by Jake Bourgeois, Contributing Writer
I’ve always had a soft spot for animation. More years than not, at least a couple of animated features find their way onto my top 10 list. So, I’m setting out to shine a light on some films that may have passed you by. The idea with Animation Celebration is to take a look at some underseen gems — so no Toy Story or Frozen here.
Let’s get started.
The Oscars are now just about a week away, meaning we’ve got time for one final look at an underseen “Best Animated Feature” nominee. In debating my choice, I figured it might be fun to call back to the first Animation Celebration. With Wolfwalkers among the nominations, this column started with a rewatch of Cartoon Saloon’s The Breadwinner. Since then, I’ve caught Song of the Sea and had just one more offering from the studio to cross of my list. With this month’s entry dropping during March, let’s dive into the studio’s first offering and the initial entry into their “Irish Folklore Trilogy:” The Secret of Kells.
It tells the tale of a young boy (Evan McGuire), nephew of the local abbot (Brendan Gleeson), who lives at a remote medieval outpost/monastery in the titular Kells. The inside of the walls surrounding the monastery is all he’s ever known until a celebrated master illuminator (think fancy medieval Bible illustrator) arrives with an ancient book. While assisting Brother Aidan (Mick Lally), Brendan must venture into the forest where he encounters a fairy, Aisling (Christen Mooney), while a dark threat of invasion from Northmen loom. As the trilogy title would suggest, the film takes its inspiration from Celtic mythology as well as the very real Book of Kells — an illuminated Gospel that can be found in Dublin. Tomm Moore both came up with the story and directed this film. He’s also served as director for Wolfealkers and Song of the Sea. It’s also by Nora Twomey, who co-directed The Breadwinner and has another release, My Father’s Dragon, slated for 2022.
When it comes to the rest of the “Irish Folklore Trilogy,” though I’ve loved getting some insight into Irish mythology, I haven’t been as engaged in the story as the mythos or the visuals. They usually follow a basic story trope, with a fantastical twist. On the surface, we seem to have the same issue here: a young protagonist, shaking free of their sheltered youth to go on a grand adventure to save the day — with a sprinkling of Irish lore. Here, though the formula is the same, it works marginally better for me than the other two examples — at least until its conclusion takes a jarringly dark turn. I don’t know that I can explain why particularly well, though, as the margins are razor thin. Perhaps it’s that I can see the connections between this and the other of the studio’s films. The other two aren’t particularly long, but at a brisk 75 minutes, it’s 20 and 30 minutes shorter than the spiritual sequels.
Throughout, the character animations are great. Particularly Aisling. When I say “fairy,” I don’t mean a character like Tinker Bell. If you are familiar with Wolfwalkers, she moves slightly similarly to the characters in that film when in human form. As we’re introduced to her, rolling fog masking her approach, she flits in and out of the screen, popping up all over the place. It’s a characteristic that continues throughout. Gleeson’s abbot fits his character, too, as he cuts an imposing figure that looms over the rest of his colleagues. Brother Aidan was animated to fit his quirky character. Unsurprisingly, his cat, Pangur, was a standout for me (as are most pets in animated flicks). The villains, though shown sparingly leading up to the finale, felt suitably menacing. The animations were little stereotypical when it comes to the rest of the monastery would be my only gripe.
As I’ve watched my way through the company’s catalogue, the animation style never ceases to jump off of the page. If you’ve seen any of their other films, their mark is instantly recognizable. There’s a uniqueness to it that makes it unmistakable. That’s not easy to do, and fewer and fewer animation studios can say the same. Even the lines between a Pixar and high-quality Disney Animation film are starting to blur. Perhaps the only other studio that can make a similar claim is England’s Aardman Animations, famous for their Wallace and Gromit films.Like the rest of Cartoon Saloon’s catalogue, the animation style is two-dimensional. There’s a certain simplicity to the animation on the surface, but there’s always something to pick up on as you look deeper. The intro to the film is absolutely stunning. As the waves are crashing, there’s simultaneously a simplicity in style akin to something like what you might see with a layered set in a puppet show or stage play, yet the waves themselves have a pattern and a detail that is complex. The greens that help make the forest come alive in act two stand out even more when contrasted with the black and reds that accompany the attacking Northmen hordes that arrive with the film’s climax.
If you’re looking to stream this one, you appear to be out of luck for the moment — though it’s well worth the few dollars to rent. Cartoon Saloon is four-for-four when it comes to their productions earning “Best Animated Feature” nominees, and it’s easy to see why. There truly has not been a miss yet. If you’ve enjoyed their other offerings, I’d urge you to go back to where the company started. And if you’ve never given one of the studio’s films a chance, given the short run time; I think this would be a perfect place to start.
I’m excited to continue to geek out on some great animated work you may not have had a chance to catch. Next month, we may be moving on from our “Best Animated Feature” run, but I’m still taking some inspiration from the Oscars. Flee has been groundbreaking for its mix of award nominations and I think we’ll take a look at another animated documentary feature. Thanks for reading, and see you at next month’s celebration.
You can follow Jake Bourgeois on Twitter and Letterboxd