If you’re tired of the usual animated Oscar fare from Pixar, Dreamworks, and the like, you’ll actually be able to catch underdog Best Animated Feature nominee “The Secret of Kells” in theaters soon, indieWIRE reports. ‘Kells’ will open first strategically on Oscar weekend at the IFC Center on March 5th. The film will then open in Boston on March 19th to tie its Irish themes into the city’s St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. The movie will expand to other major US cities on April 2nd. GKIDS, a children’s-oriented distribution firm, will be distributing the film in America.
The cel-shaded 2D-styled ‘Kells’ (which looks like it might be taking some visual queues from the works of Gustav Klimt) tells the story of a boy named Brendan who must help complete the famed Irish Book of Kells, a noted Celtic manuscript from the Middle Ages containing the Four Gospels of the New Testament. Young Brendan lives in the Abbey of Kells, whose clergy includes Abbott Cellach voiced by the always-enjoyable Brendan Gleeson. The story of course includes fantastical elements as Brendan must “overcome his fears” in an “enchanted forest.”
We’re not expecting the film to be a serious contender against its competition (especially Pixar’s “Up” and Disney’s old-fashioned “The Princess and the Frog”) but it is certainly nice to see the smaller films of this ilk be properly distributed and shown. It is always interesting to see what the overseas producers (who in this case also gave us 2004 animated feature nominee “The Triplets of Belleville”) have to offer in contrast to the popular favorites. You can watch the trailer for ‘Kells’ below.