Derry's 'Dog Ears' nominated for four Irish Animation Awards for 'Puffin Rock and the New Friends'

PICTURED ABOVE: At the Puffin Rock Premiere (left to right): Lorraine Lordan, Assistant Director; Jeremy Purcell, Director; Beth McCafferty who plays Oona; Eva Whittaker who plays Isabelle; John McDaid, Producer; Nora Twomey, Producer; and Fionnuala Deane, Executive Producer.

Puffin Rock and the New Friends, the movie from Derry studio Dog Ears and Kilkenny’s Cartoon Saloon has been nominated in four categories at the Irish Animation Awards, including Best Feature/Special and Best Script.

The film has been released theatrically already in Ireland, the UK, and a number of international territories and was released in cinemas last week in Japan during their Golden Week, their major spring holiday. 

The movie is the first animated feature film ever produced in Northern Ireland and has gone on to rave reviews, described by the Guardian as “one of the few cartoons that parents of pre-school kids can enjoy too… a gorgeous wholesome delight.” 

John McDaid, Creative Director of Dog Ears said: “It’s an honour to have this recognition from the industry here in Ireland, and we’re in some amazing company. Puffin Rock has been at the heart of our work in Dog Ears since we began, and the care we take in creating Puffin Rock stories shines through in the movie. Along with our friends and partners in Cartoon Saloon, we’re hugely proud of making a movie for our pre-school fans, which touches on themes which have emotional resonance for them and their families.

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"The nominations for our film are a testament to the long-term working relationship between both studios, one big Puffin family, and the support we have received from Northern Ireland Screen and Screen Ireland along the way.”

Ireland’s globally renowned animation sector will gather together to celebrate creativity and innovation at the 2025 Irish Animation Awards in Galway on Saturday May 24th. The nominees were announced by Animation Ireland, the representative trade body for animation studios across the island of Ireland.

Oona has been making appearances this week in Tokyo with Jeremy Purcell, Lorraine Lordam, and Enora Le Luherne from the Irish production teams who are in Japan for pre-release publicity work. Puffin Rock and the New Friends was funded with support from Screen Ireland and Northern Ireland Screen.

It’s a big year for the Puffin Rock team. W5, the Belfast-based discovery and science centre, has recently announced a new creative partnership with Puffin Rock, which also made its debut on the BBC in February, with Seasons 1 and 2 now available on iPlayer as well as being available on RTÉjr, the RTÉ Player and on Netflix.

Dog Ears and Cartoon Saloon have worked together seamlessly on Puffin Rock since development in 2012, creating a team working cross-border which has retained many key members over that time, including Jeremy Purcell, the Director of the movie. Film production handled in Dog Ears included Script, Music, Post-Production and many of the Voice Cast.

Derry schoolgirls Kate McCafferty and Sally McDaid played Oona and Baba in the first 2 seasons of Puffin Rock and were replaced by their younger sisters Beth McCafferty and Jo McDaid for the movie.

Beth McCafferty, Derry Voice Over Artist

The Irish Animation Awards are a biennial event, celebrating more than 2,500 highly skilled animation professionals who make and create across the island of Ireland, from Dublin to Galway, Derry to Cork.

Irish animated films and series are enjoyed by children and adults in 182 countries worldwide, with Irish animation studios and their workforces in huge demand internationally, valued for their creativity, craft, professionalism and commitment. 

The movie crew of Puffin Rock.

The Irish Animation Awards 2025 are made possible with the support of Primary Sponsor Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, and RTÉjr. With thanks to Coimisiún na Meán, Enterprise Ireland, Cultural & Creative Industries Skillnet, Corpay, Northern Ireland Screen, TG4, Aon, Brophy Gillespie, Creative Europe Ireland Media, ERA, Gorilla Post Production, Nickelodeon, Milkshake, Menagerie Media Group, National Talent Academy Animation, Toon Boom Animation and Tyrell.