Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

The Secret of Kells

Play trailer 1:53 Poster for 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

Where to Watch

The Secret of Kells

The Secret of Kells

What to Know

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

Critics Reviews

View All (83) 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

Audience Reviews

View All (1000+) audience reviews
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 all life i What a fitting start for Cartoon Saloon, perfectly setting up the studio's trajectory for years to come! Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/07/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Secret of Kells

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

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

Movie Info

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