Our audience is consumers with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. Because the prognosis with advanced cancer can be grim, these patients need to dig deep into the well of their resolve to keep pressing forward – often drawing strength from the little moments they share with their loved ones.

To further evoke the childlike wonder and heartfelt attention that infuses Max’s time with Maxine and propels his fight, stop-motion animation was determined as the ideal medium. In keeping with the notion that something small can feel quite immense, everything was built from scratch. Nothing was store-bought. This included miniature clothes, hand-crafted and stitched by seamstresses; set design, with hundreds of feet of crepe paper folded to form the daffodil kingdom; and character design, with 250 3D-printed pieces then meticulously painted. For the epic ocean scene, water – commonly considered to be one of the biggest challenges in stop-motion – was accomplished via a custom-built ocean wave-generating rig, a first-of-its-kind achievement.

Everyone involved was highly specialized – we had people highly experienced in molding techniques, some who were professional leather workers. One artist had studied basket weaving for many years. Each artisan contributed their specialty to build this detail-rich world.