The Secret of Kells

The Secret of Kells (2009) is Tomm Moore's hand-drawn fantasy, and you can watch it online on iFILM. An Irish animated film about a boy, a monastery and a book that turns darkness into light.

The ninth century. Inside the walled abbey of Kells, twelve-year-old orphan Brendan hauls stones and dreads what lies beyond: his uncle, the stern Abbot, is fortifying the place against a Viking raid. Then Brother Aiden arrives, an illuminator carrying an unfinished book of impossible beauty. To complete a page, Brendan needs a rare crystal hidden deep in an enchanted forest, home to the wolf-girl Aisling and the coiled serpent god Crom Cruach. For the first time, the boy steps outside the gate.

This was the debut feature from Cartoon Saloon, built around the real Book of Kells, the ninth-century Irish manuscript. Flat Celtic linework, knotwork and spirals replace ordinary depth, so the film moves like a living illuminated page. It earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature. Brendan Gleeson voices the Abbot. Stream The Secret of Kells (2009) online on iFILM.