For the first time ever, pubcasters TG4 (Ireland), BBC Northern Ireland and S4C (Wales) have joined forces to co-commission an original animated holiday movie, Nollaí. This landmark special will premiere on December 14, broadcasting in Irish on TG4 and Cúla4 (at 17:05), on BBC Two Northern Ireland (at 18:40) and on BBC iPlayer, and in Welsh on S4C (at 17:05).
“We are absolutely delighted to commission TG4’s first-ever animated Christmas special, a truly exciting international co-production with our wonderful partners,” said Máire Uí Choisdealbha, Commissioning Editor, TG4. “This collaboration brings together an extraordinary blend of creative talent and cultural storytelling from Ireland and Wales, resulting in a festive film we believe will enchant families for years to come. It’s a milestone for TG4 and a celebration of the shared cultural imagination that unites our broadcasters. We can’t wait for audiences to experience the magic.”
Karen Kirby, Commissioning Executive for BBC NI, commented, “This is the first collaboration of its kind for BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Gaeilge and we’re delighted to join with our broadcast and funding partners to bring this beautifully animated Christmas story to our audiences on BBC iPlayer and on BBC NI television. Nollaí is a delightful tale of love and belonging, a universal story which can be told in multiple languages and is brilliantly brought to life through the incredible acting talents of the cast, the animation team and musicians. I hope it will be a film that all generations can enjoy together over the Christmas period.”
Sioned Geraint, S4C’s Content Commissioner – Children and Learners, said, “I’m delighted that S4C has been a part of Nollaí or Nolig in Welsh. This is a beautiful and endearing animated film which will resonate with so many of our viewers and be a highlight of our festive schedule for Children and families for years to come. It’s been great working with our Celtic friends again and build on the ever growing relationship between TG4 and S4C, and being able to launch this film in Irish and Welsh on the same day on both channels is perfect.”
Produced by Taunt Studios in Belfast, with pre-production handled by Little Moon in Dublin, the film invites viewers into a magical, heart-warming adventure led by Nollaig — or Nollaí as he’s lovingly known — an ordinary deer with an extraordinary secret. The tri-nation co-production supported by Northern Ireland Screen’s Irish Language Broadcast Fund (ILBF), Screen Fund and Coimisiún na Meán.
Synopsis: Nollaig (or Nollaí for short) is just a regular, run-of-the-mill deer. A little tall for a deer, right enough, but he’s always been told he’s big boned. He’s been living the life since he was on the farm with his human family; best friend and sister, Sadhbh, and Daid. We first meet Nollaí on his birthday — or rather, the day that the family celebrates finding him. He came into Daid and Sadhbh’s lives one wintry night ten years ago, when they found him in the stone circle on the mountain. With none of his kin in sight, they take him in and he becomes part of the family. Years pass; Nollaí contends with his giant size in a human world but otherwise loves the community he lives in. Then, one day, everything is flipped on its head as he accidentally stumbles across a surprise that reveals he is quite possibly the last living Megaloceros giganteus (a.k.a. the extinct giant deer) in existence!
This discovery triggers adventure, with Nollaí and Sadhbh embarking on a quest back to the stone cairn in search of his origins. Along the way they bump into Stoca, a slightly chaotic Christmas-loving bat who is more than happy to join them on their journey. Together they arrive at the stone circle and discover a portal to another world — the realm of the giant deer! Nollaí passes through and meets a friendly giant deer who welcomes him home. But before he can find out more, the portal starts to close. Nollaí can stay in the land of the giant deer — the place he has been longing to find — but that means waiting a year before he can see his human family again. Sadhbh and Stoca, who are waiting on the other side, lose hope for his return but at the last minute Nollaí tears through the portal and reunites with them. He might not be able to explore the new found realm today, but he knows he can come back, when he’s ready.
“Nollaí first came into existence when our producer and writer at the time Grace Loughrey came to us with an idea for a Christmas short, about a young Irish Elk going on a journey of self-discovery,” said director Tom Getty of Taunt Studios. “As huge fans of all things Christmas, we immediately loved it and worked together to brainstorm where we could go with the project. Fast forward a few weeks and we had a first draft of the script written by Grace and the ball really started rolling.” The Taunt Studios team working on the film also included producer Aisling McElroy, development producer Fiona McLaughlin and character designer Rubes Kissack.
“All of us at Taunt have had such a wonderful time creating our little film Nollaí,” Getty added. “As a bunch of Christmas lovers, it was a dream come true to be able to spend the last year bringing this to life. None of this would have been possible without the support of BBC NI, TG4 and S4C, as well as our funders ILBF, Northern Ireland Screen and Coimisiún na Meán. We hope you all like it as much as we do.”
Inspired by classic Christmas films such as The Snowman, Taunt Studios created the animation for Nollaí using various different 3D software, and used Unreal Engine 5 to render the film. The real-time rendering game engine allowed the team to render the film much quicker and work more collaboratively on the production.
Working with Taunt Studios, Little Moon covered a wide range of pre-production tasks, notably the storyboarding, the majority of the character design and additional world-building elements such as designing and building several of the 3D environments. The crew at Little Moon was led by producers Vanessa Robinson, Eoghan Garvey, David McCamley and development producer Lisa O’Connor.
“We are delighted to support the production of Nollaí through our Sound & Vision Funding Scheme which is all about supporting the creation of new, innovative Irish language content that will be enjoyed by audiences young and old,” said Rónán Ó Domhnaill, Media Development Commissioner at Coimisiún na Meán.
Áine Walsh, Chief Language & Cultural Officer and Head of Irish Language Broadcast Fund at Northern Ireland Screen, noted, “In our 20th anniversary year, the Irish Language Broadcast Fund is proud to support Nollaí, the first ever Irish-language animated Christmas special made in the North. It showcases the ambition and talent of our local creative teams, who brought skill and collaboration to every stage of the project. This festive story, steeped in Irish folklore, will delight young audiences and offer the whole family a shared Christmas experience in Irish. We’re thrilled it will be seen on BBC NI, TG4, Cúla4 and S4C, highlighting the strength of high-quality content being created locally for families across Ireland and beyond.”
Voice Cast:
- Nollaí / Nolig — Irish & English: Jude Hartigan (Sol) | Welsh: Osian Snelson
- Sadhbh / Siân — Irish & English: Blaithín McCusker (Dar le Daideo) | Welsh: Marged Llwyd (Y Ŵhŵs)
- Stoca / Siriol — Irish & English: Mary Flanigan (Soft Border Patrol) | Welsh: Clare Hingott (Stella)
- Daid — Irish & English: Conor Mac Neill (Belfast) | Welsh: Dion Davies (Pobol y Cwm)
- Oisín / Osian — Irish & English: Dannan Flynn (Dar le Daideo) | Welsh: Albi Morgan
- Giant Deer / Cawr-Garw — Irish & English: Niall Mac Eachmharcaigh (Ros na Rún) | Welsh: Dafydd Emyr (Casualty)
