We went to every studio in town, and everyone said no. And we were really lucky to meet Maryann. When making a movie, sometimes you get lucky. Maryann said “yes” immediately and has been the film’s guardian angel, tireless producer and veteran leader. Will called his agent Keya Khayatian at UTA and he introduced us to Maryann Garger, who has worked in animation, prolifically, for over three decades. We finished the script and had a clear vision of the style. We talked about how music would carry the film. The story could work perfectly, better, without it. Monochromatic at the top, and then slowly build in color, but through the lens of grief. We knew we wanted it to be 2D, spare and lean, inspired a lot by Michael DuDok de Wit’s gorgeous Oscar winning short “Father and Daughter.” We talked endlessly about color. That research led us to finding our film’s style. We broke them all down, what worked, what didn’t and what inspired us. We then did more homework by watching and re-watching about 100 animated short films. We needed a tight script, so we wrote one. We did not have that time or money when it came to production. We would not have the luxury that Will had at Pixar, where he worked for years developing story ideas that emerged from the artwork. We spent about a year on the script, which is only 12 pages.
But when your child dies, you bury them in your heart.” We pinned it to the top our story corkboard and got to work. How do you face the loss of a child? How does one survive that unthinkable pain? We found this proverb: “When your parent dies, you bury in them in the ground. We felt called to write about this tragedy. This was the beginning of If Anything Happens I Love You.Īgain and again, we read about the senseless, horrific gun violence that kills children in our country. We could both feel it and see it instantly. It immediately ticked two story boxes, theme and animation. Will loved this Jungian visualization-connecting with our shadow-self is uncomfortable and often agonizing, but essential to our survival, healing and growth. We’re both fascinated by how human beings grieve-how we face it, endure it, survive it and hopefully, prevail.ĭuring one avocado sandwich, Michael pitched an idea about shadows, and how shadows in our story could represent the feelings that the characters could not reach because they were consumed with pain. We were both interested in writing about grief and wrestling with the loss in our own lives. And since we’re both writers, we would meet in the park for avocado sandwiches to volley new ideas, as writers do. We met in the most unlikely of places: an acting class in the Valley. The short is currently available to stream on Netflix. In this special guest post originally published in 2020, Michael Govier and Will McCormack talk about the making of their Best Animated Short winner If Anything Happens I Love You.
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