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Kilkenny Animated festival returns with cartoons and comics

Cartoon Saloon's latest animated feature My Father's Dragon
Cartoon Saloon's latest animated feature My Father's Dragon

The Kilkenny Animated returns from September 30th – October 2nd, 2022, offering a packed programme of visual storytelling that celebrates the creativity and craft of the visual image.

The festival is hosted by five-time Oscar-nominated animation studio, Cartoon Saloon and award-winning Lighthouse Studios, both of whom call Kilkenny home.

Dylan Moran

Highlights of this year’s festival, which is themed around adaptation, include a special live show with projected original illustrations from comedian Dylan Moran; stand-up gag cartoon shows with New Yorker cartoonist Matt Diffee; Irish illustrator and stand up comedian, Aoife Dooley; and a sneak peek behind the scenes of Cartoon Saloon’s latest animated feature in association with Netflix, My Father’s Dragon, with Oscar-nominated director, Nora Twomey.

American author and illustrator Cece Bell will talk about her graphic novel El Deafo, which has been adapted into a much-loved animated series of the same name on Apple TV+, while the creator of Netflix’s The Cuphead Show!, Dave Wasson and the show’s art director Andrea Fernandez will discuss its adaptation from video game to hit TV show.

Elsewhere, Cartoon Saloon co-founder Tomm Moore talks to Irish comics author and artist Declan Shalvey about his acclaimed work on Moon Knight - now a Disney+ series -and his other comics titles.

The events also features a busy programme of workshops and talks for animation professionals, while The Graduate Hub at Kilkenny's Set Theatre will provide a space for recent animation graduates to learn more about animation skills, network with colleagues and view screenings of students’ work.

For non-professional kids and adults alike, there are WolfWalkers mask making workshops, flipbook workshops, comic book inking courses, medieval walking and sketching tours as well as guided tours of the Cartoon Saloon studios.

Kilkenny Animated runs from September 30th – October 2nd, 2022 - find out more here.

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