Pre-school animation
39 x 7 minutes
Autumn 2014
Puffin Rock is a pre-school series for 3–5 year olds,
set on a wild and beautiful Irish island.
Packed with exciting adventures and lots of
laughs, Puffin Rock will spark the imaginations of
our young viewers.
Puffin Rock Team
Cartoon Saloon is one of Europe’s
most exciting Animation Studios,
credited with inspiring a revival in
2D animation with Oscar-nominated
The Secret of Kells, BAFTA-nominated
series Skunk Fu! and current feature
length production Song of the Sea.
www.cartoonsaloon.ie
Penguin Children’s is home to the
best-loved children’s brands including
Eric Carle, Peppa Pig, Moshi Monsters,
Wimpy Kid and Roald Dahl. Penguin
is the first new kind of publisher
creating and investing in IP, including
The Snowman and Peter Rabbit and is
currently a co-producer of several tv
projects including Peter Rabbit and
Topsy and Tim.
www.penguin.co.uk
Our confirmed broadcasters:
Dog Ears is a children’s media
company based in Derry, Northern
Ireland, and we develop and tell
stories, on paper and screens of all
sizes. We make books, apps and TV, and
produce innovative events including
the Humdinger! Children’s Book Festival.
www.cheersdogears.com
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Let’s explore. . .
Meet our Puffin family. Our hero is Pip, a
charismatic and adventurous young puffin who
lives in a burrow with Mama and Papa Puffin and
her ever-curious little brother, Baba.
Find out
about the wonderful creatures
that live on the island and the sea and air
around it . . . most of them friendly, but some foe.
Follow Pip and Baba’s exciting adventures
Laugh along with our enthusiastic narrator
Be amazed at the puffin adventures. One
So if you’ve got your
binoculars and raincoat
ready, we’ll begin the tour . . .
on Puffin Rock: a natural adventure playground
full of wide-open spaces to run in, shady hidden
nooks to explore and new friends to discover,
and where the unexpected can be just round the
corner.
minute they’re swooping through the skies, diving
under the waves or exploring an echoey cave, the
next buffeted by high winds, swept along on fast
currents or being chased by a predator. It’s all part
of a normal day on Puffin Rock!
and puffin lover, Chris O’Dowd, whose funny,
playful style adds a unique touch to life on the
island.
Pip
A charming and adventurous
little puffin – and the star of
the show! Plucky and
determined, she is striving
for independence, although
she still has a lot to learn!
In 3 words:
Smart, headstrong, fun.
Most likely to spot her:
Everywhere! Pip loves exploring all
over the island with her brother, Baba.
Traits:
Walks with a quick little hop that gets
faster when she’s excited.
Fun fact:
Puffins can flap their wings up to
400 times a minute, reaching speeds
of 55 mph.
Baba
Pip’s baby brother is amazed
by everything from a bouncy
dandelion head to his
reflection in a stream. He is
not yet able to fly and often
needs a helping hand.
In 3 words:
Curious, adorable, trusting.
Most likely to spot him:
Following Pip and trying to copy
everything she does.
Traits:
Expect some odd sounds to come from
this wee one’s beak.
Fun fact:
Puffin chicks depart for the sea under
the cover of night, out of sight of
predators.
Mossy
A pygmy shrew and Pip’s best
friend. He lives life at a million
miles an hour. Despite being
small, Mossy is utterly fearless,
and he can’t stop eating!
In 3 words:
Excitable, quick, naughty.
Most likely to spot him:
Almost impossible – he’s just so quick.
Traits:
An amazing sense of smell, which he
uses to sniff out food ALL THE TIME!
Fun fact:
A pygmy shrew’s metabolism is so fast
that two hours after a meal they’re
starving again.
Otto
A young owl who thinks he
knows it all – but doesn’t!
Silky
A seal pup who’s eager to please
although mollycoddled by her mum,
who can often be heard calling for her.
In 3 words:
Precocious, lazy, inquisitive.
In 3 words:
Playful, cautious, fun.
Most likely to spot him:
Swooping over the island at night, or fast asleep in a tree
during the day.
Most likely to spot her:
Diving in the waves.
Traits:
Although he thinks he’s an expert on everything, he’s
often wrong, much to everyone’s amusement.
Fun fact:
Owls cannot move their eyes so they must turn their
entire head to see in a different direction.
Traits:
Claps her flippers when she gets excited.
Fun fact:
Seals have sensitive whiskers that help
them to detect prey in murky waters.
The skies, coves and meadows around Puffin Rock are
also home to some fearsome foes and beastly enemies...
Crabby
An elderly crab who lives by the beach playground, he often
falls foul of the Gulls playing knock-and-run on his shell.
In 3 words:
Grumpy, solitary, curmudgeonly.
Most likely to spot him:
Beside the beach. He hasn’t moved
from the same spot for many years.
Traits:
When he’s disturbed, he swipes his
pincers, clicks his claws and goes on a
crazed rant.
Fun fact:
A crab’s teeth are in its stomach.
