Dublin schoolboy becomes voice of 'Henry' for RTEjr series
A YOUNG Dubliner is the voice behind a brand new animation series that makes its debut today on RTEjr.
Created and produced by Irish animation company Wiggleywoo, The Day Henry Met is a new series aimed at encouraging children to use their imagination and discover the world around them through play and adventure.
Henry is being voiced by Darragh Malone (10), from Clonsilla, and the show is being broadcast daily on RTEjr.
Darragh told the Herald that he was looking forward to seeing it.
"I really like the animation in it. It is very good and I think other children will enjoy it too," he said.
His mum Linda (45) said that Darragh had a lot of fun doing the series.
He was given a script and then he went into the studio for the recording, she said.
"He is a student at the Billie Barry Stage School," she added.
"Wiggleywoo came to the school looking for a couple of children to take part in a pilot that they were doing. So Darragh was involved in that pilot," Linda explained.
"When they decided to make The Day Henry Met (inset), they contacted Lorraine Barry, and asked could they have Darragh to voice Henry for the pilot. So he did that, and he was subsequently offered the role when the series was being made.
"So he was absolutely thrilled," Linda said.
Darragh is set to go into fifth class in September in St Mochtas in Clonsilla. He has an older brother, Adam (13), and younger sister, Kate (6).
Meanwhile, RTE star Oliver Callan and his Callan's Kicks co-star Lisa Garvey also feature in the voiceover for the series.
"This is the first time I've been involved in an animation project and it was bundles of fun," said Oliver.
The new animated series, which is aimed at pre-schoolers, is already generating huge international interest.
The show, which is Wiggleywoo's first pre-school series, has been pre-sold to key stations around the world, including Nick Jr, as well as broadcasters in Canada, Finland, Sweden and, most recently, Australia.
Meanwhile, earlier this year, the show won Best European Work at the prestigious Cartoons on the Bay Pulcinella Awards in Italy.
RTE executive producer Pauline Macnamara said every episode explores the fun new stuff pre-schoolers meet in any day.
There are a total of 26 episodes in the series.
The show will be broadcast on RTEjr at 8.55am and 2.55pm daily.