#The Secret of Kells

[buttercup-barf]

Those are some morbid songs these kids are singing.

[illustoryart]

Happy St. Patrick's Day! 🍀

My illustrations for the magical Irish Trilogy by Cartoon Saloon 💚

Have you watched them? Which one is your favorite?

The Secret of Kells 🌿

Song of the Sea 🦭

Wolfwalkers 🐺

[sealkiie]

The song of the sea, Tomm Moore, 2021

I ended up in tears

[cainposts]

Every so often i think of cartoon saloon like. damn

Its like irish ghibli

[aenslem]

THE SECRET OF KELLS (2009) dir. Tomm Moore, Nora Twomey

[aidan-kells]

The Irish Folklore Trilogy ~

[deepdwellingsteamboat]

THE SECRET OF KELLS 2009・dir. Nora Twomey & Tomm Moore

[animation-557-butterfly]

🐺Mebh and Aisling🍃Parallels

The Secret Of Kells & Wolfwalkers dir. Tomm Moore

[anon55mystery]

The Wolves of Aisling & Mebh.

Mebh & Aisling in their wolf appearance.

🍃The Secret of Kells & Wolfwalkers🐺 Director: Tomm Moore

[vesper100]

cartoon saloon x the name of the rose because i'm crazy but i'm free

[themiihem]

A type

(edit: Forgot to put in Tea Knight and Eggnog from cookie run bruh)

(Edit 2: FUCK AND BEAR HUGGER FROM PUNCH OUT)

[mellonposting]

I want a Lord of the Rings animated series done by Tom Moore.

Cartoon Saloon's style portrays fantastical intensity so well while also carrying the stories they tell with such lightness and fluidity. The 1978 animated version of Lotr leaned on the weight, action, and drama of Tolkien's trilogy but I think Moore could make something that would include the abstraction and artistry the story deserves.

[animations-daily]

You can't find out everything from books, you know. I think I read that once. THE SECRET OF KELLS (2009) dir. Tomm Moore, Nora Twomey

[shinobi-illuminator]

Brother Aidan style challenge

[buttercup-barf]

Yes, this is an Open Season poster reference. No, I won't be elaborating.

[secretmellowblog]

So the moment that really shocked me in Cartoon Saloon’s The Secret of Kells, and what makes me really appreciate it as a unique film, is that—-

Throughout the movie, the story centers on the conflict between the young child Brendan who wants to learn how to create illuminated manuscripts, and his uncle the abbot who dismisses his art studies because he believes all their effort should be focused on fortifying Kells against an incoming invasion. The abbot is cold and harsh, and even though he used to make illuminated manuscripts himself he now cares for nothing except fortifying Kells to face a violent invasion. He obsessively fixates on constructing walls, and defense fortifications, improving the structure of the buildings, and focusing on defensive architecture. He coldly denies Brendan the opportunity to study art, instead urging him to continue helping with the walls and the architecture.

But interestingly, the film ends with….In the climax, Kells is attacked, and their defenses don’t hold. The refugees attempt to climb the ramshackle stairs that lead to a refuge; the stairs aren’t well constructed enough to bear the weight, and they collapse. Innocent people die, as the invaders swarm in and slaughter refugees. The abbot looks on in horror, clearly blaming himself for his own failure to fortify kells enough to resist the invasion.

It makes the film’s message so much more morally and emotionally complex. “What is the value of making art in a time where you’re facing massive existential/societal threats” is not a question with an easy answer, and the Secret of Kells doesn’t try to give it an easy answer. The abbot is fixated on his walls and construction and defensive architecture to the point where he completely denies the value of art—- at the same time, would more people have lived if they’d better fortified the stairs?

Despite that the film is ultimately very positive about the value of art. It’s important that Brendan escapes and Book of Kells is preserved, preserving important history, beauty, and memory. The abbot himself finally recognizes the art’s value, when Brendan’s illustration becomes the only thing he has to remember him by. After Kells has been ravaged by invasion, the book preserves some of its former beauty.

At the same time, it’s a much more nuanced and thoughtful take on the role of art during times of massive upheaval. Art does not singlehandedly save the world, it’s not as simple as that; but the value of storytelling, human creativity, and memory is something that can’t be easily measured.