Photo:- Dylan Vaughan
Fibre-powered broadband is essential for Kilkenny-based Cartoon Saloon’s operations as animators and storytellers in multiple countries routinely collaborate on the same piece of work at one time.
The independent studio, established in 1999 by Paul Young, Tomm Moore, and Nora Twomey, is now a world renowned animation enterprise with five Academy Award® and two Golden Globe® nominations and many award wins, including BAFTA® and Emmy®.
From its two bases in Kilkenny city, in The Maltings, just off James’ Street and in Glebe Hall on Barrack Street, the independent studio produces brave and beautiful stories in the form of short films, feature films, and TV series.
Catherine Roycroft is Chief Operations Officer and moved back home to Kilkenny 17 years ago to work with Cartoon Saloon. “I’m delighted to have been a part of the massive journey Cartoon Saloon has taken over the years. The power of fibre-powered broadband for us is that it keeps us playing a very strong part on an internation stage at a very high standard.
“We tell our own stories and retain the I.P of our work, which is the heart of Cartoon Saloon. But for us to remain independent, we have to raise money by going out into the world, especially into Europe to find partners who value the work we do and can help find the financing to create it. We need to be able to support and sustain our co-production work which involves many hands across countries like Canada, France, Belgium, Denmark, and Ireland with everyone collaborating in real time on the same piece of a project.
“Fibre broadband underpins all of our infrastructure and is fundamental to us being able to work collaboratively across the world. If we have a five-country co-production for example that is creating content one picture at a time, we need to be able to work at the same speed to support other people in other countries working and adding their hands to our work. The superfast fibre broadband that we now have in Kilkenny underlines and underpins all of that.”
Cartoon Saloon is the founder and host of Kilkenny Animated, an annual festival of visual storytelling incorporating exhibitions, screening, talks, and performances celebrating creativity.
In 2010 the studio’s first feature film, The Secret of Kells, was nominated for an Academy Award® and again in 2015 with Tomm Moore’s follow up feature, Song of the Sea, was also the first animated feature to win Best Picture at the Irish IFTA Academy awards.
Directed by Nora Twomey, Golden Globe® and Academy Award® nominated The Breadwinner was released in November 2017 to huge critical acclaim. The studio had its first short film Academy Award® nomination in 2019 with Late Afternoon written and directed by Louise Bagnall and produced by Nuria Blanco.
In 2020, Wolfwalkers, directed by Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart was also Golden Globe®, Academy Award® and BAFTA® nominated and the studios second feature to win Best Picture at the 2021 Irish IFTA Academy Awards along with many other awards nominations and wins. Wolfwalkers is available worldwide on Apple TV+
Along WolfWalkers you can also view My Brother the Minotaur on Apple TV+. This all-new animated kids and family adventure series is an epic tale of folklore, mystery, and mythic adventure. It was created by Cartoon Saloon & long-time partners Dog Ears in Derry.
Next for Cartoon Saloon is their upcoming feature film JULIÁN. A 4-country co-production, it’s a joyful visually rich animation adventure about a 7-year-old boy who spends a transformative summer with his estranged Abuela (Grandmother) in Brooklyn. It’s due for release in 2027.
