John C. Reilly hopes ’An Almost Christmas Story’ short film will ‘spread a little love and a little empathy’

The new Disney+ short film An Almost Christmas Story is inspired by the true story of an owl who was found inside the Rockefeller Christmas tree in New York City. In this version, the owl can talk, and his adventure is narrated by John C. Reilly.

In taking on the role, Reilly, who also performs four songs in the short, tells ABC Audio he was inspired by the late Burl Ives‘ Snowman narrator character in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

“I thought, ‘I’ve learned so much music from Burl Ives, wouldn’t it be cool to, like, step into his shoes?'” says Reilly, who also stars in a stage production called Mister Romantic. “Or at least perform a role that was similar to what he’s done in the past.”

An Almost Christmas Story also hearkens back to the look of those classic holiday specials in its animation style, though it was made digitally instead of with traditional stop-motion. Still, Reilly wanted to get a stop-motion figure of his character made, even though he laughs he was “hoping it would look less like me.”

“I was like, ‘But will you please still make mine?'” Reilly says. “Then [director] David Lowery‘s like, ‘Yeah! Totally, we should still make yours!’ So I’m gonna have to ask Disney where that thing is.”

As for the film itself, you can expect a heartwarming tale and some adorable animals, which Reilly feels might bring some comfort amid stressful times, personal or otherwise.

“Somehow I think [the film] really does meet the moment for the way people are feeling right now in the world,” Reilly says. “So I’m happy to spread a little love and a little empathy with this.” 

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