Art of the Secret of Kells
/The Secret of Kells is a 2009 Irish-French-Belgian animated fantasy film animated by Cartoon Saloon, directed by Tomm Moore and Nora Twomey, produced by Paul Young, Didier Brunner, Vivian Van Fleteren, and written by Fabrice Ziolkowski, in 2009. The film is based on the story of the origin of the Book of Kells, an illuminated manuscript Gospel book in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the New Testament located in Dublin, Ireland. It also draws upon Celtic mythology; examples include its inclusion of Crom Cruach, a pre-Christian Irish deity, and the reference to the poetic genre of Aislings, 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's underwater encounter with Grendel's mother.
The Secret of Kells began development in 1999 when Tomm Moore and several of his friends were inspired by Richard Williams's The Thief and the Cobbler, Disney's Mulan, Gustav Klimt's paintings, John Bauer's illustrations, and the works of Hayao Miyazaki, which based their visual style on the respective traditional art of the cultures featured in each film. They decided to do something similar to Studio Ghibli's films but with Irish art. Moore explained that the visual style was inspired by Celtic and medieval art, being 'flat, with false perspective and lots of colors. Even the clean-up was planned to “obtain the stained glass effect of thicker outer lines”.
The pictures on this page are a collection of artworks created for this movie. An artbook with the art of The Secret of Kells can be purchased directly from Cartoon Saloon HERE
THE STORY
Brendan is a curious and brave boy living in the tightly knit Abbey of Kells in 9th century Ireland. He is under the strict care of his stern uncle, Abbot Cellach, who is obsessed with building a wall around the Abbey to prevent Viking attacks. Apprenticed in the scriptorium of the monastery, Brendan hears the other monks talk of Brother Aidan, creator of the Book of Iona, and becomes curious about the mysterious illuminator and the book that "turns darkness into light" (the unfinished Book of Kells). Aidan arrives in Kells, accompanied by his white cat, Pangur Bán, after his monastery at Iona is destroyed by a raid.
After eavesdropping on a discussion between Cellach and Aidan, Brendan wanders into the scriptorium and finds the still-to-be-completed book guarded by Pangur Bán. Aidan arrives and tells Brendan about the book. Seeing Brendan as a suitable apprentice, Aidan sends him and Pangur Bán into the woods to obtain gall nuts to make ink. Cornered by a hungry pack of wolves, Brendan is saved by the fairy Aisling, who overcomes her initial suspicion and accepts Brendan after he reveals his intentions of helping to create the book…
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