanning the La Tène period and the Roman era, and in the case of the Insular Celts...

, with whom Brendan had a frightful encounter prior. When Brendan tries to sneak out of the abbey to go to Crom's cave to obtain the other eye, he is caught and confined to his room by Cellach, who later gets into an disagreement with Aidan and demands that he leave when spring arrives. Having overheard the disagreement, Pangur Bán ventures into the forest to get Aisling's help. Aisling frees Brendan, using her magic to turn Pangur Bán into a spirit that retrieves the key to his room, and together they flee into the forest. When Brendan tells Aisling of his plan, she pleads with him not to go through with it, revealing that Crom Cruach killed her people and her mother and will surely kill him as well. Brendan tells her that he must retrieve the eye in order to complete the book. Eventually Aisling agrees to help him and manages to get Brendan into the cave, but appears to be consumed by Crom's darkness in the process. After some struggling, Brendan defeats Crom by taking the god's remaining eye and imprisoning him in a circle of chalk where the blinded Crom consumes himself. With the eye in his possession, he exits the cave to find the cloak he had given to Aisling neatly folded amongst the cracked rock she had lifted to give him entrance inside. Leading away from the spot is a trail of flowers left by Aisling as proof she survived. Brendan returns to the Abbey and continues to help Aidan in secret.

Shortly thereafter, the Vikings arrive and Cellach locks his nephew and Aidan in the scriptorium as his plan to protect everyone from the invaders falls apart. Managing to escape the carnage, Brendan and Aidan are confronted in the woods by the Viking leader and a band of his men. The Viking leader scatters the pages of the book, and the Vikings prepare to kill the two helpless travelers. Before the Vikings can strike Brendan and Aiden down, Aisling's black wolves converge upon them, killing the Vikings. As Brendan and Aiden collect the pages of the book, Aisling, in the form of the white wolf, appears to Brendan before disappearing back into the forest. Brendan and Aiden continue to travel across Ireland, working on the Book of Iona over the years. Inheriting the book after Aidan's passing, and now adult Brendan ends up back in the forest of his youth where he again meets wolf-Aisling, and she guides him to the village. It turned out only the villagers who made it to the abbey tower survived, along with a guilt-ridden Cellach. Now near death, Cellach reunites with the nephew he thought had perished in the massacre long ago, and is able to see the completed Book of Kells
Book of Kells
The Book of Kells is an illuminated manuscript Gospel book in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the New Testament together with various prefatory texts and tables. It was created by Celtic monks ca. 800 or slightly earlier...

.

The film closes with a beautiful set of scenes showing the now completed illuminated pages which come to life as viewed.

Voice cast

  • Brendan Gleeson
    Brendan Gleeson
    Brendan Gleeson is an Irish actor. His best-known films include Braveheart, Gangs of New York, In Bruges, 28 Days Later, the Harry Potter films, The Guard and the role of Michael Collins in The Treaty...

     as Abbot Cellach, a former illuminator
    Illuminated manuscript
    An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders and miniature illustrations...

     himself, Abbot Cellach now uses his talents for the purposes of designing a wall to protect the Abbey of Kells
    Abbey of Kells
    The Abbey of Kells is a former monastery located in Kells, County Meath, Ireland, 40 miles north of Dublin. It was founded in the early ninth century, and the Book of Kells was kept there during the later medieval and early modern periods before finally leaving the Abbey in the 1650s...

     from invasion. He is very concerned for everyone's safety, especially that of his nephew Brendan, to the point where he thinks of little else but the completion of his wall. Eventually, this leads to his downfall.
  • Evan McGuire as Brendan, the protagonist
    Protagonist
    A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...

    , twelve-year-old Brendan is bright, imaginative and curious, but leads a sheltered life due to his uncle forbidding him from venturing outside the walls of Kells. Brendan is very interested in the art of illumination, and spends much of his time in the scriptorium
    Scriptorium
    Scriptorium, literally "a place for writing", is commonly used to refer to a room in medieval European monasteries devoted to the copying of manuscripts by monastic scribes...

     with some of the Brothers in the abbey
    Abbey
    An abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...

    . He is recruited as Aidan's assistant to help finish his great book. His uncle Abbot Cellach, an approaching Viking horde, a snake god and his own fears stand in the way of bringing the finished book to the people.
  • Christen Mooney as Aisling, a fairy
    Fairy
    A fairy is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural or preternatural.Fairies resemble various beings of other mythologies, though even folklore that uses the term...

    , related to the Tuatha De Danann
    Tuatha Dé Danann
    The Tuatha Dé Danann are a race of people in Irish mythology. In the invasions tradition which begins with the Lebor Gabála Érenn, they are the fifth group to settle Ireland, conquering the island from the Fir Bolg....

