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Hope Through Creation: Celtic Kids and Tomm Moore’s "The Secret of Kells"
Abstract:
<p>Tomm Moore’s<i> The Secret of Kells</i> was created by a multi-national team of artists using mostly hand-drawn, 2-D animation, to tell an Irish story that weaves children, community, nature and contestation into and through interlaced Celtic swirls, whorls, runes, spirals, eddies and churns. The story focuses on twelve-year-old Brendan, a novice monk. Set sometime in the 8<sup>th</sup> Century, the story of <i>The Secret of Kells</i> is ostensibly one of a small Irish community faced with imminent invasion by Vikings. When Brother Aidan arrives from the Scottish Island of Iona he is in possession of a mysterious book that needs ‘illumination’. Brendan can help Aidan by gathering plants and berries for the book’s colorful graphics. To do so, Brendan sneaks out of the relative safety of the monastery to find the necessary materials in the nearby forest. Here he meets Aisling (Gaelic for ‘dream’), a silver-haired sprite. With Aisling’s help, Brendan finds the berries but then has to battle his fears in the form of the worm/snake demon <i>Crum Cruach</i>. Moore and his team base this enchantment in Celtic myths and lore through the art of animation, language and music. In the meantime, the Vikings sack the community. With this paper, I take a deep dive into how the <i>Secret of Kells </i>creates a landscape encapsulating the wonder, enchantment and brutality of 8<sup>th</sup> Century Ireland. I end with a consideration of enchantment and wonder as a conceptual basis for creating a world anew through and with children.</p>
Keywords: Ireland, Kells, Myth, Enchantment, Children, Nature
Authors:
Stuart C Aitken, SDSU; Submitting Author / Primary Presenter
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Hope Through Creation: Celtic Kids and Tomm Moore’s "The Secret of Kells"
Category
In-Person Paper Abstract