{"id":27819,"date":"2015-01-28T06:30:35","date_gmt":"2015-01-27T17:30:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/?p=27819"},"modified":"2015-01-29T15:02:05","modified_gmt":"2015-01-29T02:02:05","slug":"big-worlds-on-small-screens-fantasysci-fi-films-youve-probably-never-heard-of-rebecca-fisher-discusses-the-secret-of-kells","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/2015\/01\/28\/big-worlds-on-small-screens-fantasysci-fi-films-youve-probably-never-heard-of-rebecca-fisher-discusses-the-secret-of-kells\/","title":{"rendered":"Big Worlds On Small Screens & Fantasy\/Sci-Fi Films You\u2019ve Probably Never Heard Of: Rebecca Fisher Discusses “The Secret Of Kells”"},"content":{"rendered":"

~ by Rebecca Fisher<\/em><\/p>\n

Most of our most beloved animated films come from three big studios: Disney\/Pixar, Dreamworks and Studio Ghibli, who altogether have produced hundreds of animated classics over the years. They’re so prolific that we run the risk of forgetting that there are other innovators out there \u2013 such as Cartoon Saloon.<\/p>\n

In 2009 they released The Secret of Kells<\/strong>, a film set in 9th<\/sup> century Ireland that gives a fictionalized account of the Book of Kells<\/strong>, a real manuscript and national treasure that’s currently on display in Trinity College Library in Dublin.<\/p>\n

\"Kells1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The story is very simple; perhaps even too<\/em> simple for younger viewers who are used to a fair amount of action in their cartoons. Brendon (Evan McGuire) lives under stern eye of his uncle, the Abbot Cellach (Brendan Gleeson) in a monastery whose inhabitants are busy building a massive wall to keep out marauding Vikings. Brendan defends his uncle’s obsession with its construction, but is still haunted by the beauty of the forest he can glimpse through the wall’s chinks.<\/p>\n

But Brendon’s interest in illuminated manuscripts is piqued when the monastery provides refuge for Brother Aidan of Iona, who has escaped from the Vikings with two valuable possessions: the Book of Iona and a little white cat called Pangur B\u00e1n.<\/p>\n

It’s not long before Aidan asks Brendan to fetch berries from the forest so he can make more paint for the book’s illustrations. Already entranced by the artistry and colour of the book, Brendan agrees \u2013 risking his uncle’s anger in the process. The forest beyond the monastery is beautiful but filled with spirits, particularly a little fairy called Aisling (pronounced “Ashling”) who is also intrigued by talk of the book and leads Brendan to the berries he needs.<\/p>\n

\"Kells2\"<\/a>Brandon and Aisling<\/em><\/p>\n

To sum up the entire film in a single word: charming. It’s difficult not to watch the blossoming of Brendan and Aisling’s friendship without smiling, and the portrayal of Pangur B\u00e1n captures all the haughtiness and lovability of cats to perfection. As it happens, Pangur B\u00e1n is named after a real-life cat that lived in the 9th<\/sup> century and was immortalized in a poem written in a manuscript by its owner. A stanza is even recited over the credits.<\/p>\n

The best part of The Secret of Kells<\/strong> is the animation, with stylized shapes and patterns inspired by the book itself, and beautiful attention to detail such as shadows on the wall or visible breath on a cold morning. One frame is split into three different perspectives of a stairwell, and Brandon is depicted from three different angles as he moves from one to the other.<\/p>\n

\"Kells3\"<\/a>Brandon,\u00a0Pangur B\u00e1n, and Aidan<\/em><\/p>\n

It does <\/em>have a rather odd ending. Throughout the story the monastery is threatened by Vikings, and the monks are given one of two options: to either run or hide behind the wall. Neither option offers a particularly satisfying outcome, and so the conclusion feels a little abrupt as a result. But it’s a unique and evocative little film, one that pays homage to Ireland’s Christian and Pagan traditions, with a beautiful soundtrack and loveable characters.<\/p>\n

Next Time: Strings
\n<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h3>\n

When people think of marionettes, those born before the 1980s probably think of Thunderbirds<\/strong>, and those born after probably think of Team America: World Police<\/strong>. But puppetry is an ancient and respected form of theatre, and Strings<\/strong> is a film created by masters of the craft, telling the story of a banished prince and his search for justice.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

About The Reviewer:<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a>Rebecca Fisher is a graduate of the University of Canterbury with a Masters degree in English Literature, mainly, she claims, because she was able to get away with writing her thesis on C.S. Lewis and Philip Pullman. She is a reviewer for FantasyLiterature.com<\/a>, a large website that specializes in fantasy and science-fiction novels, as well as posting reviews to Amazon.com<\/a> and her They\u2019re All Fictional<\/a> blog.<\/p>\n

To read Rebecca\u2019s detailed introduction of both herself and the series, as well as preceding reviews, click on:<\/p>\n

Big Worlds On Small Screens<\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

~ by Rebecca Fisher Most of our most beloved animated films come from three big studios: Disney\/Pixar, Dreamworks and Studio Ghibli, who altogether have produced hundreds of animated classics over the years. They’re so prolific that we run the risk of forgetting that there are other innovators out there \u2013 such as Cartoon Saloon. In […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-big-worlds-on-small-screens-with-rebecca-fisher"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27819","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27819"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27819\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28021,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27819\/revisions\/28021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}