Cartoon Saloon’s latest feature film WolfWalkers, directed by Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart, made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival to rave reviews with many reviewers calling it “the best animated film of 2020”. WolfWalkers follows a young apprentice hunter, Robyn Goodfellowe, as she journeys to Ireland with her father to wipe out the last wolf pack. While exploring the forbidden lands outside the city walls, Robyn befriends a free-spirited girl, Mebh, a member of a mysterious tribe rumored to have the ability to transform into wolves by night. As they search for Mebh’s missing mother, Robyn uncovers a secret that draws her further into the enchanted world of the Wolfwalkers and risks turning into the very thing her father is tasked to destroy.
Covid regulations allowing, WolfWalkers will have its Irish premiere at Kilkenny Animated with members of the cast and crew in attendance, with limited public screenings of the film over the weekend. Following this, WolfWalkers will be released in Irish and UK cinemas on 30th October with previews from 26th October.
Dorg Van Dango, a co-production between Cartoon Saloon and WildBrain, is now airing on Family Channel in Canada, Nickelodeon UK & Nickelodeon Latin America and brand new episodes are airing on RTÉ three times a week.
Puffin Rock: The Movie has moved into its next stages of production with voice recording sessions taking place in Ireland with the cast. Despite Covid-19 restrictions production is moving ahead and the movie is still on target for it’s 2021 release.
The studio is continuing to hire for a variety of roles on their latest feature film and new series in production with the majority of crew continuing to work from home.
Finally, the dates for Kilkenny Animated Festival were announced this month. Following strict Covid-19 guidelines, the festival will take place in Kilkenny from 2nd to 4th October with the highlight being the Irish premiere of WolfWalkers and a panel discussion with the directors. There will be plenty to see and do at the festival with workshops, the ever popular walking and sketching tours with some of the artists who worked on WolfWalkers and a spectacular WolfWalkers themed projection mapping on Kilkenny Castle.
More information can be found on their website www.kilkennyanimated.com