Flynne
A teenage fox who dislikes
Pip and her friends.
In 3 words:
Haughty, superior, bully.
Most likely to spot her:
Lurking in shady areas.
Traits:
She takes particular delight in teasing
the other animals.
Fun fact:
Foxes are the only type of dog capable
of retracting their claws like cats.
The Gang
of Gulls
The natural enemies of
puffins, the Gulls are a band
of crooks who roam the
island wreaking havoc and
stealing food.
In 3 words:
Noisy, messy, opportunistic.
Most likely to spot them:
Maurading around the island in large
numbers.
Traits:
Bickering and silly one-upmanship
means they never achieve what they
set out to do.
Fun fact:
A small claw halfway up their lower
leg enables them to sit and roost on
high ledges without being blown off.
Other friends on Puffin Rock
Stories from Puffin Rock
Inspired by the adventures of Pip and Baba as they
explore the island with their friends, the stories are
told with humour and drama, and sprinkled with
fun facts to entertain our young audience
Stormy Weather
When Pip and Baba see lots of puffins
on the lighthouse rock, they set off
to explore it, with Pip giving Baba a
little help on the way. But when bad
weather draws in and the older puffins
fly off, Pip and Baba are left stranded.
Unable to fly in the strong winds or
swim in the crashing waves and with
the Gang of Gulls circling Pip needs
help. . . from Mama and Papa who,
hearing her calls, follow the lights to
bring them both home.
Making A Nest
Pip wants to find new bedding for the
nest. Baba wants to help too and Pip
promises that she will take good care
of him. They hop around the island
gathering objects from the sea, the
sky and the land.
Pip’s beak is full of treasures, but
when Baba goes missing, she’s more
concerned about finding him. Then
she spots Baba, just as he finds an
extra-soft feather. SQUAAAWWWWK!
Oh dear, the feather is attached to a
baby gull and his dad is not happy.
RUN! They lose everything they’ve
collected except for one special
feather still in Baba’s beak!
Sea Flight
Diving for fish with Silky and Baba, Pip
is distracted by some puffins taking off
from the sea into the sky. She wants to
do that too!
After several funny attempts (Silky
even carries her along on her nose
and flips her up into the air to help
her) Pip still can’t do it. It’s hard.
But when she sees Baba being bullied
by a bird, without thinking, she rushes
along the water and up into the air,
chasing the bird away before landing
with a huge bellyflop in the waves!
She’s done it . . . and managed to get a
beakful of lovely fish too!
Mossy’s Food
When Pip and Baba help Mossy on a food hunt
round the island, they learn that fish are not
the only food. Rabbits eat berries. Frogs eat
flies. Mossy eats – a lot! And he’s getting really
hungry now. He hasn’t eaten in a whole hour!
Snuffling through the undergrowth, Mossy
is finally on the scent of a juicy beetle…
unfortunately Flynn the fox is on the scent of
food too. What do foxes eat? Shrews!
Pip steps in to save Mossy. She grabs him by
the tail and they race out of Flynn’s way, over
the sand dunes, sliding into the path of some
passing ants. Mossy is delighted. Ants! A feast!
Thank you! Pip and Baba are hungry now too.
But they don’t want ants. Fish are not the only
food, but they are the nicest!

Come rain or shine...
Sometimes bright and breezy, sometimes dull and
dreary and sometimes rumbling and ominous, the
ever-changing weather plays a large part in the
adventures on Puffin Rock.
Seagull Cliff
Muddy Cove
There’s a lot to explore
Underground, overland, through the air or in the sea,
Puffin Rock has lots of places to discover and find adventure!
Sand Dunes
Overground Burrows
Lighthouse
Kelp Forest
Your local guide, Chris O’Dowd!
“I love the whole idea
behind Puffin Rock and the
style of the artwork.
I can’t wait to be involved
in it, but then I do love
anything with puffins.”
Chris O’Dowd
Who better to take you round Puffin
Rock than Irish born and bred actor
Chris O’Dowd? Despite his attempts
to channel David Attenborough as a
narrator, he can’t help commenting on
our heroes’ exploits. His silly jokes,
funny observations and wry
commentary are comforting for
children and provide humour for
mums and dads.
Chris O’Dowd’s credits include –
Film:
Epic (2013)
Bridesmaids (2011)
Gulliver’s Travels (2010)
TV:
Monsters vs Aliens (2013)
Girls (2013)
Moone Boy (2012) Animation by
Cartoon Saloon
The IT Crowd (2006–2010; 2013)
Don’t forget to send a postcard
International Sales and Business Development
Helen Blayney +44(0)7771 597167
[email protected]
Paul Young
The Maltings
Tilbury Place
James Street
Kilkenny
Tel: +353 56 77 64481
[email protected]
Richard Haines
80 Strand
London
WC2R 0RL
Tel: +44 (0)20 7010 4623
[email protected]
Laura Campbell
12–14 The Diamond
Derry-Londonderry
Northern Ireland
BT48 6HW
Tel: +44 (028) 71308640
[email protected]
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