''Puffin Rock'' is an Irish animated

children's television series Children's television series (or children's television shows) are Television show, television programs designed specifically for Child, children. They are typically characterised by easy-going content devoid of sensitive or adult themes and are ...

that aired on

RTÉjr RTÉjr is an Irish free-to-air children's television channel operated by state-owned broadcaster RTÉ. The channel mainly targets a demographic of 2- to 7-year-olds, but some cartoons for older children also air. The channel is part of RTÉ ...

. Narrated by

Chris O'Dowd Christopher O'Dowd (born 9 October 1979) is an Irish actor and comedian. He received wide attention as Roy Trenneman, one of the lead characters in the Channel 4 comedy ''The IT Crowd'', which ran for four seasons from 2006 to 2010. He has star ...

, the series premiered on 12 January 2015 and is co-produced by Irish company Cartoon Saloon, Northern Irish company Dog Ears and American company

Penguin Random House Penguin Random House Limited is a British-American multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, with the merger of Penguin Books and Random House. Penguin Books was or ...

. It originally aired on

in Ireland and Nick Jr. in the United Kingdom, with reruns airing on Nick Jr. Too and Channel 5's

Milkshake! ''Milkshake!'' (stylised as milkshake!) is a British Children's television series, children's television programming block on 5 (British TV channel), 5. Originally launched in 1997, it is currently aimed at children aged 2 to 7. History Th ...

strand (as of 2025, the series airs on

CBeebies CBeebies is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content targeted for children aged six year ...

) The series initially ran for two series from 2015 until 2016, with an upcoming third series being produced for 2025.

Plot

Based on Puffin Island, situated off the Irish coast, the series follows a young puffin named Oona and her baby brother Baba as they explore their world.

Characters

* Oona (voiced by Kate McCafferty) is a female

Atlantic Puffin The Atlantic puffin ('), also known as the common puffin, is a species of seabird in the auk family (biology), family. It is the only puffin native to the Atlantic Ocean; two related species, the tufted puffin and the horned puffin being found ...

and the

main character A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...

of the series. She is preschool-aged and treats every day as a new opportunity. * Baba (voiced by Sally McDaid) is Oona's little brother. He is easily distracted and can be slightly clumsy at times. Baba says "Ba ba boooo!" at the end of the theme song. * Mama Puffin (voiced by Geraldine Cole) is Oona and Baba's mother. * Papa Puffin (voiced by Brian McMonagle) is Oona and Baba's father. * Mossy (voiced by Darragh Gargan) is Oona's best friend, a brown Eurasian Pygmy Shrew. He lives in a tree stump on the island and is usually focused on food. * May (voiced by Anna McDaid) is an energetic

rabbit Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also includes the hares), which is in the order Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore, a prey animal, a domesticated ...

who lives in a burrow on the island. She is very competitive and regularly challenges Oona to races. * Silky (voiced by Laura McCallan) is a grey-coloured

harbor seal The harbor (or harbour) seal (''Phoca vitulina''), also known as the common seal, is a true seal found along temperate and Arctic marine coastlines of the Northern Hemisphere. The most widely distributed species of pinniped (walruses, eared sea ...

pup who lives in a nearby lagoon. She joins Oona and Baba on their underwater adventures. * Otto (voiced by Brenn Doherty) is a green

owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...

who normally appears slightly uncoordinated. He is an expert flier and shares flying tips with Oona. * Bernie (voiced by Jim Craig) is an elderly

hermit crab Hermit crabs are anomuran Decapoda, decapod crustaceans of the superfamily (taxonomy), superfamily Paguroidea that have adapted to occupy empty scavenged mollusc shells to protect their fragile exoskeletons. There are over 800 species of hermit c ...

who enjoys telling tales of his youth to Oona and Baba. * Flynne (voiced by Orna Canning) is a

red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe and Asia, plus ...

who does not like to be bothered but has shown from time to time that she has a caring heart. * Spikey is a baby common hedgehog who Baba enjoys playing with. * Chloe is a migrating

Arctic Tern The Arctic tern (''Sterna paradisaea'') is a tern in the family Laridae. This bird has a circumpolar breeding distribution covering the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions of Europe (as far south as Brittany), Asia, and North America (as far south ...

who visits Puffin Rock during the summer.

