British Animation Awards 2024 nominations for ‘PUFFIN ROCK AND THE NEW FRIENDS’ & ‘Odo’
Date Posted: February 15, 2024
PUFFIN ROCK AND THE NEW FRIENDS and ODO have been nominated across multiple categories in the 2024 British Animation Awards.
PUFFIN ROCK AND THE NEW FRIENDS, the animated feature from Derry-based Dog Ears and Kilkenny-based Academy Award-nominated Cartoon Saloon (Wolfwalkers), has been nominated for ‘Best Feature Film’ and ‘Best Design’.
Directed by Jeremy Purcell and based on the award-winning television series PUFFIN ROCK, the film is the first animated feature to be produced in Northern Ireland. It features a host of Irish voice talent, including Chris O’Dowd (My Father’s Dragon), Amy Huberman (A Cat Called Jam) and Eva Whittaker (Wolfwalkers). Celebrating Ireland’s magnificent natural environment with themes of belonging, courage, and friendship, PUFFIN ROCK AND THE NEW FRIENDS follows family favourites from the animated series Oona, Baba, May, and Mossy, who are joined by a new cast of characters as Isabelle, Phoenix, and Marvin arrive on the island. When the last Little Egg of the season disappears under mysterious circumstances, Oona and her new friends race against time to bring the Little Egg home before a big storm hits Puffin Rock, putting the entire island in danger.
Sara Daddy, Head Writer of the original television series, wrote the screenplay for PUFFIN ROCK AND THE NEW FRIENDS. Cartoon Saloon and Dog Ears produced the film with the support of Northern Ireland Screen, Screen Ireland, RTÉ, and BBC Alba.
Season 1, episode 52, ‘ODO – Mum’, has also received nominations in ‘Best Design’ and ‘Best Children’s Pre-School Series’.
Directed by Piotr Szczepanowicz and Mikolaj Pilchowski, ODO follows a little owl with big ideas. With the help of his best friend Doodle, a thoughtful little bird of unknown species, Odo tackles positively every challenge – no matter how big. He knows he can do anything he sets his mind to, because in the forest, as in life, you can do anything you set your mind to.
The 52 x 7’ hand-drawn 2.5D animation, is a co-production between Sixteen South and Polish animation studio Letko who created the look for the series based on artwork by illustrator Alena Tkatch.
The show was commissioned with support from the government funded Young Audiences Content Fund (YACF), which is managed by the BFI and supports the creation of distinctive, high-quality content for young audiences, Northern Ireland Screen and the Polish Film Institute.
The British Animation Awards (BAA) celebrates all that is great about the industry in the UK since 1996. The 2024 event will occur at the BFI Southbank on Thursday, March 7, 2024.
