The Secret of Kells (2009)

The Secret of Kells (2009) is an animated fantasy film set in 9th-century Ireland during the Viking expansion. It follows the story of Brendan, a curious and brave boy living in an Abbey under the watchful eye of his stern uncle, Abbot Cellach. The Abbot’s main concern is protecting the Abbey from Viking attacks by building a wall around it. Brendan is apprenticed in the monastery’s scriptorium where he first hears about Brother Aidan, the renowned creator of the Book of Iona. As he becomes more fascinated with the illuminator and his unfinished masterpiece, Aidan arrives in Kells with his unique white cat, Pangur Bán, after escaping a raid on his monastery at Iona. After overhearing a conversation between Cellach and Aidan, Brendan ventures into the scriptorium and encounters Pangur Bán guarding the still-in-progress ‘Book of Kells’. With Aidan’s arrival, he learns about both the mysterious book and its creator.

Aidan, recognizing Brendan’s potential as an apprentice, assigns him and Pangur Bán a task in the woods: to retrieve gall nuts for making ink. Amid a frightening encounter with wolves, Aisling the fairy comes to Brendan’s aid. Her initial distrust of him fades when Brendan shares his desire to contribute to the creation of the book. Despite Aisling’s fear of Crom Cruach, the god of death and destruction, they make it back to the forest’s edge. Aisling assures Brendan he can return whenever he wishes. However, upon returning to the monastery, Cellach scolds him and forbids him from leaving again. As Brendan continues his work with Aidan, he learns that they are in danger because the ‘Eye of Colm Cille’, a valuable magnifying lens taken from Crom Cruach, has been lost. In an attempt to retrieve another one from Crom’s cave, Cellach confines Brendan to his room.