Should evil be easily summed up–its flaws apparent–or should it be more true-to-life?

Few movies truly hit the nail on the head when it comes to villains, especially animated movies. But The Secret of Kells does. This is not your typical Disney classic animation.

This Academy Award nominee offers a depiction of darkness that is not fundamentally flawed, that is not compartmentalized or cartoonish. Instead, we have a deep-rooted look at what confronting fear and the unknown looks like. I don’t know if it was even intended for children at all.

That said, I think it is a great movie for kids to watch. I think parents too often shield their children from true depictions on danger, fear, or evil. The result: smooth-talking villains who are ultimately (sometimes obviously) impotent. Does any kid really think that Scar is going to rule over the Animal Kingdom forever? Can Jafar’s insatiable appetite for power be viewed as sustainable, even by a 5-year-old? No. The demise of the children’s movie villain is evident from the beginning. Usually.

Not in The Secret of Kells. The true villains here aren’t the invading Vikings–though they are a clear, visceral danger, evidence of a violent world. Their power (and fear) is mitigated by their brutish cartoon characterization. They appear as angular geometric shapes–congruent, of course, with the illumination-style animation, but somehow less-than human.

True villains either appear more-than-human (i.e. they retain human qualities while simultaneously upsetting the viewers’ understanding of what is human, at all) or, they are ambiguous, unclear, evident only in their undefinability. Unlike with traditional good-versus-evil film matchups, there were moments in Secret when I had absolutely no idea what was going to happen next. And I loved it. Its surprising nature shows kids the unpredictability of life, prepares them for the myriad branching narratives that form real-life history, literature, and culture.

The true presence of evil in Secret is Crom Cruach, the mystical, snake-like, dark spirit that haunts the forest. He is truly other, fundamentally spiritual and yet incredibly visceral. It is bizarre and disorienting when Brendan finally confronts him–a dark scene that’s part snake game and part Harold and the Purple Crayon.

But that’s what makes it great for kids. It’s something they can’t entirely comprehend. Evil can’t be summed up and characterized. So, the idea of Crom Cruach, the epitome of darkness and evil, might stick with a kid for a while, might make them turn their eyes, or keep them up at night. But it’s a safe way for children to engage with the world as it is. That’s what a good story should do.

After all, it’s Brendan, the lowly orphan, who defeats Crom not with wit or skill, but with sheer determination and grit. He simply dives after Crom. That’s something kids will understand too–perhaps better than adults.