Produced by Kilkenny-based Cartoon Saloon, The Secret of Kells is one of five nominees in the highly-contentious Animated Feature Film category.

Kells will go up against massive studio films including Henry Selick's Coraline, Disney/Pixar's Up, the Roald Dahl classic Fantastic Mr Fox and Disney's The Princess And The Frog in a category which has been touted as possibly the "best ever" for feature films.

The Secret of Kells, which features the voices of Brendan Gleeson and Mick Lally, was produced in conjunction with Les Armateurs (France) and Vivi film (Belgium). It was directed by Graignamanagh-man Tomm Moore and produced by Kilkenny People cartoonist Paul Young.

Speaking to the Kilkenny People following the announcement, an "ecstatic" Mr Moore said he was delighted with the nomination.

"We're all really excited, it's only starting to sink in now," he said. "It's just unbelievable and a real honour to be nominated. It's been an amazing year for animated film, there have been some beautiful films made and ours probably had a tenth of the budget the others had."

Kells was shortlisted with 15 others for a nomination, but Mr Moore said he never expected it to happen.

"We weren't even listening to the nominations, we were in a meeting when we heard someone start screaming in the office," Mr Moore said. "I literally didn't believe it, I had to keep checking the screen to see if it was real."

The film follows 12-year-old Brendan (Evan McGuire), a mischievous monk who lives with his uncle, Abbot Cellach (Brendan Gleeson). Brendan's life is changed forever with the arrival of Brother Aiden (Mick Lally), a celebrated master illuminator who awakens Brendan's hidden talent for illumination. With the terrifying Viking hordes closing in, the future of the precious Book of Kells is in jeopardy and it falls to Brendan to save the day.

The Secret of Kells was produced by Cartoon Saloon, Les Armateurs (France) and Vivi film (Belgium). Forty people worked full time on the project in Kilkenny for two and a half years during the production process.

The film was named Best Irish Film by the Dublin Film Critics Circle at the Dublin Film Festival and received a special mention at the Zagreb Festival. It also won the Audience Award at the Edinburgh International Film Festival and the Audience Award at the 33rd Annecy Festival of Animation in France.

It has also been nominated for an Annie Award - known as the Oscars of the animation world. Paul Young and Tomm Moore of Cartoon Saloon will travel to the US later this week to attend that awards ceremony, attend several screenings of their film and celebrate their new Oscar success.