Nominated for best animated picture in 2009, this film takes a fantasy twist on the history of the famed Book of Kells, Ireland's most valuable artifact.
I knew that "UP" would win the Oscar, it's Pixar, but "The Secret" is probably the most beautiful animated movie I've ever seen. Every frame is unique and drawn with such care, the music is crystalline, and the story is simple but drenched in historical significance and spirituality. The problem with that combination of simple and layered is that if you are not familiar with the Book of Kells, that history is lost on an audience. The Book of Kells is a beautifully-illustrated collection of the Four Gospels. If you don't know that, the book could be anything. Knowing that is the Word of God, the story of Jesus, makes it more understandable why the monks would be willing to protect those papers with their lives. However, the sheer beauty of the film overwhelms the weakness of the story. It's a beauty that doesn't take itself seriously, there is lots of humor in it, but never losing that feeling of sophistication. This is not "Cars." This is something deeper, something artistic. If I were an animator, this is how I would want to animate.
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