Beth, left, has taken over from sister Kate, who voiced the character of Oona for four yearsA teenager who voices the hero of the first animated movie to be produced in Northern Ireland says her role is a "once in a lifetime opportunity".Londonderry schoolgirl Beth McCafferty voices the character Oona.
"It's just crazy being part of a film," the 14-year old Lumen Christi College student told BBC News NI. Beth's role is one she knows well - Oona had been voiced previously by her sister Kate, now a biochemistry student at Queen's University Belfast."She's a very bubbly character. She's very funny, positive, happy and I feel she's very… a lot like myself. So it was quite easy to play her role," Beth said.The film has its premiere in Derry's Brunswick Moviebowl on Saturday, ahead of a wider release across Ireland on 14 July.
The cartoon's leap from the television to the big screen has been "such an unbelievable experience," Beth said.The film has been made by Derry-based media firm Dog Ears and Kilkenny-based Oscar nominees Cartoon Saloon. Its plot sees Oona work to save the wild Irish island on which the puffins live, and work to save a precious little egg.