The Secret of Kells

THE SECRET OF KELLS

Up For: Best Animated Feature Film of the Year

The aesthetics of the Secret of Kells were phenomenal. The animation was spot on, with gorgeous scenes and brilliant animations. The score was exceptionally well done, with upbeat Celtic tunes and the fairy chanting of the young lady doing the voice of Aisling. The voices were well chosen despite the voice for the overbearing uncle, whose voice seemed detached from the mouth it was coming from.

The humor of Kells was worth the price of admission alone ($5 dollars at the Fargo Film Festival), with the opinionated (voiceless) cat following the lead character, Brandon, around on his chases and getting itself into trouble. The dialogue was well written and often humorous ("You can't find out everything from books, you know." "I think I read that once.")

The story was a downhill battle (in a bad way). The story of Kells started off powerful and intriguing, foreshadowing what was to come (or so you think). The formula of the film worked for the most part. A challenge would be laid out for Brandon and he would follow through on his adventure coming across challenges on his journey. Twice this happened where a path would be laid out for the characters to follow to get what they need. It was too bad the entire film did not follow this course because the end of the film trails off into nothingness, eventually leaving you with nothing to say about the end. There is no resolution, no moral, no understanding. I feel as though they took this story from the middle of a book and only showed a portion, with no 3 act structure.

Secret Of Kells was worth the viewing, but as far as Best Animated, Up still has that nomination locked and ready to take to the bank. Though Kells had its moments, I struggled through the middle of the jumbled storytelling, which is far from my easy viewing experience of Up. Though some films make you work to watch them, but it becomes worth it in the end, I would have been fine with leaving the film where it was when I lost interest.

(5 FILMS TO GO)