Kells begins in the Irish Abbey of Kells—an abbey that, thanks to Abbot Cellach, is walled in, blocked off from the verdant forest outside. The wall was built to keep out pillaging Vikings; afraid for his safety, the Abbot forbids his nephew, Brendan, to venture beyond the gates. Instead, young Brendan's left to assist with creating illuminated manuscripts. But when the revered Brother Aidan arrives at Kells, he brings with him the most beautiful illuminated manuscript of all: the legendary Book of Kells. Aidan needs Brendan's help to finish the manuscript, which requires Brendan to leave the abbey. With graceful, emotional animation, brilliant character designs, and a watercolor-dappled visual style that lands somewhere between Saul Bass and Genndy Tartakovsky, every frame of Kells is amazing to look at—but it's the film's humor, heart, and melancholy that makes it really work.