Shown through the eyes of a child and set to the Velvet Underground’s “I’m Sticking with You,” this holiday film reminds us that sometimes the act of simply caring for someone else is what brings true magic. It tells the tale of a child and her best friend, a stuffed animal unicorn. When the unicorn gets injured, a team of Montefiore Einstein surgeons come to the rescue. The story is a fable and metaphor for the magic of receiving life-saving care, and the world-class medical treatment and innovation the non-profit Bronx-based hospital has provided to children in New York and around the globe.

2021 marked the 20-year anniversary of Montefiore Einstein’s Children’s Hospital. Founded in 1884 in the Bronx, Montefiore is a non-profit hospital system that believes that world-class healthcare is the right of every child, everywhere.

Inspired by the magical realism often found in children’s books and holiday films, the director crafted an urban fairytale infused with verisimilitude, realism and no small measure of suspense. Despite centering around a stuffed animal unicorn, the filmmaking tone and style is grounded in real emotion. To infuse the film with holiday nostalgia, they pioneered a technique mixing stop-motion animation with live-action footage shot in a 4:3 aspect ratio. The young girl's fear that her best friend has been injured is taken seriously–by both the filmmakers and the other people in the young girl's world–even though the best friend is a stuffed animal unicorn. The film is shot cinematically and urgently. This sincere (and a little bit surreal) approach to telling this tale helps transform the film's ending–where the stuffed unicorn springs to life–from cinematic illusion to true holiday magic.