Derry voice actor 'thrilled' to be part of new animated film

The man behind one of the characters in the popular children's TV show 'Puffin Rock' said it was 'a thrill' to watch the film version at the world premiere in Derry last week.

Retired schoolteacher Jim Craig is the voice of 'Bernie the crab' in the upcoming 'Puffin Rock and the New Friends', a feature-length version of the animated series co-produced by Derry-based creative arts studio Dog Ears.

The show, aimed at kids from 2-5 and narrated by Chris O'Dowd, follows the adventures of young puffin Oona and her little brother Baba as they explore their home, Puffin Island, off the west coast of Ireland. It first aired on RTÉ in 2015 and has since gone on to enjoy global success. For the upcoming film version, Jim reprises the role of 'Bernie', the elderly hermit crab who offers wisdom and guidance to the young puffins.

He said: “The premiere was a full house, with friends and relations and young family members there (his grandchildren Maisie, Daithi, Rose and Johnny were there).

“It was a thrill to see it up on the big screen, in full colour and with full stereo sound; it's humbling when you hear your own voice coming through the speakers.”

The 78-year-old, from Rosemount Avenue in the city, was one of a number of Derry people who successfully auditioned for a part in the original TV show.

The former Steelstown PS teacher has been involved in drama from a young age and featured as a voiceover artist on recordings produced for several Derry churches and museums as well as on programmes for Radio Foyle.

“I actually taught John McDaid (creative director of Dog Ears) when he was in P7,” said Jim, “but that's not why I got the part; it was because I was so good,” he joked.

“John was a very intelligent and enthusiastic pupil and I'm delighted for him and Dog Ears, based up there in Bishop Street, that Puffin Rock has been such a success.

“It's been a big success story for Derry. There's a lot of local involvement in it (the roles played by Kate McCafferty and Sally McDaid (John's daughter) in the TV series have been taken over by their younger sisters, Beth and Jo, for the film).

“I don't have that big a part in it but I did enjoy the whole experience and I hope the film does well. It has very positive themes about the importance of protecting the environment, about welcoming new people into the group and about friendship and families and helping and supporting one another.”

Jim's character, Bernie the hermit crab.

And the modest Derry man said being involved in the smash hit show, available on Netflix and massively popular in the likes of the US, Australia and China, was unlikely to go to his head.

“What sometimes happens,” he said. “Is that I'd get mammies and daddies or grannies and grandas walking up to me, and they've a wee child by the hand and they say to them, 'come over here to you see... that's Bernie the crab', but what the child sees is an elderly man with a white beard and so he or she just looks very puzzled.”

But there was one sharp-witted young fan who rumbled Jim straight away: his granddaughter, Maisie.

He said: “One of the first times I saw myself as Bernie the crab, I was sitting on the sofa with Maisie and the cartoon came on and Bernie comes on the screen and he starts talking.

“Maisie, who was around four at the time, nudged me and said, 'Granda, that's you' - she caught on right away.”
'Puffin Rock and the New Friends', goes on general release on July 14.