The Secret of Kells

Brendan is a young boy living a quiet, cloistered life under the watchful eye of his uncle, an old, cranky Abbot in a medieval Irish abbey in the Middle Ages. When a strange monk arrives with an incomplete manuscript, Brendan defies his Uncle and helps the newcomer with his book. Together with a woodland fairy girl who can turn into a white wolf at will, Brendan endeavors to save the book, and all the knowledge saved in the abbey, from pagan monsters to, most especially, marauding Vikings.

This surprise contender for the 2009 Best Animated Feature Academy Award tells its story in a distinctive, beautifully hand-drawn way.

“When I say that The Secret of Kells — the Irish Oscar contender for Best Animated Feature that had everyone scratching their heads when it was announced a few weeks ago — harks back to an earlier style of drawing, I don't just mean pre-digital animation. I mean the kind of drawing that monks did in the Middle Ages; those curlicued borders and ornate letters they hand-painted in holy books.” (NPR) 

Film website: https://gkids.com/films/the-secret-of-kells