The Secret of Kells poster & wallpaper
Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites

Evan McGuire, Christen Mooney, Mick Lally, Brendan Gleeson, Liam Hourican ... see more see more... , Paul Tylak , Michael Patrick McGrath , Paul Young

Follow 12-year-old Brendan (voice of Evan McGuire) as he battles Vikings and confronts an ancient serpent god on a mission to locate a legendary crystal and complete the mythical Book of Kells. Brenda... read more read more...n lives in a heavily fortified medieval outpost known as the Abbey of Kells, where the ongoing threat of Viking raids causes the peaceful monks to live in a state of constant fear. Along with his uncle, Abbot Cellach, Brendan labors to fortify the abbey walls daily so his people will be protected from invading forces. When the mysterious Brother Aidan arrives at the abbey carrying an unfinished tome filled mystical secrets, Brendan becomes illuminated, and his dormant talents are awakened. The book must be finished, but accomplishing that mission will be no simple task. As the Vikings close in, Brendan ventures into the surrounding forest and prepares to confront his darkest fears. Accompanying him on his dangerous mission is Aisling, a half-wolf/half-human fairy whose powers will help to guide Brendan through this enchanting yet dangerous new world. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Flixster Users

83% liked it

7,901 ratings

Critics

91% liked it

78 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 15 min.

Directed by: Tomm Moore, Nora Twomey

Release Date: March 12, 2010

Invite friends to see

DVD Release Date: October 5, 2010

Get It:
 

Stats: 901 reviews

report incorrect info

Photos

official film still official film still Aisling Climbing the Tower official film still official film still official film still official film still official poster DVD box art Secret of Kells Brother Aidan is a Tormented Scholar Pencil Sketches of Pangur Ban
Upload a Photo | View All The Secret of Kells Photos

Your Rating


clear rating

Flixster Reviews (901)

  • fb1672039553
    February 4, 2012
    fb1672039553
    A rare modern animation with a sense of soul, not directed by the appeal of focus groups. After the opening scene, a young member of my family was already uncomfortable. Our young protagonist has to face fears of the unknown and the film's directors mean to make us an active part... read moreicipant, daring us to keep going along with him. This fear is induced with inventive, minimalist animation and is fed to us in bits throughout the movie, breaking with beautiful, playful, and joyful art and music that left me in awe.
  • jennifxu
    July 30, 2011
    jennifxu
    The biggest surprise of the past year's Academy Awards wasn't the triumph of Kathryn Bigelow or the ominous inclusion of "The Blind Side" to the Best Picture lineup, but rather the nomination of a little Irish film known as "The Secret of Kells," with barely any screenings to its... read more name. The question at the tip of everybody's tongue became: what was the Academy thinking? Yet once "Kells" emerged quietly onto the moviehouse scene, people began to understand. In a year where 3-D glasses and grand IMAX screenings dominated the box office, one can't help but feel that the Academy members that voted for it were onto something, a form of silent rebellion against all things big and explosive.

    It's rare that the visual components of a film can so completely saturate its entire being. Indeed, the Irish fairytale story seems to exist wholly for the sumptuous drawings depicting it. A flighty little nymph sprite, with her white hair blowing spiritedly in the wind, guides ribbons of smoke along the geometric curlicues of the screen. Armed with nothing but a pencil, Brendan battles the fearsome Krom Kruit as he catapults himself within a milky plasmatic nebula. And then there are the montages, some whimsical, like filigreed clockwork, some impressionistic, like a smudgy Renoir painting, and some brilliantly naturalistic, featuring jeweled leaves with verdure smeared all over its surface.

    Yet although "Kells" features scenes heavily laden with Irish mysticism and subversively pagan rituals, the film could essentially double as a social allegory for modern film industry. Brother Aidan says dishearteningly to Cellach: "You've forgotten how important it is. All you want for us is this wall!" Just replace "it" with "hand-drawing" and "wall" with "hyper-explosive 3-D graphics," and you've got yourself the perfect antidote to James Cameron and his devoted followers.