Episodes

Season 1 (2015)

#Puffin Practice / The Mystery Egg / To See the Moon - Oona tries to teach her brother Baba how to act like a grown-up puffin; Oona, Baba, and Mossy must help an egg find its parents; Oona wants to stay up late to see a super moon. #The Shiny Shell / Friendly Flynne / A Feather Bed - A shell that Baba finds attracts seagulls; Flynne the fox tries to prove that she is nice; Oona and Baba find bedding for the Puffins' burrow. #Beach Rescue / Lost Berries / Night Lights - A baby seagull gets trapped in fishing line; Mossy needs to collect berries for the Shrew Crew; Oona makes a trip to the sea at night. #Pond Life / Bird Detective / Bernie's Shell - Oona has to keep Baba clean; Oona learns about seagulls' behavior; Oona and Silky find Bernie a new shell. #Hop, Skip and Bump / Bouncing Back / A Noisy Neighbor - May teaches Oona how to hop "like the experts"; Oona and Silky have trouble finding a game that they both enjoy; A noisy starling bird keeps Oona awake. #Stormy Weather / Rock Music / Baba's Adventure - During a storm, Oona and Baba are stuck on a cliff; Oona practices singing with her mother; Baba finds his way home, with the help of his friends. #The Burrow Race / Silky's Slide / Ruffled Feathers - Oona and May race each other to discover who is fastest; After a storm, Silky is left stranded at sea; Oona, Baba, and Otto search for a white egret. #Finding Bernie / The Foggy Day / Run, Flap, Fly - Oona and Silky help Bernie get home safely; Mossy and the Shrew Crew help Oona and Baba find their way home in the fog; Oona learns a new skill. #Follow the Puffin / Spot the Puffin / The Sad Whale - Oona is put in charge of the Shrew Crew; Oona feels self-conscious about her multicolored beak; Oona and Silky must find a whale's family. #The Fast Day / Baba's Friend / Flying High - Oona and Baba try to keep up with a speedy moth; Baba befriends a green caterpillar; Oona and Otto practice flying. #Silky's Seahorses / Keeping Cosy / Baba's Picnic - Silky finds seahorses in the rock pool; Mossy learns how to keep warm on a cold day; Baba and Mossy set up a picnic for their friends. #Cave Camping / The Empty Shell / Three's a Crowd - The Puffin family visits an underwater cave; The red crabs are put in danger; Pip feels left out of Baba and Pop's activities. #Mossy Goes Solo / Flooded Burrow / Daytime Sleepover - Mossy leaves the Shrew Crew; The Puffins must stay with May after their burrow floods; Oona and Baba sleep at Otto's home.

Season 2 (2016)

