The writer-director of Netflix's family movie Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey has told RTÉ Entertainment that he hopes the musical is "a balm" for people in the days ahead.
David E Talbert spent 20 years trying to get his heartwarming film on screens, describing it as his own story "and the story of so many of us who kind of lost our mojo".
He says its themes of healing and inclusivity are what the world needs now, and that the film has to help people in a way that he couldn't have imagined while making it.
"We didn't realise the state the world would be in, not only with the pandemic, but with this kind of social and political unrest," Talbert told RTÉ Entertainment.
"But it's a balm. The world needs to laugh again. Heal again. Love again. Sing again. Dance again. And it couldn't be better timing for the movie.
"The world needs to be inclusive, to invite all cultures and races to the table to mine their own magic and to be represented. I think there's no better time for it, no better time for the world."
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey is streaming now on Netflix.
