The Secret of Kells
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The Secret of Kells

Year:
Duration:
Argentina:75 min | USA:75 min
Genres:
Animation | Adventure | Family | Fantasy
IMDB rate:
7.6
Director:
Tomm Moore
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 7 wins & 5 nominations
Details
Country: France
Release Date: 2009-02-11
Filming Locations: Kilkenny, County Kilkenny, Ireland
Earnings
Opening Weekend: $39,826 (USA) (7 March 2010)
Gross: $686,383 (USA) (18 July 2010)
Cast
Actor
Character
Christen Mooney
Christen Mooney
The Secret of Kells
Evan McGuire
Brendan
Brendan Gleeson
Abbot Cellach
Mick Lally
Aidan
Liam Hourican
Brother Tang
Paul Tylak
Brother Assoua
Michael McGrath
Adult Brendan
Paul Young
Brother Square
Nora Twomey
Additional Voices and Walla (voice)
Alli McCann
Additional Voices and Walla (voice)
Clair Funchion
Additional Voices and Walla (voice)
Conor O'Halloran
Additional Voices and Walla (voice) (as Conor O Halloran)
Gaelle Hersent
Additional Voices and Walla (voice)
Marie Thorhauge
Additional Voices and Walla (voice)
Sean Lennon
Additional Voices and Walla (voice)
Jonas Till Hoffmann
Additional Voices and Walla (voice) (as Jonas Hoffmann)
James O'Halloran
Additional Voices and Walla (voice) (as James O Halloran)
Fabian Erlinghauser
Additional Voices and Walla (voice) (as Fabian Erlinghäuser)
Kairen Waloch
Additional Voices and Walla (voice)
Did you know?
Trivia
Aisling, the fairy girl, is named after a 17th-century genre of Irish poetry. Aisling is Irish for "dream vision." In an Aisling poem, the poet would describe receiving a vision of the spirit of Ireland, who appeared to him in the form of a beautiful young woman. The female spirit of Ireland would inspire the poet to write about his homeland, and serve as his guide in creating the poem (much as Aisling serves as Brendan's guide in the film).
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In the United States, the film never played on any more than 37 screens.
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Although the characters, fantasy elements, and plot specifics of this movie are fictional, there is a real "Book of Kells", an illuminated, heavily illustrated rendering of the Four Gospels of the Christian bible, that dates from the Early Medieval period (probably the early Eighth Century) in Ireland. The best historical and archaeological evidence suggests that, starting shortly after it was finished, the book was moved several times (including, as depicted in the movie, during an Viking invasion) and lost for various periods. It has been housed at the library of Trinity College, Dublin, since the Seventeenth Century, and is considered perhaps the single most valuable cultural artifact of Irish History that has ever been discovered. Some of the design concepts for the movie echo aspects of the original Book of Kells; for instance, the shapes of the repeated tree patterns as Brendan enters the forest are quite similar to the arrangement and shapes of the columns and arches in the "Eusebian Canons, Folio 5R" page of the real book.
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Quotes
Aisling: It took my mother. It takes everything. You'll die.
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Aisling: I thought you knew how to climb trees.
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Brendan: You can't find out everything from books, you know.
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Faq
Q
Was "The Secret of Kells" really nominated for an Academy Award?
A
Yes, it was. The Secret of Kells was one of five films nominated for a 2009 Academy Award in the category for Animated Feature Films. Also nominated were Coraline, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Princess and the Frog, and Up. The winner was Up.
Q
What were the things on Brendan's and some of the monks' ears? Earrings?
A
Technically, they are called "ear cuffs", common among Celtic folk. Essentially, they amount to a "clip on" earring that was a band of metal pinched onto the upper ear.
Q
Is The Secret of Kells based on a book?
A
No and yes. The movie itself is fiction, an animated dramatization about a young boy named Brendan who lives at the Kells monastery in Ireland and plays a part in creating and preserving the Book of Kells. The Book of Kells, however, is an actual medieval manuscript that is housed at Trinity College in Dublin and considered a national treasure.
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Photos from cast
Christen Mooney
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