Derry's 'Dog Ears' 'excited' ahead of world movie premiere of their film 'Puffin Rock and the New Friends'

‘Puffin Rock and The New Friends’ will premiere this Saturday at Brunswick Moviebowl and will then be released in cinemas across the country from Friday, July 14.

The film features the voices of stars Chris O’Dowd, Amy Huberman and Eva Whittaker and there has been much excitement from children – and their parents – right across the world ahead of the release.

The film, from Dog Ears and Academy award nominated studio Cartoon Saloon, will see much loved characters in a race against time to save the last egg of the season, before a terrible storm hits.

John McDaid, Creative Director of ‘Dog Ears,’ told the Journal how they are all hugely excited to release the film out into the world.

It’s entire production time took three and a half years and included working through a pandemic. Everyone involved is over the moon with the finished film.

"We see the film at every stage – script, development, animation, music, etc and so much work goes on behind the scenes on a large-scale animation like this. But, you can still be surprised when you’re sitting in the cinema with people who haven’t seen it before. We’ve done it already, with some of our funders and when other people watch it, then it becomes a real film out in the world. We love it and we’re really proud. It feels like a great addition to the Puffin Rock world. We get to meet some new friends and visit new locations and I think, for fans of Puffin Rock, it’s going to be dead exciting to see new animals in there and new friends. The film looks beautiful and sounds beautiful and it’s a a story we’re really happy with.”

The ‘Puffin Rock’ TV series has been much lauded as one of the best shows for kids to watch. It has a gentle rhythm and celebrates Ireland’s natural environment. The movie also has themes of belonging, courage, and friendship.

John, who highlighted the ‘fantastic support’ they received from Northern Ireland Screen through the film’s development and production, told how they ‘never get tired’ of seeing and hearing how children love the show.

"The feedback we always get from parents is that it’s the show that they prefer their kids to watch. It’s gentle stories about empathy and the natural world. Kids will come in and tell them about how they saw a butterfly coming out of a chrysalis. There’s a real, soft, educational side to Puffin Rock. We loved the challenge of making a film on the same terms, one that could hold interest, but also have that gentle tone that everyone associates with Puffin Rock. That was a real challenge for us, to create a story with all the same elements as the little episodes from the show, but it feels more like a cinematic experience and it also might be the first time at the cinema for some of the younger children.”

While the film and show very much have a gentle tone, they also deal with some strong issues in a way that is age-appropriate, such as climate change, environmental issues and, in Puffin Rock and the New Friends, welcoming those who have come from a different place.

"It’s a crazy fact that puffin populations are, even in our lifetimes, could halve or disappear from certain areas, where they have been stalwarts, so it’s a real thing, for puffins in particular, so we dipped into climate change and I’m sure many of our young audience will be aware of it. It’s sort of a subtext and we hear the narrator say that, with climate change, sometimes puffins struggle to find a safe home and burrows and that’s the central theme of the story. The puffins we’re used to, Oona and family and friends, have to help the puffins who have arrived, to make it their home and the flipside is, we’re talking about welcoming people who have trouble in their own homelands. It touches on that idea of welcoming new arrivals and people to live here and that’s something close to our own hearts and a topic everyone is talking about at the moment.”

Puffin Rock has been a worldwide hit, shown across many countries on Netflix and with hundreds of thousands of streams in places like China. Talks are well underway for the film’s distribution across the world.

"You can watch Puffin Rock in every country of the world, apart from North Korea and Syria. We get most of our messages on social media from parent in the States and sometimes from sick people in hospital. The novelty doesn’t wear off when you het those messages.”

While it may be a worldwide phenomenon, John outlined how the DNA of Derry and the North West is in every part of Puffin Rock. Much of the cast hail from Derry.

“My P7 teacher plays the hermit crab and a great friend of mine, Geraldine Doherty, is Mama Puffin. So much of the show’s DNA is here.”

In the series, Oona and Baba were played by Kate McCafferty and John’s daughter, Sally McDaid. In the movie, they are played by the girls’ little sisters Beth McCafferty and Jo McDaid.

All at ‘Dog Ears’ are ‘dead proud’ that the world premiere will be held in Derry on Saturday.

Another premiere will be held in Dublin on Sunday

They’re very excited about the film’s future.

“For so many to be talking about it is so energising. It doesn’t feel so long since we signed off on the final mix and sold it to Japan and Scandinavia and now we’re talking to territories across the world for distribution. We’re really feeling that buzz.”