David Lowery’s ‘An Almost Christmas Story’ Animated Short Will Premiere on Disney+

Alfonso Cuarón (“Disclosure”) wraps up his Disney+ Yuletide trilogy of shorts as producer of the animated “An Almost Christmas Story,” coming to the streamer in the fall. Directed by David Lowery (“Mother Mary”), it concerns a young owl named Moon, stuck in a Christmas tree destined for Rockefeller Plaza, who escapes with the help of Luna, a lost young girl.

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The short (CG-animated in a handcrafted, stop-motion style) is actually inspired by the true events of a tiny owl, Rocky (short for Rockefeller), found and rescued from the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree in 2020. “An Almost Christmas Story” is produced by Disney Branded Television and Cuarón’s Esperanto Filmoj, in association with Titmouse and Maere Studios, and with animation services by 88 Pictures,

The creative team includes Lowery (director, screenplay, and producer), Cuarón (producer and story), Gabriela Rodríguez (producer), Jack Thorne (story and screenplay), Nicholas Ashe Bateman (creative designer), and Daniel Hart (composer).

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The voice cast includes Cary Christopher as Moon, newcomer Estella Madrigal as Luna, Jim Gaffigan as Papa Owl, Mamoudou Athie as Pelly, Alex Ross Perry as Dave The Dog, Gianna Joseph as Peaky, Phil Rosenthal as Punt, Natasha Lyonne as Pat, and John C. Reilly as The Folk Singer, who performs four songs in the short, two of which are original compositions.

The animated short in Cuarón’s curated trilogy follows last year’s Oscar-shortlisted “The Shepherd,” about an RAF pilot (Ben Radcliffe) in peril flying across the North Atlantic on Christmas Eve, rescued by John Travolta (who executive produced), and Oscar-nominated “Le Pupile” (2022), about rebellious girls at a Catholic boarding school before Christmas , directed by Alice Rohrwacher.