Line #0 YMMV/TheSecretOfKells


1	* AntiClimaxBoss: [[spoiler:Crom Cruach. Despite being an ancient Celtic god who destroyed Aisling's entire family (and possibly species), it gets about a minute of screen time and is promptly defeated by ''a piece of chalk''.]]
2	* SugarWiki/AwesomeArt: The entire film is full of beautiful art that at first seems simplistic, but actually has a lot of details when you look closely... [[RealitySubtext much like the art]] in the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Kells Book of Kells itself]].
3	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: The entire soundtrack is great, courtesy of composer Bruno Coulais and Irish band Kíla, but "Aisling's Song" is particularly noteworthy and regarded by some as the film's high point.
4	* CompleteMonster: In Eithne Massey's {{novelization}}, [[BigBad Harald Redtooth]] is the Chief Northman, savage leader of the band of [[HornyVikings Northmen raiders]] currently plaguing Ireland. Redtooth has the Northmen [[RapePillageAndBurn invade]] several villages, cities, and monasteries for the purposes of slaughtering most of their populations, enslaving the survivors, and looting all of the treasure possible to satisfy Redtooth's greed. With even children not exempt from death or slavery at the Northmen hands, Redtooth wipes out the monk city of Iona, then makes his way to Kells, where his Northmen lay waste to the city and set it aflame as they kill everything in their path. After severely wounding Abbot Cellach, Redtooth orders the man's close friend Aidan and nephew Brendan executed after swiping all their belongings and wearing them as trophies. Showcasing a cruel grin while committing his actions and even going so far as to name his sword "[[EvilHasABadSenseOfHumor Monk Mincer]]", Redtooth is presented as [[AdaptationalVillainy a far more uniquely evil force than his movie counterpart]].
5	* EnsembleDarkhorse: Despite getting less screen time than Brendan and Aidan, Aisling is by far the most popular character in the film, even finding her way into [[http://www.empireonline.com/features/50-greatest-animated-characters/default.asp?film=45 Empire's list of 50 best animated movie characters]]. Compare the [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/ac/The_Secret_Of_Kells_Promo_Poster.jpg original theatrical poster]] to the [[http://www.imdb.com/media/rm4181888768/tt0485601 post-Oscar one]]. She also had the honour of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtHXICLmaW0 going to the Oscars in 2010]] when the film was nominated for Best Animated Feature. WordOfGod says [[http://whitefangkakashi300.deviantart.com/journal/There-and-Back-Again-387372034 here]] that Tomm Moore's thinking of doing a short film on Aisling or Pangur Ban, but he's hesitant about it because of people's head-canons.
6	* {{Fanon}}: It was a fan theory that [[spoiler:Aisling lost her human form completely, as she only appears as a wolf to Brendan at the end. This might've been {{jossed}} in ''WesternAnimation/SongOfTheSea'' if her cameo in the bus (where she is in her human form) is any indication]].
7	* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: According to Paul Young, CEO of Cartoon Saloon, [[https://www.independent.ie/business/irish/a-nation-of-animation-how-irish-studios-can-sketch-a-bright-future-38917050.html "Kells came out and it didn’t really make much of an impact in Ireland... It made more waves in the US. It got picked up by GKIDS Films, which was the first time they had theatrically distributed a movie"]].
8	* GeniusBonus:
9	** The first ink Brendan is sent out to gather materials from is based on a [[http://web.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/ink.html real medieval recipe]] for gall ink; the "berries" are actually used cocoons for a type of wasp, and Aisling even points out that they're not actually berries. But the resulting ink is [[ArtisticLicense actually black]], rather than green like in the film.
10	** Aisling is shown to be frightened of the monastery's cross in the courtyard and is unable to enter the tower where Brendan is. Fitting, since she's a fairy and her people are slowly being pushed out and forgotten as Christianity spreads across Ireland. Fairies in Irish folklore were also unable to enter buildings unless specifically invited, thus the use of Pangur Ban to free Brendan from the basement.
11	** And, as mentioned above, the lavish detail the animators paid to the Book of Kells is gorgeous, and looks like it could easily be an excerpt from one of the pages.
12	* HilariousInHindsight: 13 years after this film, where HornyVikings are the antagonists, Cartoon Saloon co-created the ''WesternAnimation/{{Vikingskool}}'' where Vikings are the protagonists.
13	* ItsShortSoItSucks: Perhaps the most common complaint with the film. The movie features a rich story and world with monks, a wall, a sacred book, fairies, Vikings, and an EldritchAbomination, but packs all of it into 75 minutes of screen time.
14	* JerkassWoobie: Abbot Cellach [[spoiler: post-attack, after he's been left broken by his guilt of not being able to protect his people and Brendan.]]
15	* SmurfetteBreakout: Aisling is the only prominent female character in the film. She's also the most popular character by far, and fans have been calling for a spin-off based around her ever since.
16	* StrawmanHasAPoint: Abbot Cellach's obsession with building his wall over preserving the books (and by extension, knowledge and the arts) and his decision to forbid Brendan to go to the forest are portrayed as well-intentioned but ultimately misguided. And there's no doubt that [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold he's not the best at expressing his affection towards Brendan]]. However, on the other hand, when Brendan does go into the forest, he's attacked by wolves and would have died if the local representative of the FairFolk didn't come to help him. So the abbot was perfectly justified. Cellach's decision to protect the present (with his wall) instead of the future (the books and their knowledge) can seem justified in a time of invasions. And it's worth mentioning that, had he not lived in a world where Northmen are apparently unstoppable subhuman monsters, an invading army would have thought twice before attacking a heavily fortified location.
17	* UnfortunateCharacterDesign: The designs for Tang and Assoua are drawn in a very stereotypical fashion, with the former being drawn with yellow skin and stereotypical Asian features, and the latter being drawn with [[BlackfaceStyleCaricature big red lips]]. Their designs have caused a bit of controversy in America, which tends to react very negatively to such portrayals due to their deep association with racism and racist imagery. Tomm Moore [[CreatorBacklash has since apologized for this and shown regret for how they were depicted in the film]], especially since he added them for greater inclusivity and didn't intend them to be racist.
18	* VanillaProtagonist: Brendan, not much to him except that he's nice and brave.
19	* ViewerGenderConfusion: on [[https://resizing.flixster.com/WGbaNQkmvjDROUWyA2CfAnSMS04=/206x305/v2/https://resizing.flixster.com/-XZAfHZM39UwaGJIFWKAE8fS0ak=/v3/t/assets/p197798_p_v8_aa.jpg the original poster]], someone unfamiliar with the film may mistake Aisling for a boy as she’s posed similarly to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Man the Green Man]], a male head made of/surrounded by leaves.
20	* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: It's recommended ages 5 to 7 on Netflix, despite the whole "Vikings attacking and murdering an entire village" thing.

Context YMMV / TheSecretOfKells