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Chris O'Dowd provides the voice - but not the face - of Puffin Rock. Photocall Ireland archive
imaginanimation
Irish cartoon gets snapped up by Nick Jr UK (and RTÉjr)
Chris O’Dowd is lined up to voice Puffin Rock, an animated series from the makers of The Secret of Kells.
AN IRISH ANIMATION TV series has been bought by major children’s network Nick Jr (UK).
Puffin Rock is one of 12 Irish-connected projects that were presented at the international financing event Cartoon Forum in Toulouse, France late last week. The series is to be narrated by Moone Boy star Chris O’Dowd and is to be produced at Cartoon Saloon in Kilkenny. Cartoon Saloon was previously nominated for a Best Animated Feature Oscar for The Secret of Kells.
The series – which was developed with funding from the Irish Film Board – has also been bought for distribution on RTÉ’s children’s channel, RTEjr.
James Hickey, CEO of the Irish Film Board said that the aim of the IFB funding was to allow animation companies like Cartoon Saloon to develop their projects to a point where they can attract international sales and finance and find a global audience.
Nickelodeon UK’s director of programming, Tim Patterson, said that Puffin Rock has a “beautiful art style and charming storytelling”. It will tell the tale of a family of puffins living on a wild Irish island, and is co-produced by Cartoon Saloon, Penguin publishers, and Northern Irish company Dogs Ears.
You can expect to see it on your screen in autumn of next year.
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