{"id":282803,"date":"2025-11-25T17:00:13","date_gmt":"2025-11-25T17:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/282803\/"},"modified":"2025-11-25T17:00:13","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T17:00:13","slug":"new-animated-christmas-film-about-a-giant-irish-deer-comes-to-screens-next-month-in-irish-welsh-and-english","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/282803\/","title":{"rendered":"New animated Christmas film about a giant Irish deer comes to screens next month in Irish, Welsh and English"},"content":{"rendered":"

Published: 25 November 2025<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Nolla\u00ed voiced by Jude Hartigan<\/p>\n

A magical new animated film Nolla\u00ed, a landmark co-commission from BBC Northern Ireland, TG4 and S4C, is set to arrive on screens in time for Christmas.<\/p>\n

Produced by Belfast-based Taunt Studios with support from Northern Ireland Screen\u2019s Irish Language Broadcast Fund (ILBF) and Screen Fund, and Coimisi\u00fan na Me\u00e1n, Nolla\u00ed invites viewers into a heart-warming fantasy adventure led by an ordinary deer with an extraordinary secret.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Sadhbh voiced by Blaith\u00edn McCusker, Nolla\u00ed voiced by Jude Hartigan and Stoca voiced by Mary Flanigan<\/p>\n

This festive special will premiere on Sunday 14 December, with an Irish language version on BBC iPlayer, TG4 and C\u00fala4, and Welsh language version airing on S4C. An English language version will broadcast on BBC One Northern Ireland and BBC iPlayer the following week.<\/p>\n

Nollaig \u2013 or Nolla\u00ed as he is lovingly known \u2013 is the story of a young Irish deer on a journey of self-discovery. A little tall for a deer, Nolla\u00ed has always been told he\u2019s \u2018big boned\u2019.<\/p>\n

He has spent his life on the farm with his human family – best friend and sister, Sadhbh, and his father, or \u2018Daid\u2019 \u2013 who found him one wintry night 10 years ago, at the stone circle on the mountain. With none of his kin in sight, Sadhbh and Daid took Nolla\u00ed in and he became part of their family.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

As the years pass, Nolla\u00ed struggles with his giant size in a human world but loves the community he lives in. Then, one day, everything changes as he accidentally stumbles across a surprise that reveals he is quite possibly the last living Megaloceros giganteus (the extinct giant deer) in existence!<\/p>\n

This discovery leads to Nolla\u00ed and Sadhbh, with the help of a slightly chaotic Christmas-loving bat called Stoca, embarking on an adventure to discover where this young deer came from.<\/p>\n

When the trio stumble upon a portal leading to another world – the realm of the giant deer – will Nolla\u00ed join his ancestors or stay with his human family?<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Daid voiced by Conor MacNeill, Nolla\u00ed voiced by Jude Hartigan and Sadhbh voiced by Blaith\u00edn McCusker<\/p>\n

Actor Conor MacNeill (Industry, The Sixth Commandment, The Tourist) voices the character Daid in the Irish Language and English versions. Further cast for the Irish language and English versions are Jude Hartigan (as Nolla\u00ed), Blaith\u00edn McCusker (Sadhbh), Mary Flangian (Stoca), Dannan Flynn (Ois\u00edn), Niall Mac Eachmharcaigh (Giant Deer).<\/p>\n

Cast for Welsh language version includes Osian Snelson (as Nolig), Marged Llwyd (Si\u00e2n), Clare Hingott (Siriol), Dion Davies (Dad), Dafydd Emyr (Cawr-Garw).<\/p>\n

Karen Kirby, Commissioning Executive for BBC Northern Ireland says: “This is the first collaboration of its kind for BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Gaeilge and we\u2019re 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.<\/p>\n

“Nolla\u00ed 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.”<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

M\u00e1ire U\u00ed Choisdealbha, Commissioning Editor, TG4 says: \u201cWe are absolutely delighted to commission TG4\u2019s first-ever animated Christmas special, a truly exciting international co-production with our wonderful partners.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis 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\u2019s a milestone for TG4 and a celebration of the shared cultural imagination that unites our broadcasters. We can\u2019t wait for audiences to experience the magic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sioned Geraint, S4C\u2019s Content Commissioner \u2013 Children and Learners, says: \u201cI\u2019m delighted that S4C has been a part of Nollai 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been great working with our Celtic 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

R\u00f3n\u00e1n \u00d3 Domhnaill, Media Development Commissioner at Coimisi\u00fan na Me\u00e1n says: “We are delighted to support the production of Nolla\u00ed 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.”<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Sadhbh voiced by Blaith\u00edn McCusker, Nolla\u00ed voiced by Jude Hartigan and Stoca voiced by Mary Flanigan<\/p>\n

\u00c1ine Walsh, Chief Language & Cultural Officer and Head of Irish Language Broadcast Fund at Northern Ireland Screen: \u201cIn our twentieth anniversary year, the Irish Language Broadcast Fund is proud to support Nolla\u00ed, the first ever Irish language animated Christmas special made in the North.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt 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\u2019re thrilled it will be seen on BBC NI, TG4, C\u00fala4 and S4C, highlighting the strength of high-quality content being created locally for families across Ireland and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tom Getty \/ Aisling McElroy, Taunt Studios says:<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of us at TAUNT have had such a wonderful time creating our little film Nolla\u00ed. As a bunch of Christmas lovers, it was a dream come true to be able to spend the last year bringing this to life.<\/p>\n

\u201cNone 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 Coimisi\u00fan na Me\u00e1n. We hope you all like it as much as we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Irish language version of Nolla\u00ed airs Sunday 14 December at 5.05pm on BBC iPlayer, TG4 and C\u00fala4, and in Welsh on S4C. Nolla\u00ed also airs later that evening on BBC Two Northern Ireland at 6.40pm.<\/p>\n

The English language version will air Sunday 21 December at 4.10pm on BBC One Northern Ireland and BBC iPlayer (*TX details subject to change*).<\/p>\n

ML<\/p>\n

Follow for more<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Published: 25 November 2025 Nolla\u00ed voiced by Jude Hartigan A magical new animated film Nolla\u00ed, a landmark co-commission…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":282804,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[96,2839,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-282803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-entertainment","tag-movies","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=282803"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282803\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/282804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=282803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=282803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=282803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}