Created by Lindsay J. Sedgwick Directed by Simon Crane Country of origin Ireland Network RTÉ2 Director Simon Crane Language English | Written by Andrew Brenner Composer(s) John Atkinson First episode date 3 May 2011 Number of episodes 40 Genre Child Cast Paul Tylak | |
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Starring Aimée Richardson
Maureen Ward
Bradley Burke
Paul Tylak | ||
Punky ep 01 peace and quiet
Punky is an Irish animated television series created by Lindsay J. Sedgwick and produced by Dublin based Monster Animation and Design. The series features the lead character as having Down Syndrome, with the intention of being the first animated series to do so
Contents
Punky
Development
The show's creative director is Jason Tammemagi, who has been involved in a number of animated shows for pre-school children, including Fluffy Gardens.
The series is produced with the support of Down Syndrome Ireland, who also reviewed material during development and production of the series. The series is supported by investment incentives from the Government of Ireland (Section 481), in association with RTÉjr, with the participation of the Irish Film Board and the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland’s Sound & Vision Fund. A second series (also 20 x 7 mins) was launched in February 2014.
Characters
Punky relates stories from the everyday life of a six-year-old girl who has Down Syndrome. Punky is characterised as a happy little girl who, as explained in the introduction of the show, loves "music", "dancing" and "hugs". She is shown to like to play with her older brother, "Con", and her dog, "Rufus". She also tries to make her grandmother "Cranky", "just a little less cranky".
The lead character is voiced by Aimée Richardson, a 29-year-old Dublin actress who has Down Syndrome.
Broadcast
Negotiations are at an advanced stage with a number of TV networks in the UK, Australia, Germany and Sweden to screen the show. An Irish language version of the show is also in production, to be broadcast on TG4.