"Wander to Wonder" is nominated at this year's Oscars for Best Animated Short Film. Directed by award-winning filmmaker Nina Gantz, the captivating stop-motion film follows the fallout of a once-beloved children's show and its three characters in the wake of their creator's passing.

Set in the '80s, characters Mary, Billybud and Fumbleton are left to navigate life on their own after they continue working in the studio after the maker of their show dies. The trio's world, once filled with lighthearted moments, slowly decays — meals become rarer to find, costumes start to deteriorate and their once-cheerful home begins buzzing with large flies.

We spoke with Gantz about the eight-year journey it took to bring her vision to life, how to delicately balance whimsy and melancholy and the unexpected tricks needed to animate stop-motion characters inside a pickle jar.

Note: The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

The costumes in the children's show within the film feel both whimsical and unsettling. What were some of your inspirations for their design?

Nina Gantz: I was inspired by shows like "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," where the presenter interacts with puppets. I also drew inspiration from British children's programs like "The Flumps" and "The Wombles." They have this innocent, colorful aesthetic, which worked well in contrast with the more realistic and darker absurdity happening behind the scenes. I wasn't necessarily aiming for eeriness, but over time, as the costumes degraded, they naturally took on that quality. That passage of time adds a haunting layer to the visuals.

From a technical perspective, what was the most challenging part of animating stop-motion?

NG: We needed the puppets to move in a way that felt incredibly realistic — especially since they had to exist seamlessly alongside live-action elements. The puppets are very tiny. Moving their half-a-centimeter fingers for each frame was painstaking work. Even their eyelids were just a millimeter big and had to be placed with tweezers every frame when they blinked. They were so small they kept popping off like fleas, which was tricky to manage.

You mentioned this story was inspired by personal experience. Would you be open to sharing more about that?

NG: While writing the final version of the script, I experienced the loss of a loved one. That loss naturally found its way into the story. Initially, the film was just about these three characters, but suddenly, it became about grief. How each of them processes loss differently. Mary clings to the legacy of the TV show, and Uncle Gilly, while Fumon feels freed, finally able to showcase his serious acting skills. Billy Bud, on the other hand, buries his head in the sand and focuses on entertaining people. That shift in focus happened organically as I worked through my own grief.

If given the opportunity, would you want to expand "Wander to Wonder" into a feature film or series?

NG: I'd love to explore this world further. After working on it for eight years, I have so many ideas for these characters. There's a lot of backstory that never made it into the short.

That said, right now, I'm already working on two feature films. One is a stop-motion family film set in Amsterdam about pigeons, and it's also a musical. Very different from "Wander to Wonder." Everything in it is made from garbage, which creates a visually striking look. The second is an adult-oriented film that blends stop-motion and live-action, and I'm making it with the same team as "Wander to Wonder." So while I'd love to return to this world, I have other stories to tell first.

Stop-motion is a notoriously grueling process. What was the most difficult scene to create?

NG: One of the trickiest scenes to animate involved a puppet inside a pickle jar, licking the last bits of juice because they're starving. We had to figure out how to animate him inside the jar while keeping it practical.

First, we cut the jar in half to slide the puppet in, but you could see the cut in the glass, and it didn't work. Then, in a moment of desperation late at night, someone put the puppet behind a completely intact jar, and through the camera lens, it looked like he was inside! A complete optical illusion. That saved us so much time and stress. It was one of those magical stop-motion tricks that just happened by accident.

That's incredible. And, before we wrap up, any final thoughts you want to share about the film?

NG: There were moments where I thought it would never get finished. There was even a bankruptcy at one point. But we kept going because we believed in it.

At its core, "Wander to Wonder" is about holding onto something you love, even when the world seems to be moving past it. And, in many ways, that was our experience making it. I'm just grateful that audiences are connecting with it and seeing the love poured into every frame.

The 97th Academy Awards airs March 2. Watch the full trailer for "Wander to Wonder" below:

[Images: Directors Notes]