    , living in the woods outside of Kells. She is a protector of the forest, and doesn't like unwelcomed guests. At this point her age is uncertain, but she is likely to be hundreds of years old. Despite being terrified of Crom Cruach
    Crom Cruach
    Crom Cruach or Cromm Crúaich , also known as Cenn Cruach /ˈkʲɛnˠ: ˈkɾˠuəxˠ/ or Cenncroithi /ˈkʲɛnˠ: ˈkɾˠoθʲɨ/, was a deity in pre-Christian Ireland, reputedly propitiated with human sacrifice, whose worship is said to have been ended by St...

    , the evil god that dwells in a cave deep within her forest, she becomes loyal to Brendan and does whatever she can to help him. She has many magical abilities, and often takes the form of a white wolf.
  • Mick Lally
    Mick Lally
    Michael 'Mick' Lally was an Irish stage, film and television actor. He departed from a teaching career for acting during the 1970s...

     as Brother Aidan; as the Viking
    Viking
    The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...

    s attacked the Scottish island of Iona
    Iona
    Iona is a small island in the Inner Hebrides off the western coast of Scotland. It was a centre of Irish monasticism for four centuries and is today renowned for its tranquility and natural beauty. It is a popular tourist destination and a place for retreats...

    , master illuminator Brother Aidan fled with his cat, Pangur Bán
    Pangur Bán
    "Pangur Bán" is an Old Irish poem, written about the 9th century at or around Reichenau Abbey. It was written by an Irish monk, and is about his cat. Pangur Bán, "white fuller", is the cat's name. Although the poem is anonymous, it bears similarities to the poetry of Sedulius Scottus, prompting...

    . In Kells, he acquires Brendan as an assistant.
    • Michael McGrath as Adult Brendan
  • Liam Hourican as Brothers Tang and Leonardo, two illuminators from Asia and Italy respectively. The latter is implied to have perished in the invasion, whilst the former is present to witness the return of Brendan.
  • Paul Tylack as Brother Assoua, an illuminator from Africa, he is implied to have died in the invasion.
  • Paul Young as Brother Square, an illuminator from England, he is implied to have died in the invasion.

Reception

The film was very well received; it holds a 91% overall approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...

 based on 78 reviews with an average
Weighted mean
The weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean , where instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others...

 rating of 7.6/10. with the selected Top Critics giving the film a score of 88% based on 17 reviews and the film is "Certified Fresh", with the critical consensus that "Beautifully drawn and refreshingly calm, The Secret of Kells hearkens back to animation's golden age with an enchanting tale inspired by Irish mythology."

Leslie Felperin of Variety Magazine
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...

praised the film as "Refreshingly different" and "absolutely luscious to behold". Jeremy W. Kaufmann of Ain't It Cool News
Ain't It Cool News
Ain't It Cool News is a website founded and run by Harry Knowles, dedicated to news, rumors and reviews of upcoming and currently playing films and television projects, with an emphasis on science fiction, fantasy, horror, comic-book and action genres...

 called its animation "absolutely brilliant," and reviewers at Starlog
Starlog
Starlog was a monthly science-fiction film magazine published by Starlog Group Inc. The magazine was created by publishers Kerry O'Quinn and Norman Jacobs. O'Quinn was the magazine's editor while Jacobs ran the business side of things, dealing with typesetters, engravers and printers. They got...

called it "one of the greatest hand drawn independent animated movies of all time."

On Oscar weekend it was released at the IFC Center
IFC Center
IFC Center is an art house movie theater in Greenwich Village, New York City in the United States of America. It is located at 323 Sixth Avenue, on the former site of the Waverly Theater, which was itself a well known art house movie theater...

 in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 and it has since been released in other venues and cities in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. As of July 11, 2010, it has grossed $667,441.

Influences

The film is based on the Book of Kells
Book of Kells
The Book of Kells is an illuminated manuscript Gospel book in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the New Testament together with various prefatory texts and tables. It was created by Celtic monks ca. 800 or slightly earlier...

, an illuminated manuscript
Illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders and miniature illustrations...

 Gospel book
Gospel Book
The Gospel Book, Evangelion, or Book of the Gospels is a codex or bound volume containing one or more of the four Gospels of the Christian New Testament...

 in Latin, containing the four Gospels
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...

 of the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....

 located in Dublin, Ireland. It also draws upon Celtic mythology
Celtic mythology
Celtic mythology is the mythology of Celtic polytheism, apparently the religion of the Iron Age Celts. Like other Iron Age Europeans, the early Celts maintained a polytheistic mythology and religious structure...

