It’s time for A Breath of Fresh Scare!
This Halloween RTÉjr have teamed up with some of Ireland’s best animation studios to bring you A Breath of Fresh Scare!
The seven specially-commissioned shows about the ghost wonderful time of the year will be running across RTÉjr TV, RTÉ2, RTÉ One and RTÉ Player throughout Halloween!
You can catch the series on the RTÉ Player here.
Here’s what you need to know about the shows (along with full RTÉ One and RTÉ2 Listings).
SAMHAIN
In this creepy animated short film, produced by Giant animation, we learn about the celtic roots of halloween.
Using a magical puppet theatre, a mysterious narrator explores the pagan myths and tradtions of the celts during the anicent Samhain festival, from turnip carving to trick or treating, showing how various influences shaped it to be ghoulish party season we know today.
CLIODHNA QUENN OF THE BANSHEES
RTÉ2 – 27 Oct @ 4.15pm
A little girl, who is also a Banshee, tries to fit in with her school friends. Cliodhna is a 7 year old like no other, Cliodhna is a Banshee. In the middle of a classroom of children in school uniform, Cliodhna sits wailing wearing a grey cloak. A few of the other students roll their eyes – here she goes again.
Cliodhna gets picked last in sports, she sits by herself at lunch, she never gets invited to anything, she’s lonely and misunderstood.
As Halloween approaches Cliodhna gets a little pumpkin covered invite to a trick or treating party. Cliodhna’s mum drops her off at the party and she leaves her grey cloak in the car revealing her golden red hair, green dress and little fairy wings as she arrives at the party. Cliodhna for the first time feels like she fits in as the cute little fairy against the scary outfits of the halloween world she’s accepted for being different and goes trick and treating with her friends.
DAGDA’S HARP
RTÉ2 – 27 Oct @ 12.55pm and 30 Oct @ 10.40am
Awakened by the retelling of his story, Dagda appears to a group of children, but the result of his spellbinding music isn’t quite as scary as they thought.
Dagda’s Harp is a stop motion short about the legend of Dagda’s enchanting harp. Conor tells the story of Dagda to his sister Ciara, and friend Noah, as they sit around a bonfire on their estate. Awakened by this, Dagda appears to the group of children and plays his harp, but the result of his spellbinding music isn’t quite as scary as they thought.
EMPTY LITTLE PEOPLE
Empty little people, with an insatiable thirst for tea… begin running out of tea, on All Hallows’ Eve.
On an empty little rock, in an empty black sea, live empty little people, with an insatiable thirst for tea. Having squandered all their own tea, the empty little people spy a giant teapot in the distance and set out towards it, only to upset the giant it belongs to…. Empty Little People is written and directed by European Film Award nominees Josh O’Caoimh and Mikai Geronimo, and produced by Academy Award shortlisted studio ‘and maps and plans’.
NANA’s TERRIFYING ZOOM CALL
RTÉ2 – 30 Oct @ 11.20am
RTÉ One – 25 Oct @ 3.30pm
It’s Halloween night and Nana Doyle, a self-confessed technophobe, is telling her two grandchildren a spooky bedtime story using zoom. What could go wrong?
Nana Doyle is a 76 year grandmother who is set in her ways, she’s not very good with technology. Still, she always tells her grandchildren bedtime stories, now with the pandemic she has to tell her story over zoom. Her three grandchildren eagerly await their Nanas terrifying zoom call for Halloween. Nana, using the mouse, clicks on something, everything goes black, she throws her hands in the air.
Eventually she can see her three grandchildren on her iPad and starts her story. We are transported to 1932. Nana and the children are standing outside a beautiful Georgian house in Dublin. When they go inside, strange things start to happen, lights flick on and off, doors open and close. The children are terrified but will Nana get to the end of her story or will technology let her down?
THE GHOST DOG
RTÉ2 25 Oct @ 3.15pm and 30 Oct @ 8.55am
The ghost dog is a cute ghost story about the process of grief and the importance of the bonds we make with our loved ones that follows the story Lizzie, a little girl grieving the loss of her dog, only to discover that it won’t take too long for him to come back from the dead to be with her… And to grab some snacks along the way.
I WANNA BE A WEREWOLF!
RTÉ2 – 29 Oct @ 3.15pm
“I Wanna Be A Werewolf!” is a musical comedy that aims to increase the amount of Halloween songs by one (and a half).
Meena has a problem familiar to all of us. The guests at her Halloween party are starting to question her seasonal playlist-making abilities! “That’s the third time this song has played!” complains Complainy Colin. “It’s not my fault! There’s just not that many Halloween songs!’ explains Meena.
Suddenly… There’s a creak from the doorway and a voice calls – “Oh Yeah?”
“I Wanna Be A Werewolf!” is a musical comedy that aims to increase the amount of Halloween songs by one (and a half).
Written and directed by Matthew Bradley as part of RTE’s Halloween Animated Shorts Programme, the short film will be animated in 2D using a bright and vibrant colour to create a very kitsch Halloween inspired music video. It features a quirky and fun original music track composed by Matthew Bradley that will complement the visuals and is sure to become a Halloween classic for years to come!
The animations will air right across Halloween on RTÉjr, including at 7.35am every day for those early risers…apologies to any Vampires, but you can watch them all after dark on RTÉ Player!