Puffins look like they share the same tailor as penguins and they have a similar
charm, but they are not as overexposed in pop culture. So far, the Netflix
series Puffin Rock, co-created by Irish animator Tomm Moore, has been
the best place to find puffins. After two seasons, the inhabitants of Puffin Rock
get a feature of their own in Jeremy Purcell’s Puffin Rock and the New
Friends, which screens as part of the 2024 New York InternationalChildren’s Film Festival.
Oona
is still a bright and curious young puffin, who often gets into adventures with
her friends, but always dutifully cares for her younger brother Baba. Even
after two full seasons, he still looks like he is freshly hatched. Mossy the
pygmy shrew and May the rabbit remain her besties, but she is about to make
some new pals.
Initially,
Isabella is rather standoffish when her colony relocates to Puffin Rock. The
narrator blames climate change, but viewers will suspect it was the rising
crime and punitive tax rates of blue-state puffin colonies that drove them out.
Regardless, Isabella is reluctant to putdown roots again. That includes making
friends.
In
contrast, Oona and her buddies form a fast friendship Marvin, a youthful otter
who also found his way to Puffin Rock. Quick thinking Oona realizes Mavin is
such a prodigious digger, he can help the expanded puffin colony dig warrens to
protect their new-comers from an approaching storm. Unfortunately, Isabella
will completely torpedo the plan and endanger the entire colony. First, she
misinterprets Marvin’s intentions when he burrows up near her mother’s egg, so
she removes it from the nest. That is a big puffin no-no. When the colony
freaks out over the missing egg, she is too embarrassed to come clean, so she
blames Marvin.
See
how much trouble unchecked immigration can cause. Of course, New Friends is
trying to make the exact opposite point, but at times, the narrative almost
contradicts its sentiments. It hardly matters though, because Oona is such a
likably plucky character. She is just a darned good puffin kid, which makes
spending time with her a pleasure.
As
was also true for the series, Chris O’Dowd’s narration is wildly charming. Although
omniscient and off-screen, his voice becomes another character. He has a touch
of blarney and a touch of sarcasm, but his tone is always gentle and warm.
The Morpho is like the Polybius of fortune telling machines. One day, it
just appeared in Deerfield’s general store. For a handful of quarters, it
promises to tell your “true potential.” Some are impressive, like the “royalty”
card received by Cass Hubbard, but for some, their Morpho cards become a source
of shame. Soon, the Morpho machine turns the town upside-down in creator David
West Read’s ten-episode The Big Door Prize, based on M.O. Walsh’s novel,
which premieres Wednesday on Apple TV+.
Dusty
Hubbard is a likeable, mildly under-achieving high school history teacher, who lives
happily with his wife Cass and their daughter Trina. When the Morpho appears,
he intuitively resists, especially because he is somewhat intimidated by his
wife’s “royalty” potential.
His
student Jacob Kovac is not a Morpho fan either. Poor Kovac already has more
than enough to deal with. He can hardly talk to his father Beau, who is still
bitterly grieving the death of his identical twin brother, the school’s star athlete.
Unbeknownst to anyone else, Jacob Kovac was cheating with his brother’s neglected
girlfriend, Trina. They are trying to secretly continue their relationship,
while grieving as the town expects. However, the Morpho seems to know, judging
from her card. Jacob’s card is something radically different, but it carries even
more stressful implications.
Father
Reuben has a complicated response to the Morpho machine. He understands the
importance of interpreting signs. Indeed, he was led to Deerfield by signs that
seemed prophetic at the time. While the series has a somewhat ambiguous
attitude towards the priesthood as a chosen profession, Father Reuben himself
is an entirely sympathetic character.
It
is hard to precisely categorize Big Door Prize, but Read (a writer and
producer on Schitt’s Creek) uses the fantastical element to create a surprisingly
funny small-town sitcom. Admittedly, the neuroses of both Dusty and Cass Hubbard
are often grating, but Read and the writers constantly puncture their pretensions
and expose their self-importance.
On
the other hand, there is some terrific chemistry that develops between Djouliet
Amara and Sammy Fourlas as Trina and Jacob. We clearly root for them as a
couple, despite all the complications of their relationship. Likewise, Damon Gupton
and Ally Maki are weirdly engaging as Father Reuben and Hana, the town’s new bartender,
who seems wholly unphased by the Morpho phenomenon—but something about the good
Father might just be getting to her.
