West Cork animator involved in new Puffin Rock film, in cinemas from today

CARTOON Saloon’s popular animated television series, Puffin Rock, has migrated to the big screen.

The series, which began life on RTÉ Jr in 2015 before heading to Netflix, was narrated by Chris O’Dowd, who reprises his role as the trusty narrator in the new film, Puffin Rock And The New Friends.

The animation company, which was launched in Kilkenny in 1999 and co-founded by Cork woman Nora Twomey, has received multiple Oscar nominations, and imbues most of its work with strong messages.

As with the television series about the sea birds, the new Puffin Rock film emphasises the importance of protecting nature and wildlife. It does so through the guise of adorable young puffins, or pufflings, who find themselves on adventures big and small.

In the movie, climate change forces puffins from across the globe to relocate to Puffin Rock, and the residents welcome them with open wings.

The film’s director, Jeremy Purcell, was an assistant director on the television series and says that taking the show to the big screen was a big challenge.

“The TV series is geared at a slightly younger audience, and (each episode) is just seven minutes long. 

The big question was, how do we turn seven minutes into 75 minutes without it feeling like several episodes put together?

“We wanted that first cinema experience to be enjoyable for everybody. We want the adults in the audience and the older kids to enjoy it as much as the younger kids.”

West Cork animator Lorraine Lordan was an animation supervisor on the original show and worked as the assistant director on the film. She says it was important to get the balance between satisfying the existing fans and newcomers.

“A big concern of ours was making a film for people who might never have seen the show and for kids and parents who loved and enjoyed the show and characters. 

The existing audience has a lot of love for the show. We want them to come back to something familiar. 

It would disappoint them if they returned and found completely new characters.

“We’ve taken the show’s essence and brought it to the big screen.”

Lordan says she loved working on the television show and relished the opportunity to bring it to the big screen and take on the assistant director’s mantle.

“It’s one of the shows where everyone loved working on it; you’re not always lucky enough to have that experience,” she said.

So many people who worked on the TV series came back for the film, and it was a real homecoming, just like getting the band back together.

“We felt a sense of responsibility to the people who made the original shows because they had poured their heart and soul into it.”

Purcell says the team are delighted that Chris O’Dowd returned for the film, especially considering he is a big-name star.

“It was great having him back, he’s a movie star, but he still does our little pre-school show. We were delighted he could do it.”

Amy Huberman also voices one of the characters, which Purcell says was pure luck. 

“Lorraine worked on a short film with Amy, and she had mentioned that she loved Puffin Rock, so we just asked her, and luckily she said yes.”

Eva Whittaker, the break-out star of Wolfwalkers, voices Isabelle, a new arrival to Puffin Rock in the film. She struggles to find her place in her new home and inadvertently makes a big mistake.

Lordan says that the character goes on an emotional journey and that they needed an actor with the ability to portray those emotions.

“Isabelle has a lot to carry in the film; it’s a big emotional journey for her. We needed someone who could dig deep for this character.

We saw in Wolfwalkers the beautiful, emotional acting that Eva could deliver. We knew we needed that real depth at certain points in the story from Isabelle; otherwise, we wouldn’t have empathy with her or her situation.

Cartoon Saloon has a tradition whereby the directors and producers voice minor characters. This time it was Lordan’s time to lend her voice.

“The first reading of the script is always ourselves reading and recording it. It tells us how long the script is. Sometimes, something looks fine written down, but when you say it out loud, it doesn’t feel like a natural way to speak.

“We all played multiple characters, and somehow one of my characters stuck.”

Lordan, who comes from Ballineen, went to Coláiste Stiofán Naofa in Cork city, where she first met one of Cartoon Saloon founders, Nora Twomey, who is from Midleton. From there, they studied animation at Ballyfermot College of Further Education, where the foundations for Cartoon Saloon were laid.

Lordan says she had not intended to study animation until she met Twomey.

“I loved drawing and reading books, so I assumed I would either do writing, journalism, or art. I met Nora in Coláiste Stiofán Naofa, and she was planning to study animation. I didn’t really know what animation was. 

It sounds crazy now, but back then, I didn’t understand what it was exactly.

Lordan, who has worked on several Cartoon Saloon films, including Twomey’s Oscar-nominated The Breadwinner, says that discovering animation was like a penny dropping.

“When I learned what animation was about, I found something I’d been searching for all along because I could combine so many of my interests.

“I just wanted to draw, so doing animation meant I got to draw every day; it was a revelation to me.”

Puffin Rock And The New Friends opens this Friday, July 14th, Cert: G