#Back to the Pond / The Fallen Rocks / Homesick Hoglet - The Puffin family guide a friendly frog to the pond; Oona and her pals help free a trapped Bernie; Baba and baby hedgehog Spiky go exploring. #Silky and the Octopus / The Salmon Leap / The Great Gull - Oona and Silky have an octopus adventure!; Otto tries to get his siblings to fall asleep; Oona and Baba protect a baby seagull from the Great Gull. #Baba-sitting / The Puffin Way / Bernie and the Bee - It's spring and Baba wants to wake Spiky from his winter nap!; Oona learns about the slow and steady "Puffin Way"; Baba and Oona rescue a tired bee. #Find the Owls / Mossy's Flea / Dinner at Bernie's - Otto and the puffins search for the hidden Pip and Pop; Mossy's flea pal Fred peps up a playdate; Oona helps Bernie prepare for a special dinner. #The Dung Beetle / Oona's Fishing Trip / Spot the Ladybird - Oona and Baba help a poop-rolling dung beetle build a nest; On a windy day, Papa and Oona go fishing; Baba, May, and Mossy look for ladybirds. #The Best Shell / The Meteor Shower / The Dragonfly Display - When Baba takes Bernie's favorite shell, Oona helps him return it; The kids enjoy a shooting star show; Baba has a close call during a dragonfly hunt. #Silky's New Friend / The First Snow / Oona's Cave - Silky introduces the gang to her new pal, a clever clam; The kids enjoy their first snowfall; Silky and Mossy help Oona practice burrow building. #Just Like Mama / Diving Deeper / A Day Out - Oona discovers the many ways she's just like Mama; At diving practice, Oona gets a special lesson from Silky; Papa takes the family on a fun day out. #Owl School / A Hot Day / A Summer Visitor - Baba and Oona join Pip and Pop for Otto's "big owl" lessons; On a hot day, Oona worries that Flynne may be in trouble; Oona makes a new forever pal. #Lamb Chase / Mossy Impossible / A Special Seashell - Oona and Baba help a lost lamb; When Oona becomes tangled up in debris, Mossy jumps into action; Oona looks for shiny shells to cheer up a sick Baba. #Turtle Taxi / New Neighbors / Rainbow - Bernie rides a turtle for a daring sea rescue; The Great Gull steals the seagulls' nests, but clever Oona has a plan; The kids race to catch a rainbow. #Puffin Treasure / Mossy's Mystery / The Longest Day - Mama treats Baba to a treasure hunt; The shrews' berries are under threat, but Mossy is on the case; The kids gather to watch a special sunrise. #House Hunting / Super Snail / Day and Night - Bernie searches for a new shell for Bernadette; Oona and May help Baba find his snail pal; The owls try to stay awake to watch the solar eclipse.

Film (2023)

* ''Puffin Rock and the New Friends''

Accolades

Production

The series was made by

Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...

-based Cartoon Saloon, the studio behind the Academy Award-nominated feature ''

Song of the Sea The Song of the Sea (, ''Shirat HaYam''; also known as ''Az Yashir Moshe'' and Song of Moses, or ''Mi Chamocha'') is a poem that appears in the Book of Exodus of the Hebrew Bible, at . It is followed in verses 20 and 21 by a much shorter song su ...

'', and Derry based creative studio Dog Ears. The series was first announced as a co-production between the two companies alongside Penguin Books'

Puffin Books Puffin Books is a longstanding children's imprint of the British publishers Penguin Books. Since the 1960s, it has been among the largest publishers of children's books in the UK and much of the English-speaking world. The imprint now belongs to ...

imprint in November 2012. In September 2013, it was announced that

and Nick Jr. had purchased the broadcast rights to the series in Ireland and the United Kingdom, respectively. On May 27, 2025, it was announced that a third series will be released on CBeebies and RTÉjr in September 2025.

Broadcast

Internationally, the series has aired on Nick Jr. in Italy, ABC Kids in Australia, ERT2 in Greece. Streaming rights to the series were held by

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

in Ireland, the United States, Canada, Latin America, Spain, the

Benelux The Benelux Union (; ; ; ) or Benelux is a politico-economic union, alliance and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighbouring states in Western Europe: Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The name is a portma ...

countries, UK, Poland, France, Denmark and Germany.

Film adaptation

By July 2019, a film based on the series was in development. The film's title and cast were revealed in February 2023, the name of the film was revealed to be ''Puffin Rock and the New Friends'', with most of the cast reprising their roles, and Chris O'Dowd reprising his role as the narrator. However, most of the actors for the pre-school aged characters did not return, and were replaced, with Beth McCafferty replacing her big sister Kate McCafferty as Oona, and Jo McDaid replacing her big sister Sally McDaid as Baba. The film theatrically released on 14 July 2023 in Ireland and Northern Ireland, and then on August 11 for the rest of the United Kingdom. The film was also released in the Irish language under the title ''Puffin Rock agus Cairde Nua''.

References

External links