Oscar nomination for animation company co-owned by Boyle native

Boyle native Paul Young is celebrating this week as the animation company he co-founded has been nominated for an Oscar for a third time.

Following on from the success of 'The Secret of Kells' and 'Song of the Sea', Paul's animation company, Cartoon Saloon have received yet another Oscar nomination. The latest release from Cartoon Saloon, which is based in Kilkenny, The Breadwinner, has been nominated for Best Animated Feature Film.

Paul produced the animated features The Secret of Kells and Song of the Sea. He also produced two seasons of Puffin Rock, an original TV series narrated by Chris O’Dowd which airs on Nick Jr, RTE jr and Netflix and has been dubbed in 28 languages.

Song of the Sea picked up Best Film at the 2015 IFTA awards and Cartoon Saloon picked up the Producer of the year tributes at the Cartoon forum 2008 and Cartoon Movie 2009.  He is the current chair of Animation Ireland and also an award winning cartoonist and illustrator.

The Breadwinner was released in the US and Canada in December 2017 to huge critical acclaim. Directed by Cartoon Saloon’s Nora Twomey, it is based on the internationally acclaimed young adult novel of the same name by Canadian author Deborah Ellis. It was co-produced with Canada’s Aircraft Pictures, Luxembourg’s Melusine Productions and in association with Jolie Pas Productions.