Just saw this on DVD - I thought it was about the most original bit of animation I’d seen in years - a real antidote to the over-slick 3D fare that has become the standard.
The story revolves around a fantasy version of the creation of the famous “Book of Kells” by Irish monks in the time of Viking raids - and the animation is, to a great extent, patterned on the style of elaborate illustration used by the monks at the time. I found it hauntingly beautiful, and cleverly done.
I’m not sure who the intended audience was though - it was seemingly aimed at a children’s audience, but it was in places too dark for young children at least.
In any event, I strongly recommend it for its unusual visual style.
Heh, I guess I’m just in a different place, kids-wise - I only have a 5 year old, and really don’t know what 8 and 11 year olds like. Yet. I thought the scene where:
The vikings come and kill almost everyone in Kells, and burn the place to the ground
Would be a bit too scary, at least for really young ones.
One detail that fascinated me is that the cat in the movie - Pangur Ban - is named for a famous poem written by an Irish monk (in the margins of the text he was copying) about his cat. They also go the “turning darkness into light” tagline from that poem.
As for the visuals in Kells - the stylization was I thought part of the point: to attempt, at least in part, to animate the story using the motifs of the artwork found in the Book of Kells itself. I liked it, a lot, but obviously it’s a matter of opinion.
I enjoyed it. I think my favourite bit is when the cat is that white spirit thing and as she’s going down the stairs, her shadow on the wall looks like her normal cat self. I also like the fight with Crom Cruach. Hurrah for chalk!The very end where they show the Chi Rho page is amazing.
We just watched TSoK a few weeks ago with our 7 & 9 year olds. They liked (not loved) it and weren’t bothered by the violence, although my wife and I exchanged concerned looks behind their heads, fearing nightmares from the more sensitive of the two. None materialized. I was surprised to see the age rating on Netflix- something like 5-11, I think. I thought the animation was great and a welcome change from the slick Pixary look.
I watched it with my 4 year old. The animation is certainly eye catching, but it made it hard for her to follow what was going on. If I weren’t for my commentary, I don’t think she would have made it through it. She also had to leave the room during the scene mentioned above, but otherwise didn’t seem to have a problem with the darkness of the subject matter. She really like the scene where the kid fought the snake for its eye in the cave.
Aside from the animation, I found the story to be rather uninteresting. I thought the Book of Kells was going to have some kind of significance to the plot, but apparently it was just a bunch of pretty pictures. Left me feeling flat at the end.
One of my best friends was on the animation crew for SOTK and arranged a special showing as a library fundraiser. He showed us early drafts and sketches. I’m a huge fan.
Heh, my wife remarked that the movie made her wish she had an Irish heritage. Definitely doesn’t give as good a feeling about being Scandinavian, though.
The Irish are portrayed as creating and preserving the essence of civilization, “turning darkness into light”; the vikings, as basically ravening beasts of greed and destruction, trampling all that is good underfoot.
It’s an admittedly simple story, but I liked it that way. I was skimming Rotten Tomatoes and one of the critics was complaining that the point of the Book of Kells was never explicitly explained. I didn’t think it had to be. To me, it was a symbol of the beauty of art and knowledge, frail and sometimes easily forgotten about in times of violence, but which somehow still manages to survive and bring hope in the end.
The art was gorgeous, and the details were amazing. The cat’s facial expressions throughout the movie were hilarious.
I thought the scene where: