The Secret of Kells (2009)

Welcome Back Readers,

Today I will be reviewing a quaint animated motion film called The Secret of Kells. This movie is based on the folklore of France and Ireland. The names of the characters in the movie are mostly Irish and are a bit hard to catch because they are based on different languages.  This film largely differs from the animated movies produced by large companies such as Universal, Disney, Pixar and Sony. The animation effects are a bit primitive, but I think that it adds to the aesthetic effect of the movie's uniqueness. The movie appears to be a motion of thousands of beautiful hand drawn images of the characters and environment.

The story is based on a town called The Abbey of Kells. There lies a monastery in Kells where many brothers reside. Among st them lives Brendan, a young, curious and intelligent boy who is constantly put to work by Uncle Abbot, the strict and overprotective Abbot of the Abbey. The Brothers of Kells tell Brendan a story about the book of Iona, illustrated by the most magical Illuminator. This Book largely inspires Brendan and he dreams about it. One day, Brother Aidan of Iona, a prominent illustrator lands in Kells. Brendan hears the talk about Aidan and wishes to learn more about the book and see the book. He reaches the scripting room where the book of Iona lies and proceeds to open it. There Brendan is greeted by Aidan's white cat Pangur Ban who resists when Brendan tries to see the book. After Brendan gains Pangur's and Aidan's trust, he is allowed to see the book of Iona. Seeing that Brendan has the potential to become an illustrator of the book of Iona, he convinces Brendan to learn to become an illustrator and sends him to complete various tasks, much to his Uncle's fury. On one such task, Brendan goes to the forest and meets Aisling, a beautiful little fairy, who owns the jungle. She helps Brendan complete his tasks and become a successful illustrator of The Book. After Kells is attacked by the Viking, Brendan goes on a quest to complete the remaining of the Book. After the Book is completed, a now adult Brendan returns to Kells and returns the book to his long lost Uncle Abbot and calls the book "The Book of Kells". Brendan wishes that the book would inspire the people for generations to come.

This film was inspiring and the deviation of the plot and visual animation from other animated movies makes it enticing and intriguing to watch. The main moral that I caught from the story was "To believe in magic and imagination". Though the end seemed a bit incomplete, the main goal of the film (the completion of the Book and its distribution for the welfare of the people) was accomplished, thus the end. I believe this film contained more substance than any of today's animated movies which are successful only in entertaining viewers.

See you at another review.