Cartoon Saloon

Cartoon Saloon is an Irish animation film short film and television studio based in Kilkenny which provides film TV and short film services. The studio is best known for its animated feature films The Secret of Kells, Song of the Sea, The Breadwinner and Wolfwalkers. Their works have received four Academy Award nominations, their first three feature length works all received nominations for Best Animated Feature[2][3][4][5][6][7] and one for Best Animated Short Film (Late Afternoon).[8][9][10] The company also developed the cartoon series Skunk Fu!, Puffin Rock, Dorg Van Dango and Vikingskool. As of 2020 the studio employs 300 animators.

Cartoon Saloon
TypePrivate
IndustryMedia and Entertainment
Founded1999
FounderPaul Young
Tomm Moore
Nora Twomey
Headquarters
Kilkenny
,
Ireland
ProductsAnimated feature films TV series Short films
Number of employees
300 (2020)[1]
Websitecartoonsaloon.ie

History

Cartoon Saloon was established in Kilkenny during 1999 by Tomm Moore, Nora Twomey,[11] and Paul Young.[12] The three were all alumni of the Ballyfermot College of Further Education’s animation degree course.[13] Cartoon Saloon began working on a trailer for its first feature film, The Secret of Kells, that same year.[14] However, the film did not enter full production until 2005; the company animated corporate work such as advertisements as they searched for funding.[14] Meanwhile the studio of 12 animators relied on commercial and corporate work including web-site design and CD ROM production with Paul Young focusing on illustration whilst Tomm Moore undertook the animation.[15]

Both The Secret of Kells and the studio’s second feature Song of the Sea were inspired by the The Thief and the Cobbler and Mulan while the founders were in university.[16] Tomm Moore, the director of both films, said "Some friends in college and I were inspired by Richard Williams' unfinished masterpiece The Thief and the Cobbler and the Disney movie Mulan, which took indigenous traditional art as the starting point for a beautiful style of 2D animation. I felt that something similar could be done with Irish art."[17] A 2001 meeting with Les Armateurs proved instrumental in the effort to secure funding for The Secret of Kells, and the company helped in the production of the final film.[18]

Logo prior to 2018

The success and Oscar nomination of the film in 2009 led to major offers for Cartoon Saloon, but the studio chose to remain independent.[19] This led to a difficult time financially for the company for a few years with the partners having to take out personal loans to keep the studio afloat.[20]

Since its founding, Cartoon Saloon has grown into a multi-award-winning animation and illustration design studio.[21]

As of 2019 Cartoon Saloon is in pre-production of its TV series, Dorg van Dango, Tomm Moore’s third feature Wolfwalkers, and Nora Twomey's second feature for Netflix, My Father's Dragon.[22]

Services

The studio provides animation, illustration and design services for clients ranging from Disney to BBC to Cartoon Network.[23]

Cartoon Saloon also provided the graphics for the successful Emperor of the Irish exhibition at Trinity College Dublin, in 2014.[24]

Filmography

Released films
# Title Release date Budget Gross Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic
1 The Secret of Kells± 3 March 2009
19 March 2010 (US)		 $8 million[25] $3.5 million[25] 90%[26] 81[27]
2 Song of the Sea± 19 December 2014 (US)
10 July 2015 (UK & Ireland)		 $7.5 million $4.4 million[28] 99%[29] 85[30]
3 The Breadwinner± 17 November 2017 (US)
25 May 2018 (UK & Ireland)		 $10 million $4.4 million[31] 95%[32] 78[33]
4 Wolfwalkers[34][35][36] 30 October 2020 (UK Limited)
13 November 2020 (US Limited)
4 December 2020 (Ireland Limited)
11 December 2020 (Apple TV+)[37]		 TBA $229,041[38] 99%[39] 87[40]

Upcoming films
# Title Release Ref.
5 My Father's Dragon 2021 [41]

Short films
# Title Release date
1From Darkness13 July 2002 (2002-07-13)
2Backwards Boy (also known as Cúilín Dualach)16 October 2004 (2004-10-16)
3Old Fangs1 July 2009 (2009-07-01)
4Somewhere Down the Line12 July 2014 (2014-07-12)
5The Ledge End of Phil: From Accounting15 November 2014 (2014-11-15)
6Late Afternoon±[42]2018 (2018)

7 there’s a monster in my kitchen 2020

Notes

± Oscar nominee

Television series
# Title Premiere date End date Network
1Skunk Fu!20072008CBBC
2Puffin Rock2015[43]2016RTÉjr/Nick Jr./Netflix
3Ellie the Ace[44]
4Dorg Van Dango[45][46][47]2020Nickelodeon/Family Channel, co-produced with Wildbrain
5Vikingskool[48]2021Disney+
6Wolfwalkers2021Apple TV+

Television Pilots
Title Note
Eddie of the Realms Eternal[49]Pitched to Amazon

Cooperative works
Year Title Role Notes
2010 Santa's Apprentice[50] Co-production Animation production by Gaumont Alphanim
2012 Moon Man[51][52] Co-production Animation production by Schesch Filmkreation
2014 The Prophet Segment (On Love) Animation production by Ventanarosa

