RTÉjr & Kavaleer Unveil Christmas Special

The Late Late Toy Show star Adam King is on board for an upcoming Christmas special from RTÉjr and Irish animation studio Kavaleer Productions.

Titled Adam Saves Christmas, the short animation will premiere on RTÉjr on Christmas Eve and will star Adam as the titular character. Ryan Tubridy is featured as the voice of Santa, with Paul Tylak as Bubby, Nina Wadia as Shelby, Bonnie O’Meara (Maddie + Triggs) as Speedy, Portia McLoughlin as Zuzu and Seána Kerslake as Frizzle.

In the special, it’s Christmas Eve and Adam, Speedy, Bubby and Zuzu need to get back to planet Earth in time for Christmas to see what Santa will bring. But Christmas is in peril as Adam discovers when Santa calls to tell them the Northern Lights aren’t working and it’s so dark, he can’t find his reindeer. Christmas will be ruined unless Adam can figure out what’s happening to the Aurora.

Kavaleer is also working on a new animated series inspired by and starring Adam, entitled Adam ❤ Adventure, which will be the first animated Irish children’s program to feature a wheelchair user as the protagonist.

Eimear O’Mahony, executive producer for children and young people’s programming at RTÉ, said: “We are delighted to be lighting up our Christmas schedule on RTÉjr with Adam Saves Christmas. Adam is a real inspiration, and his message of positivity and joy is something that we think is really important to get out there. It’s very hard not to be smiling from ear to ear by the end of this animation.”

David King, Adam’s father, added: “We are so excited about this collaboration between RTÉjr and Kavaleer. Adam just can’t believe he is going to have his own Christmas special! The journey over the last year in developing Adam ❤ Adventure has been incredible, as it has celebrated Adam, a wheelchair user, as the hero. We are delighted the people of Ireland will get an early insight into the potential of this groundbreaking animation on Christmas Eve.”

Kavaleer CEO Andrew Kavanagh said: “We are delighted to be working with Adam and RTÉjr on his very first adventure, Adam Saves Christmas. This special will introduce Irish audiences to Adam’s crew—Bubby, Speedy, Zuzu and Shelby—and also to a particularly nasty alien who is trying to spoil Christmas for Santa and all the children! Young audiences will also learn a little bit about how our sun helps create the spectacular Northern Lights, with a little help from our brilliant space expert, Dr. Norah Patten. We always knew there was nothing Adam couldn’t do once he put his heart into it, so children all over Ireland can rest assured that the fate of Christmas is in safe hands!”