The Secret of Kells

2009 animated feature

Rating: 15/20

Plot: Monks try to fend off barbarian attacks using pretty books and walls.

This was nominated for the Oscar for best animated feature in a really stacked year. You had Up, Pixar's best movie and one that was also nominated for Best Picture. And then there was The Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Princess and the Frog, and Coraline. Kells probably deserved the nomination only for having a character based on Willie Nelson.

Despite an underwhelming story, The Secret of Kells works because of ingenious animation. It's 2-D animation, at times reminding me a little of my beloved Samurai Jack more than anything Disney ever produced, but the animation style gives this world an unexpected depth. Watch the way butterflies, leaves, or waves are animated in this. There are layers that give this a 3-D feel. There's also a liveliness to the animation that keeps your eyes glued to the screen. Things are always moving and sometimes bleating, and there are great transitions, also mostly through motion. The style shows that these animators knew exactly what they wanted and had a distinct voice, and there's an unpredictability that makes the short running time go by even more quickly. I can't spend much time in these fantasy worlds--looking at you, Tolkien!--but this was breezy.

I did have issues with the storytelling. The characters didn't really do it for me, and the rules of this world and its magic aren't really explained adequately. Exposition might have taken away some of the enchantment of this whole thing though. The villains were also completely underdeveloped, making them feel more like symbols than anything else. The narrative seems to be in the folklore tradition, but ironically, this would be a very difficult story for me to remember and retell.

The ending is a real nearly-psychedelic wowser though.

It's unclear whether there's a timely theme about creativity and putting up walls or not.