A Best Animated Feature category at the Oscars may have hurt the Best Picture chances of certain cartoons in the past, but the beauty of such a category is that it and the Animated Short category that has existed forever allows for honoring the craft of the most artistic sort of animation. “The Secret of Kells” is the most recent beneficiary.
This Irish indie received a surprise Oscar nod in early 2009 to the universal scratching of heads from American journalists and critics nationwide. I recall viewing the IMDB page for the film the day of the nomination to see it had a 500% increase in popularity over the last few articles. Articles entitled, “What the hell is ‘The Secret of Kells’” sprang up over night. And it didn’t even get a proper American release until two days prior to the Oscar ceremony.
But what had flown under the radar for so long was a wondrous miracle of 2-D drawings and classical imagery that had undergone production over five years in three countries for about $8 million. The completed film is remarkable, a lovingly sketched film from start to finish. Continue reading “The Secret of Kells”