    With a run time of little more than an hour, "Kells" is a refreshingly different take on classic animation, lovingly and defiantly flattened into two dimensions, inspiringly simple - and more than a little trippy. By paying homage to an ancient time where beauty and patience inevitably won out over brute force, the film blends a straightforward morality with sophisticated hand-drawings to stunning visual effect. Truly, it practices what it preaches.
  • hobster1
    March 23, 2011
    hobster1
    Animated Irish folk tale about young Brendan, an apprentice in a monastery who becomes obsessed with completing the legendary Book of Kells, a treasured illuminated manuscript. Set in the 9th century, this hand drawn film is a glorious mixture of Celtic art and geometric cubism;... read more sort of The Powerpuff Girls Go to Ireland! in illustrative style. When Vikings attack the monastery, the assault is a brutally gorgeous scene, a stylized war of blood and snow. The problem is with the spiritually muddled narrative. It's random and doesn't flow like a good storyline should. We know from history that the Book of Kells contains the four Gospels of the New Testament. That would explain its significance, yet although Brandon is compelled to finish the text, no explanation is ever given as to why. Additionally, character development is minimal. When Brendan goes out into the woods he encounters Aisling, a magical fairy. She appears at first glance to be just a human girl. Her ability to change form is never explained and a source of bewilderment whenever she is on screen. Other sequences feel too abstract. When he does battle with Crom Cruach, a Celtic snake god, the encounter becomes rather conceptual in style. The odd execution feels lifted from the pages of Harold and the Purple Crayon. Visually, however, this stunning fable is a joy to watch, a luxurious burst of color and glow. The story is admittedly an awkward amalgamation of Christianity and pagan folklore. Nevertheless, every frame is dazzling and the artwork's hypnotic power can be appreciated even when the action is confusing.
  • newvogueravyn
    March 1, 2011
    newvogueravyn
    This is a stunning piece of work; by turns sweet, terrifying and sad, and always so beautiful thanks to its quirky art style.
  • sanjurosamurai
    February 11, 2011
    sanjurosamurai
    without question one of the most unique animated films ever made. the story was simple but engaging, the voice acting was solid, and the animation among the best and most unique ive ever seen. i love the abbey as a setting, the cultural significance of the north men (vikings) a... read mores a looming threat presented a luminous and historically accurate villain, and the characters were interesting and well designed. one of the best animated films ive ever seen.
  • FrizzDrop
    January 13, 2011
    FrizzDrop
    A cartoon with no agenda, no big corporate budget, no path to solely entertain the audience with adult appreciative jokes and 3D effects. Instead, it was an Irish tale with some impressive graphics. The character of Brendan was the quintessential boy hero, followed by a cat with... read more different colored eyes. Love over war and friendhip above all else fueled this classic for all ages, abounding in an interesting and original film.
  • Saxia
    November 17, 2010
    Saxia
    The story is bit thin, but the music combined with the beautiful imagery is very gripping.
    Favorite character of the movie? Pangur Ban!!! Cat's rock!!!

    ... read morettp://content8.flixster.com/photo/13/81/72/13817298_gal.jpg" border="0"/>
  • theylovealexis
    November 16, 2010
    theylovealexis
    What a beautiful little legend, entertaining and stunning to watch. It's very cute.
  • gor41
    November 4, 2010
    gor41
    Enchanting animation which combines the best of old and new visual techniques to create a novel vision, even if the story is thin.
  • rubystevens
    October 16, 2010
    rubystevens
    the background animation is utterly captivating, almost making up for the weak story. the bit where they animate some actual pages from the book is pure magic. and there's a cat! i wish i'd seen this on a bigger screen.

View All The Secret of Kells Reviews

Critic Reviews

Roger Moore
August 25, 2010
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

A gorgeous blend of the magical and the gloriously trippy. Full Review

Tom Long
April 23, 2010
Tom Long, Detroit News

In the end, the film is about a magical book, but you never really have a sense of what makes the book magical. Full Review

Amy Biancolli
April 9, 2010
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle

Its hand-drawn two-dimensional animation springs to life with color and meticulous technique, filigreed and curlicued like the luminous book at its center. Full Review

Ann Hornaday
April 2, 2010
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post

If filmgoers ultimately feel bogged down in its densely layered fable and allegory, it's a spectacular thicket to get lost in. Full Review

Joe Morgenstern
April 2, 2010
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal

The soul of the film lies in its ravishing colors, and in exuberantly stylized images that pay homage to Celtic culture and design, together with techniques and motifs that evoke Matisse, Miyazaki and... Full Review

Claudia Puig
April 1, 2010
Claudia Puig, USA Today

The Secret of Kells is a magical adventure unlike anything we've seen on screen before. Full Review

Kenneth Turan
April 1, 2010
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

A glorious throwback to the more stylized, painterly work of decades past, the kind of vividly colored, fanciful pictorials that are usually confined to the small-scale realm of animated shorts. Full Review

Roger Ebert
April 1, 2010
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

I think it will appeal to children young enough to be untutored in boredom, and to anyone old enough to be drawn in, or to appreciate the artistry. Full Review

J. R. Jones
March 25, 2010
J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader

This Irish feature won't impress anyone with its character drawings, but the backgrounds remind us what stunning imagery once resulted from nothing more than a pen and all the time in the world. Full Review

Steven Rea
March 18, 2010
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

The Secret of Kells is gorgeous work, and its imagery and themes dovetail perfectly: a story about creating art, artfully created. Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Cast

More Like This

Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • Howl's Moving Castle
    Howl's Moving Castle (100%)
  • The Princess and the Frog
    The Princess and the Frog (67%)

More Movies like The Secret of Kells

Facts

Submit a Fact | View All
    • Aisling: I thought you knew how to climb trees.
    • Brendan: I do! Just...much smaller ones.
    • Aisling: Ya, like bushes!
    • Aisling: I've lived through many ages. I've seen suffering in the darkness. Yet I have seen beauty thrive in the most fragile of places. I have seen the book. The book that turned darkness into light.
    • Brendan: You can't find out everything from books, you know.
    • Aidan: I think I read that once.
    • Aisling: I've lived through many ages. I've seen suffering in the darkness. Yet I have seen beauty thrive in the most fragile of places. I have seen the book. The book that turned darkness into light.
Submit a Fact | View All

The Secret of Kel... : Watch Free on TV

Movie Quizzes

No quizzes for The Secret of Kells. Want to create one?

Video Clips

Upload a Video |

All The Secret of Kells Videos

Meet Other Fans

Add The Secret of Kells to favorites

Recent News

Submit a Story |

View The Secret of Kells News

Recent Lists

Make a List |

View All Lists

Most Popular Skin

rubystevens Skin by rubystevens
26 Profiles
Add to Profile

More Skins