Seven countries, including Ireland, were involved in this charming international coproduction, overseen by the Italian director Enzo D’Alò and featuring the work of the Dublin-based JAM Media.
The source material, Roddy Doyle’s children’s book of the same name from 2011, is unquestionably local. A late drone-style shot places the action in or around Kilbarrack, the author’s locale. There are pretty background glimpses of Bachelors Walk and North Circular Road; overhead images of green fields and an enchanted woodland make for verdant, John Hinde-friendly images.
Mary O’Hara (Mia O’Connor) is the sparky 11-year-old heroine of a tale that brings together four generations of Irish women for a road trip. Mary is the only girl in a house of Bohs-supporting males, including two brothers and her dad (Brendan Gleeson). She frequently clashes with her harried mother, Scarlett (voiced by Sharon Horgan and named for Gone with the Wind), but adores her rebellious granny, Emer (Rosaleen Linehan).
Mary’s summer holiday seems doomed when she fails to impress the judges at Ballymaloe Cookery School and her best friend moves to England. Worse still, she learns that her beloved grandmother is dying. The frustrated budding chef finds solace in a strange new supernatural friend, Tansey (Charlene McKenna). Why does Tansey sound young and dress like an old woman? Why has she never seen a kettle before? The answer is as unexpected as Granny’s final daring escapade.
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Working from a script written with the Bafta-winning Dave Ingham (Charlie and Lola), D’Alò leans into Doyle’s reliable ear for the vernacular. Hand-drawn monochrome dream sequences form an intriguing subplot around the sighthound of the title. Despite some unwelcome and unnecessary musical montages, this is a pleasing animated feature that makes weighty themes of death and memory feel fun and feather-light. A terrific Irish ensemble enlivens a tale that takes in colcannon and cynophobia.
A Greyhound of a Girl is in cinemas from Friday, June 28th
