The Secret of Kells

Play trailer

1:53

The Secret of Kells

Released Mar 5, 2010

1h 18m

Kids & Family

Adventure

Fantasy

Animation

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

90%

Tomatometer

83 Reviews

85%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

In the remote Irish woods, Cellach (Brendan Gleeson) prepares a fortress for an impending attack by a Viking war party. Unbeknown to Cellach, his young nephew Brendan (Evan McGuire) -- who has no taste for battle -- works secretly as an apprentice in the scriptorium of the local monastery, learning the ancient art of calligraphy. As the Vikings approach, revered illuminator Aidan (Mick Lally) arrives at the monastery and recruits Brendan to complete a series of dangerous, magical tasks.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Critics Consensus

Beautifully drawn and refreshingly calm, The Secret of Kells hearkens back to animation's golden age with an enchanting tale inspired by Irish mythology.

Read Critics Reviews

Chris Chang

Film Comment Magazine

Kells has a decidedly pleasing-to-the-eye, retro-cartoon vibe ( ... ) an intriguing and rare artistic subgenre

Nov 13, 2013

Full Review

Derek Malcolm

London Evening Standard

Tomm Moore's Irish animation, drawn with painstaking reference to both Celtic myth and medieval manuscripts, possesses a lively originality that shows Europe's animators not far behind America's and in some ways in front of them.

Rated: 3/5

Oct 6, 2010

Full Review

Marc Lee

Daily Telegraph (UK)

The look of the film is simply ravishing.

Rated: 4/5

Sep 30, 2010

Full Review

Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

It's indescribable, the euphoria communicated by these non-abstract shapes and shades. [Full review in Spanish]

Jul 19, 2022

Full Review

Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

'The Secret of Kells' is an independent animated film that, in my opinion, has an imaginative visual style, as well as allusions to Irish mythology, but its narrative is as soft as the sheets of a century-old manuscript. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 5/10

Sep 17, 2020

Full Review

Mattie Lucas

From the Front Row

Its skillful balancing act of paganism and Christianity in its evocation of medieval Celtic spirituality is both fascinating and enchanting.

Rated: 2.5/4

Aug 5, 2019

Full Review

Read all reviews

pokemon trainer P

This is a must see movie. Absolutely gorgeous in every way! I'm Irish and I approve 💜

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/26/24

Full Review

Jay W

The first entry of Cartoon Saloon/ animation director Tomm Moore, and this is off to a great start. Cartoon Saloon has been flying under the radar for far too long. They get nominated for Oscars, but their films are not typically met with much financial success. They make beautiful movies with creative stories and likeable characters. They seem to be the last studio that is trying to preserve 2D animation. This movie, in particular, loves the simplicity of shapes and demonstrates the beauty you can make from the basic shapes. Unlike some of the later works where they perfect their form, this one still demonstrates a lot of their raw untapped potential. I admire it as a first effort, it keeps things smaller in scale and shorter in length. It is a story that stays with me, it is one where it doesn't give the audience all the answers, and I like that. Don't let this movie be a secret anymore.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/21/24

Full Review

Noe G

The Secret of Kells is my favorite cartoon saloon movie and it’s amazing fantastic, outstanding, animated film and my rating is a 10/10

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/21/24

Full Review

Annabell M

I definitely prefer Wolfwalkers because this story was all over the place but the animation was breathtaking.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/06/24

Full Review

Audience Member

unbelievable animation that will take your breath away this is magical Irish fairytale storytelling its a shame Aisling isn't in here a whole lot, you'd think it would be a typical boy-meets-girl scenario it's about a young boy growing up to uncover a secret that changes his world the characters for the most part aren't that strong and the plot could have used some more treatment the combination of Celtic and Christian is quite remarkable though as you can see animated storytelling is far from dead

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/23/24

Full Review

Leaburn O

I love the style of animation. The shapes and shades are beautiful. The problem here is the dreary plot which is both dull and nonsensical. Not a patch in Songs of the Sea I'm afraid.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

07/27/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Tomm Moore

Director

Nora Twomey

Director

Brendan Gleeson

Abbot Cellach

Evan McGuire

Brendan

Christen Mooney

Aisling

Liam Hourican

Leonardo

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

Arthur and the Great Adventure

0%

32%

Arthur and the Great Adventure

Watchlist

Dr. Seuss' the Lorax

53%

63%

Dr. Seuss' the Lorax

Watchlist

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole

52%

64%

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole

Watchlist

The Tale of Despereaux

57%

44%

The Tale of Despereaux

Watchlist

Doogal

9%

22%

Doogal

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Wolfwalkers Demonstrates Why Cartoon Saloon is Studio Ghibli’s True Successor

Edinburgh 2009: Humpday wins RT Award

The Secret of Kells: Trailer 1

1:53

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

In the remote Irish woods, Cellach (Brendan Gleeson) prepares a fortress for an impending attack by a Viking war party. Unbeknown to Cellach, his young nephew Brendan (Evan McGuire) -- who has no taste for battle -- works secretly as an apprentice in the scriptorium of the local monastery, learning the ancient art of calligraphy. As the Vikings approach, revered illuminator Aidan (Mick Lally) arrives at the monastery and recruits Brendan to complete a series of dangerous, magical tasks.

Director: Tomm Moore, Nora Twomey
Producer: Didier Brunner, Tomm Moore, Viviane Vanfleteren, Paul Young
Screenwriter: Fabrice Ziolkowski
Distributor: GKIDS
Production Co: Tax Shelter ING Invest de Tax Shelter Productions, Belgacom TV, Canal+, Broadcasting Commission of Ireland, Cartoon Saloon, Kinepolis Multi, Conseil Général de la Charente, Télédistributeurs Wallons, Bórd Scannán na hÉireann, EU Media Plus Program, MEDIA Programme of the European Union, France 2 Cinéma, Vlaams Audiovisueel Fonds, Vivi Film, Wallimage, Conseil Régional de Poitou Charentes, Piste Rouge, CinéCinéma, Les Armateurs, Promimage, Centre du Cinéma et de l'Audiovisuel de la Communauté Française de Belgique, Euroimages Fund of the Council of Europe
Genre: Kids & Family, Adventure, Fantasy, Animation
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 5, 2010, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 30, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $686.4K
Runtime: 1h 18m

Most Popular at Home Now