''Punky'' is an Irish

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

created by Lindsay J. Sedgwick and produced by

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

based Monster Animation and Design. The series features the lead character as having

Down syndrome Down syndrome or Down's syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is usually associated with physical growth delays, mild to moderate intellectual dis ...

, with the intention of being the first animated series to do so.

Development

The show's creative director is

Jason Tammemagi Jason Tammemagi is the creator, writer and director of preschool show, ''Fluffy Gardens''. He also directed ''Roobarb & Custard Too'', ''Planet Cosmo'', and Irish animated drama, ''Ballybraddan''. Jason was Creative Director of Geronimo Productio ...

, who has been involved in a number of animated shows for pre-school children, including

Fluffy Gardens ''Fluffy Gardens'' is an Republic of Ireland, Irish preschool animation television show created, written and directed by Jason Tammemagi and produced by Monster Animation & Design Ltd. Each seven-minute episode tells the story of a different char ...

. The series is produced with the support of Down Syndrome Ireland, who also reviewed material during development and production of the series. The series is supported by investment incentives from the

Government of Ireland The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland. The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The governm ...

(Section 481), in association with RTÉjr, with the participation of the

Irish Film Board Fís Éireann / Screen Ireland, formerly known as Bord Scannán na hÉireann / the Irish Film Board, is the Republic of Ireland's state development agency for the Irish film, television and animation industry. It provides funds for the developm ...

and the

Broadcasting Authority of Ireland The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) ( ga, Údarás Craolacháin na hÉireann) was established on 1 October 2009 effectively replacing the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) ( ga, Coimisiún Craolacháin na hÉireann). The BAI is ...

’s Sound & Vision Fund. A second series (also 20 x 7 mins) was launched in February 2014.

Characters

Punky relates tales from the everyday life of a six-year-old little girl who has

. Punky is characterized as a happy little girl who, as explained in the introduction of the show, loves "music", "dancing" and "hugs". She is shown to like to play with her older brother, "Con", and her dog, "Rufus". She also tries to make her grandmother "Cranky", "just a little less cranky". The lead character is voiced by Jo Sherry, a 29-year-old United Kingdom voice actress who has Down syndrome.

Broadcast

It aired in a number of TV networks in the UK, Australia, Germany and Sweden to screen the show. An

Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

version of the show is also in production, to be broadcast on

TG4 TG4 ( ga, TG Ceathair, ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television network. The channel launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond. TG4 was formerly known ...

.
How my cousin Aimée, the first Down's TV star, made me smile through the tears. . . Retrieved: 2011-05-10

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.punky.ie
Down Syndrome Ireland
Irish children's animated television series 2011 Irish television series debuts Television shows set in the Republic of Ireland Down syndrome in television Irish flash animated television series Irish preschool education television series Animated preschool education television series 2010s preschool education television series Animated television series about children