References
  1. Deegan, Gordon (4 January 2018). "Profits soar at Cartoon Saloon animation studio in Kilkenny". Independent.ie. Independent News & Media plc. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  2. Up Wins Animated Feature: 2010 Oscars
  3. 2010|Oscars.org
  4. "Coco" wins Best Animated Feature-Oscars on YouTube
  5. 2018|Oscars.org
  6. "Big Hero 6" winning Best Animated Feature Film-Oscars on YouTube
  7. 2015|Oscars.org
  8. Cartoon Saloon receive fourth Oscar nomination-Kilkenny People
  9. "Bao" wins Best Animated Short Film-Oscars on YouTube
  10. 2019|Oscars.org
  11. O’Connell, Mark. "Cartoon Saloon and the New Golden Age of Animation". The New Yorker. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  12. Strike, Joe (29 May 2008). "The Smell of Success: 'Skunk Fu!' Conquers the World". Animation World Network. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  13. Keegan, Rebecca (9 January 2015). "Animator Tomm Moore lives the dream with a 'Song' in his heart". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  14. Cohen, Karl (16 March 2010). "'The Secret of Kells' - What is this Remarkable Animated Feature?". Animation World Network. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  15. Roddy Flynn; Tony Tracy (9 August 2019). Historical Dictionary of Irish Cinema. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 83–. ISBN 978-1-5381-1958-7.
  16. Desowitz, Bill (15 December 2009). "Moore Illuminates 'The Secret of Kells'". Animation World Network. Archived from the original on 1 April 2019.
  17. Cohen, Karl (16 March 2010). "The Secret of Kells – What is this Remarkable Animated Feature?". Animation World Network. Archived from the original on 16 October 2012.
  18. Clarke, Donald (7 March 2009). "Book of Kells hits the big screen". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 18 August 2019.
  19. Brady, Tara (10 July 2015). "Tomm Moore, Celtic cartoonist with two Oscar nods". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 21 August 2015.
  20. EY Entrepreneur of the Year industry finalist: Paul Young, Cartoon Saloon
  21. "Who We Are". cartoonsaloon.ie.
  22. About
  23. Animated-in-Ireland.pdf
  24. "Emperor of the Irish". Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin, Ireland. 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  25. "The Secret of Kells (2010)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb.com, Inc. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  26. "The Secret of Kells (2010)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  27. "The Secret of Kells Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  28. "Song of the Sea (2013)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb.com, Inc. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  29. "Song of the Sea (2014)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  30. "Song of the Sea Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  31. "The Breadwinner". Box Office Mojo. IMDb.com, Inc. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  32. "The Breadwinner (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  33. "The Breadwinner Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  34. Connelly, Brendon (11 November 2015). "Wolfwalkers: first pics of new film". Den of Geek!. Matthew Sullivan-Pond. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  35. Milligan, Mercedes (30 May 2019). "Cartoon Saloon Launches Rights Division, Teams with Dentsu USA on 'Wolfwalkers'". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  36. Cartoon Saloon's Animated 'Wolfwalkers' Battled Covid-19 in Ireland|IndieWire
  38. "Wolfwalkers (2020)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb.com, Inc. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  39. "Wolfwalkers (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  40. "Wolfwalker Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  41. NetfIix’s New Animation Slate Includes Craig McCracken, Nora Twomey, and Jorge Gutierrez (Analysis)-Cartoon Brew
  42. WATCH: Oscar-Nominated Irish Animation Short Film 'Late Afternoon'|Irish Tatler
  43. Zahed, Ramin (22 September 2013). "Cartoon Saloon's 'Puffin Rock' Lands on Nick Jr". Animation Magazine. Jean Thoren. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  44. Amidi, Amid (4 May 2015). "First Look: Cartoon Saloon's 'Ellie the Ace' Series". Cartoon Brew. Cartoon Brew, LLC. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  45. New original kids’ series, co-produced with Cartoon Saloon, expected to roll out in 2020, Skwigly
  46. Dorg Van Dango|Screen Ireland
  47. Amir Nasrabadi Gives Us the Scoop on the WildBrain-Cartoon Saloon Co-Pro, ‘Dorg Van Dango’|Animation Magazine
  48. Zahed, Ramin (13 June 2018). "Cartoon Saloon Goes Back in Time with 'Vikingskool'". Animation Magazine. Jean Thoren. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  49. Spangler, Todd (16 October 2015). "Amazon Studios 6 Fall Kids' Pilots Include 'If You Give a Mouse a Cookie'". Variety. Variety Media, LLC. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  50. Lehmann, Megan (8 December 2011). "Santa's Apprentice: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Eldridge Industries, LLC. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  51. Simon, Alissa (11 October 2012). "Review: 'Moon Man'". Variety. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  52. "Cartoon Saloon's Moon Man to Screen at the IFI Family Film Festival". Irish Film Board. 5 July 2012. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 25 January 2017.

See also

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