Brendan and the Secret of Kells (2009)

Directed by: Tomm Moore, Nora Twomey | 75 minutes | animation, adventure | Original voice cast: Brendan Gleeson, Liam Hourican, Mick Lally, Michael McGrath, Evan McGuire, Christen Mooney, Paul Tylack, Paul Young

We are writing the ninth century AD and Ireland is in danger. The Vikings are coming, so Abbot Cellach decides that a solid wall must be built around his Abbey of Kells to keep the invaders out. Everyone has to help build the wall, including the monks who normally write texts and produce illustrations in the scriptorium. Among them is the twelve-year-old orphaned boy Brendan, a cousin of Cellach, who is closely watched by his uncle. Not deeming it safe outside the monastery, Cellach spends his days dejectedly inside the great wall, where the only adventurous diversion is catching a goose to pluck writing feathers.

However, Brendan’s safe life takes flight from the moment the renowned Brother Aidan comes to visit the abbey, one of the greatest illustrators of his time. With him he carries Iona’s book, the most important and most beautifully illustrated writing in existence and which must be kept out of the hands of the Vikings at all costs. What Brendan doesn’t know is that Brother Aidan is secretly looking for someone to finish the book. Against Brother Culloch’s will, he urges Brendan to explore life beyond the abbey wall. Accompanied by the mysterious cat Pangur Ban, who has come with Aidan, the young monk slips into the forest one day. What follows is a dizzying adventure in which Brendan, among other things, befriends the girlish forest spirit Aisling and must face a dangerous snake god.

The animations are simply enchanting and the accompanying music is at once adventurous and infectious. Brendan’s story is interspersed with references to Celtic folklore, but there are also nice references in the animations. For example, now and then a game is played with the fact that in the ninth century depth perspective had not yet been invented in drawing. And regularly scenes seem to take place in a miniature of an old text. The story is mysterious, exciting and at times probably quite scary for smaller children. Especially when the Vikings invade the monastery, the tone of the film (literally and figuratively) becomes very dark.

Although events follow each other at a slightly too fast pace, the story is easy for children to follow. Adults will also be able to enjoy the wonderful metaphors (such as the wall and the snake god to name just two) that are propagated in word and image. However, the high tempo puts a lot of pressure on the tension. It’s as if the filmmakers wanted to put as much information into the film as possible and lost focus as a result.

With his first major cartoon, cartoonist-director Tomm Moore immediately put himself on the map in animation land. He has a unique drawing style, in which completely different characters are ingeniously portrayed with a few simple shapes and in which the richly decorated backgrounds steal the show without pushing themselves to the foreground. At most Moore has choked on the story, which on the whole could have had a little more calm and focus. Forgive him though – the film’s dreamy atmosphere makes up for a lot. ‘Brendan and the Secret of Kells’ is an ode to creativity. May it inspire young and old to fantastic new things!