Comments from GKIDS, the film’s US Distributor

Dave Jesteadt, Director of Distribution for GKIDS, the film’s US distributor, told me, “We could not be more thrilled at how The Secret of Kells has been building grassroots support and intense enthusiasm among those who have seen it, particularly in the animation community.  The fans have really embraced the film, and the Oscar nomination is certainly a result of this hard work and community spirit, which shows a viable alternative to the huge budgets spent on typical award campaigns.  The nomination also ensures that a much wider audience will get to see the film, which is really all we ever hoped for.”

“As a company, GKIDS has worked tirelessly to create a business model that can promote artist-driven animated films like Kells, where production budgets are modest enough that individuality and creativity can flourish without having to worry about what formula will be most appealing for product tie-ins, sequels, and Super Bowl ads. 2009 was an amazing year for artistic animated features, and I'm optimistic that the new marketplace, with its emphasis on all CGI and all 3D, will actually spur demand for more beautiful 2D, hand-drawn features.”

Secret of Kells was directed by Tomm Moore and Nora Twomey and voice actors include Brendan Gleeson, Christen Mooney, Mick Laffy, Michael McGrath and Evan McGuire.

Karl Cohen is president of ASIFA-SF and teaches animation history at SF State University. He is the author of Forbidden Animation: Censored Cartoons and Blacklisted Animators, as well as hundreds of articles about animation, many published by AWN.