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An Irish/Belgian/French co-production directed by Tomm Moore at Cartoon Saloon, the studio behind [[Skunk Fu!]].
A fictionalized version of the history of the Book of Kells, the story focuses on Brendan, a young monk wanting to join his fellow monks in working on illuminating texts. But with the rising threat of [[Horny Vikings|Viking invasion]], his uncle, Abbot Cellach, is far more focused on fortifying the Abbey for the [[A Storm Is Coming|inevitable attack]].
The arrival of Brother Aidan, a master illuminator from Iona, allows Brendan to finally have a teacher and gives him an opportunity to leave the Abbey's wall when he is asked to get materials for ink. Brother Aidan has [[Hell Follows With Me|fled the Viking onslaught]] and is the keeper of the [[I Am Dying Please Take My Macguffin|legendary book of Iona]] — the greatest work of illustration yet produced in Northern Europe, soon to be the Book of [[Genius Bonus|Kells]]. Befriending an [[The Fair Folk|enigmatic fairy]] named [[Meaningful Name|Aisling]] in [[Ghibli Hills|the forest]] and taking a part in assisting Aidan with the Chi Rho page, things go well for him until he encounters the evil Celtic god Crom Cruach, and the Viking threat continues to slowly move closer to the Abbey...
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* [[Black Speech]]: What the Northmen speak. Though sometimes they say a word that sounds a lot like "gold", since that's what they're after.
* [[Body to Jewel]]
* [[Break the Haughty]]: Abbot Cellach.
* [[Bunny Ears Lawyer]]: Aidan.
* [[Call to Adventure|Call To Illumination]]
* [[Celtic Mythology]]
* [[Chekhov's Gun]]: Green ink. {{spoiler|Specifically, the [[Smoke Out|smoke side-effect]] caused by it.}}
* [[Cool Teacher]]: Brother Aidan.
* [[Cute Little Fangs]]: If you look very closely in one scene, you can see that Aisling has them. They're [[Fangs Are Evil|made more obvious]] in an earlier scene when she tries to intimidate Brendan into leaving her forest.
* [[Design Student's Orgasm]]: In a family-friendly sense.
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* [[Mismatched Eyes]]: Pangur Bán, Aidan's cat. Mismatched eyes and long white fur (as well as extreme loyalty and affection and above-average intelligence) are a common trait of the Turkish Angora, a popular cat breed in Europe at the time. Mismatched eyes are also often a sign of mystical significance.
* [[Misterious Mist]]: When the fairy Aisling makes her first appearance, the forest fills with mist. This is a nod to the notion of [[Irish Mythology]] that the Tuatha Dé Danann concealed themselves in a magic mist (the "fairy mist") from observers. The mist dissipates as Aisling becomes more friendly towards Brendan.
* [[
** Circles and spirals are also very frequent there. Spirals apparently represent nature while circles are related to civilization, religion and art. Incidentally, the Book of Kells contains heaps of both.
* [[My God, What Have I Done?]]: Cellach. {{spoiler|As the sacking of Kells begins, it begins to get through to the Abbot that, despite all his preparation, things aren't going to work out. And what follows is a massive slaughter that basically makes the rest of his life one really prolonged version of this trope.}}
* [[Mystical Waif]]: Aisling, though she's more assertive than most mystical waifs.
* [[Nature Spirit]]: Aisling.
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* [[The Obi-Wan]]: Brother Aidan.
* [[Ominous Fog]]
* [[Ominous Latin Chanting]]
* [[Parental Abandonment]]: Brendan's parents were [[All There in the Manual|killed by Vikings]] when he was a baby; Aisling's {{spoiler|mother}} was killed by Crom Cruach, {{spoiler|along with the rest of her people}}.
** [[My Parents Are Dead]]: A variant of this occurs when Brendan and Aisling first meet:
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* [[Sword of Plot Advancement]]: The Eye of Crom Cruach.
* [[Take Our Word for It]]: Subverted. They avoid showing the contents of the book for most of the film, only to show {{spoiler|the completed Chi Rho page}} at the end.
* [[Too Dumb to Live]]: Brendan decides to investigate Crom's hideout despite the continued insistence of Aisling that he stay away.
* [[Uncatty Resemblance]]: The sheepherder. "Baaaaa!"
* [[Very Loosely Based on a True Story]]: Scholars put the creation of the book around the year 800, which means Colmcille (d. 597) can't have had a hand in it, and the historical [http://www.bedesworld.co.uk/aidan.htm St. Aidan] lived over 150 years earlier. Also, the cover wasn't stolen for another 200 years or so. There's not much we know for sure about the creation of the book (it might have been produced entirely at Iona or Kells, or some combination, or even Lindisfarne), so they had to take some liberties in order for there to be any plot.
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[[Category:Fantasy Animated Films]]
[[Category:Films of the 2000s]]
[[Category:The Secret of Kells]]▼
[[Category:Film]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Secret of Kells, The}}
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