IRISH ANIMATION STUDIO CARTOON SALOON TO PRESENT

AT SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON

“DESIGNING THE SECRET OF KELLS”

BOOK LAUNCH

PLUS EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW OF SELECTED SCENES FROM UPCOMING

“SONG OF THE SEA”

New York, NY – July 10, 2014 – GKIDS, a distributor of award-winning animation for both adult and family audiences, announces that Kilkenny-based Cartoon Saloon will be launching their Designing The Secret of Kells book and unveiling never-before-seen clips from their upcoming feature film Song of the Sea, at San Diego Comic-Con this month. The book will be available for sale at Cartoon Saloon’s online store, as well as from Stuart Ng Books. GKIDS and Cartoon Saloon began their relationship with the North American release of The Secret of Kells in 2010, which resulted in the Irish animation studio’s first Academy Award® nomination. Cartoon Saloon’s second feature film, Song of the Sea, will be released theatrically in North America by GKIDS later this year.

Cartoon Saloon at San Diego Comic-Con: Schedule

Thursday – Sunday, July 24th - 27^th (Booth 5012 / SDCC)

DESIGNING THE SECRET OF KELLS book signings will take place at Stuart Ng Books (Booth 5012)

5:30pm-7:00pm Thursday & Saturday

Friday 6:00 – 7:00pm

Friday, July 25^th (See SDCC program for time and room number)

Cartoon Saloon's SONG OF THE SEA ‘Sneak Peek Panel’ at Comic- Con

Monday, July 28^th   (The Animation Guild, 1105 North Hollywood Way, Burbank)

Animation Guild Book Signing  (6-9pm ) Free admission; open to the public. Street parking only.

Tuesday, July 29th 

ASIFA-Hollywood Sneak Peek Presentation and Book Signing (for ASIFA members only)

ABOUT CARTOON SALOON

Cartoon Saloon is an ACADEMY AWARD© Nominated Studio that has been in operation since 1999.  Song of the Sea, Tomm Moore’s much-anticipated follow up feature film to The Secret of Kells, will be released later in 2014 in North America. Song of the Sea features the voices of Brendan Gleeson, Fionnula Flanagan, David Rawle, Lisa Hannigan, Pat Shortt, Jon Kenny, Lucy O’Connell, Liam Hourican and Kevin Swierszcz. Music is composed by composer Bruno Coulais and Irish band KÍla, both of whom previously collaborated on The Secret of Kells from award winning shorts such as From Darkness, Cúilín Dualach/backwards Boy, Old Fangs and The Ledge End of Phil, to TV series like Skunk Fu! (broadcast in over 120 territories) and Puffin Rock (scheduled for broadcast with RTE JR and Nick UK in 2015). Cartoon Saloon has carved a special place in the international animation industry.

Cartoon Saloon has produced the “On Love” segment for The Prophet, a feature animation produced by Salma Hayek and directed by Roger Allers (The Lion King). The Prophet is one of the best-selling books of all time, having sold over 100 million copies since its publication in 1923 and is due for release in 2014.

Currently in development is a co-production with Aircraft Pictures to adapt the award winning novel The Breadwinner written by Deborah Ellis. The film will be directed by Nora Twomey from Cartoon Saloon, co-director of the Academy Award® nominee for Best Animated Feature The Secret of Kells and director of the multiple award winning shorts From Darkness and Cúilín Dualach (Backwards Boy).

ABOUT GKIDS

GKIDS is the distributor of award-winning filmed entertainment specializing in feature animation for both adult and family audiences. The company has scored four Best Animated Feature Oscar nominations – the most for an independent distributor – with The Secret of Kells in 2010, A Cat in Paris and Chico & Rita in 2012, and Ernest & Celestine in 2014. Current and upcoming releases include New York Times and Village Voice Critics’ Pick Wrinkles, featuring Martin Sheen, Matthew Modine and George Coe; A Letter To Momo, from Tokyo-based animation powerhouse Production I.G; Studio Ghibli’s The Tale of The Princess Kaguya, directed by studio co-founder Isao Takahata; and the highly anticipated Song of the Sea from Tomm Moore, director of The Secret of Kells. GKIDS also handles North American theatrical distribution for the Studio Ghibli library of films, one of the world’s most coveted animation collections with titles such as Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke and others. GKIDS is the longtime producer of the New York Int’l Children’s Film Festival, an Oscar-qualifying event and North America’s largest festival of film for children and teens.  NYICFF jury members include Uma Thurman, Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis, Gus van Sant, Christine Vachon, Henry Selick and James Schamus. www.gkidsfilms.com