The Kilkenny-based studio got the nod for Wolfwalkers in the best Animated Feature Film category – their fourth nomination in the classification in recent times and their fifth Oscar nomination in total.
The Apple Original film tells the story of Robyn, a young apprentice hunter, who comes to Ireland with her father to wipe out the last wolf pack. With much of the animation inspired by Celtic art, Wolfwalkers is considered a triumph of creative collaboration and Irish storytelling.
Written and directed by locals Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart, the animated gem was created in the medieval city of Kilkenny, where the story is also set.
Although the team are not able to travel to the Oscars in LA, Hollywood will bring the red carpet to Kilkenny. The Academy is pulling out all the stops organising a remote, live broadcast for the Irish nominees to show off their hometown – and the city in which Wolfwakers is set – to the world.
Cartoon Saloon have also begun hosting a new festival of visual storytelling called Kilkenny Animated.
Featuring cartoons, animation and illustration in a series of exhibitions, talks, performances, workshops and experiences that celebrate the creativity and craft of the visual image, the next festival is pencilled in for October 2021.
The Irish film will compete against Onward, Over the Moon, A Shaun The Sheep Movie: Farmageddon and Soul at the 93rd Academy Awards, but with many thinking it a two-horse race between Wolfwalkers and Pixar’s Soul, this could be the Kilkenny studio’s best chance yet to finally land the coveted Oscar.