"Puffin Rock and the New Friends", the latest feature film from the award-winning Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon has been released in Irish cinemas.
Based on the award-winning television series "Puffin Rock", the movie hit Irish theaters on Friday, July 14, and has become the first animated feature film to be produced in Northern Ireland.
Working from a script crafted by Sara Daddy, Cartoon Saloon has teamed up with Derry-based studio Dog Ears to convert the incredibly popular series into a feature-length film.
Featuring Chris O'Dowd and Amy Huberman, the film expands on the popular series that follows Oona the Atlantic puffin and her little brother Baba.
Puffin Rock celebrates Ireland's magnificent natural environment and features themes of belonging, courage, and friendship.
The new feature film also follows some of the most popular characters from the tv series, including Oona, Baba, May (the rabbit) and Mossy (Eurasian pygmy shrew), who are joined by new characters when Isabelle the tufted puffin, Phoenix, Isabelle's adopted brother, and Marvin the otter 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.
Director Jeremy Purcell said it was a "wonderful experience" to convert the popular tv series into a feature film.
"The Puffin Rock TV series will always have a very special place in my professional heart," Purcell said in a statement. "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."
John McDaid, producer on behalf of Dog Ears, described the new film as a "beautiful movie" that is "full of adventure and fun".
"I know families and kids have been looking forward to this new story, one where our little puffins make some new arrivals feel at home, and work together to protect their natural habitat, themes at the very heart of Puffin Rock."