, examples include its inclusion of Crom Cruach
Crom Cruach
Crom Cruach or Cromm Crúaich , also known as Cenn Cruach /ˈkʲɛnˠ: ˈkɾˠuəxˠ/ or Cenncroithi /ˈkʲɛnˠ: ˈkɾˠoθʲɨ/, was a deity in pre-Christian Ireland, reputedly propitiated with human sacrifice, whose worship is said to have been ended by St...

, a pre-Christian Irish deity and the reference to the poetic genre of Aisling
Aisling
The aisling , or vision poem, is a poetic genre that developed during the late 17th and 18th centuries in Irish language poetry...

s, in which a poet is confronted by a dream or vision of a seeress, in the naming of the forest sprite encountered by Brendan. Wider mythological similarities have also been commented upon, such as parallels between Brendan's metaphysical battle with Crom Cruach and Beowulf
Beowulf
Beowulf , but modern scholars agree in naming it after the hero whose life is its subject." of an Old English heroic epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in Scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature.It survives in a single...

's underwater encounter with Grendel's mother
Grendel's mother
Grendel's mother is one of three antagonists in the work of Old English literature of anonymous authorship, Beowulf . She is never given a name in the text....

.

The Secret of Kells began development in 1999, when Tomm Moore and several of his friends were inspired by Richard Williams' The Thief and the Cobbler
The Thief and the Cobbler
The Thief and the Cobbler is an animated feature film, famous for its animation and its long, troubled history. The film was conceived by Canadian animator Richard Williams, who worked 28 years on the project. Beginning production in 1964, Williams intended The Thief and the Cobbler to be his...

and Disney's Mulan, which based their visual style on the respective traditional art of the countries they were set in - Persia for The Thief, and China for Mulan. They decided to do something similar with Irish art.

Accolades

Wins
  • 2008: Directors Finders Award at the Directors Finders Series in Ireland
  • 2009: Audience Award at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival
    Annecy International Animated Film Festival
    The Annecy International Animation Film Festival was created in 1960 and takes place at the beginning of June in the town of Annecy, France. Initially occurring every two years, the festival became annual in 1998...

  • 2009: Audience Award at the Edinburgh International Film Festival
    Edinburgh International Film Festival
    The Edinburgh International Film Festival is an annual fortnight of cinema screenings and related events taking place each June. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival...

  • 2009: Roy E. Disney Award at Seattle's 2D Or Not 2D Film Festival
  • 2009: Grand Prize at the Seoul International Cartoon and Animation Festival
  • 2010: Best Animation award at the 7th Irish Film and Television Awards
    7th Irish Film and Television Awards
    The 7th Irish Film and Television Awards took place on 20 February 2010 in the Burlington Hotel, Dublin.It was hosted by Victoria Smurfit.-Awards in film:Best Film* The Eclipse ** Ondine** The Secret of Kells** Zonad...

  • 2010: European Animated Feature Award at the British Animation Awards


Nominations
  • 2009: Grand Prix Award for Best Film in the Annecy International Animated Film Festival
    Annecy International Animated Film Festival
    The Annecy International Animation Film Festival was created in 1960 and takes place at the beginning of June in the town of Annecy, France. Initially occurring every two years, the festival became annual in 1998...

  • 2009: Best Animated Film at the European Film Awards
  • 2009: Annie Award
    Annie Award
    The Annie Awards have been presented by the Los Angeles, California branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood since 1972...

     for Best Animated Feature
  • 2010: Irish Film and Television Awards
    Irish Film and Television Awards
    The Irish Film and Television Awards were first awarded in 2003. Its sole aim is to celebrate Ireland's notably talented film and television community...

     for Best Film
  • 2010: Academy Award
    82nd Academy Awards
    The 82nd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , honored the best films of 2009 and took place March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. The ceremony was scheduled well after...

     for Best Animated Feature Film

See also

  • List of animated feature-length films
  • Cartoon Saloon
    Cartoon Saloon
    Cartoon Saloon is an Irish company which provides illustration, design, animation, film and TV services. The company is based in Kilkenny City. The company developed the successful cartoon series Skunk Fu!. Skunk Fu was nominated for a BAFTA Children's Award in October 2008. The company has...

  • The Abbey of Kells
    Abbey of Kells
    The Abbey of Kells is a former monastery located in Kells, County Meath, Ireland, 40 miles north of Dublin. It was founded in the early ninth century, and the Book of Kells was kept there during the later medieval and early modern periods before finally leaving the Abbey in the 1650s...

  • The Book of Kells
  • Iona
    Iona
    Iona is a small island in the Inner Hebrides off the western coast of Scotland. It was a centre of Irish monasticism for four centuries and is today renowned for its tranquility and natural beauty. It is a popular tourist destination and a place for retreats...

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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