Puffin Rock And The New Friends starring Chris O’Dowd, Amy Huberman, Eva Whittaker and Beth McCafferty holds world premiere at Moviebowl in Derry

The family film features a host of Irish talent including actors Chris O’Dowd (My Father’s Dragon), Amy Huberman (A Cat Called Jam), Eva Whittaker (Wolfwalkers) and Beth McCafferty in the lead role, following in the footsteps of her older sister Kate who originally played Oona in the award-winning Puffin Rock television series.

Puffin Rock And The New Friends has been created in a collaboration between Derry-based animation studio Dog Ears and Kilkenny based, Academy award nominated studio Cartoon Saloon.

Based on the award-winning television series Puffin Rock, the film is the first animated feature film to be produced in Northern Ireland.

Celebrating Ireland’s magnificent natural environment with themes of belonging, courage, and friendship, the film 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 and puts the entire island in danger.

John McDaid, Creative Director of Dog Ears said: “Bringing Puffin Rock back home for this premiere is a heart-warming experience and something we are so proud to be able to do. Our little puffins have stolen the hearts of many children and their parents and its amazing to see Puffin Rock grow. We’ve had a great time working in partnership with the formidable team at Cartoon Saloon and I’m also very grateful to Northern Ireland Screen who have supported us and championed us from the very early days of Puffin Rock. For the first animated feature film from Northern Ireland to come out of Derry, it shows how much talent there is in the city and that it can become a real creative hub with the right support.”

Speaking about the film, director Jeremy Purcell, whose credits include the animated TV series Joe and Jack as well as the original Puffin Rock series, said: “The Puffin Rock TV series will always have a very special place in my professional heart. Getting to go back to the Puffin Rock island for the feature film, and tell Isabelle’s story as she moves to this new place and figures out what makes a home was a wonderful experience”.

The screenplay was written by Sara Daddy who was Head Writer on the original television series. The film is produced by Paul Young, Tomm Moore, Nora Twomey from Cartoon Saloon, and John McDaid and Fionnuala Deane from Dog Ears, with the support of Northern Ireland Screen, Screen Ireland, RTÉ, and BBC Alba.

Wildcard Distribution will release the new film Puffin Rock And The New Friends in cinemas across Ireland on Friday July 14. International sales for the film are being handled by WestEnd Films.