Jingle Jangle director calls film “a love letter to my childhood”

Creators of Netflix's "'ingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey, including writer David E. Talbert, shared the backstory behind the film.

DeMicia Inman

Dec 16, 2020

The Paley Center for Media brought together the creative team behind Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey, including writer David E. Talbert, and producers, Lyn Sisson-Talbert, Mike Jackson, and John Legend for a conversation about the film.

As part of the Paley Front Row Presented by Citi series, “Making Holiday Magic! A Look Inside Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey” was hosted and moderated by journalist Tre’vell Anderson, providing an entertaining look at behind the scenes moments.

“We are delighted to present this heartwarming and entertaining conversation with the creative team behind this critically acclaimed holiday special that conveys a message of love, family, and community that is synonymous with the season,” said Maureen J. Reidy, the Paley Center’s president & CEO, in a provided statement.

During the panel, each creator discussed their individual and collaborative efforts made to bring the festive production to life, and their hopes for the movie’s lasting impact. Songwriter John Legend who created original music for the movie, discussed the importance of inclusivity and representation on screen.

“One of the important aspects of this is that our little girls can see themselves n the screen and be celebrated as powerful, as inventive, as beautiful, as gifted, as talented,” he remarked. “As a father of a 4-year-old who’s consuming a lot of the content that’s made for kids these days, it’s really nice to have that for her.”

Writer and director David Talbert shared the decades long process that produced Jingle Jangle.

“It was a love letter to my childhood,” remarked Talbert. “Growing up, watching all the amazing movies, all the Disney classics, the Mary Poppins, the Willy Wonka, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, I wanted to create one of my own. I started writing it in 1997, as a Broadway musical.”

He also shared how having a son confirmed the need to create the holiday movie.

“When our son was born, I knew that it was time. I wanted him to have these magical, wonderful movies like I had. But, unlike me, I wanted him to see himself in those worlds. That’s when it all started turning into a movie.”

Lyn Sisson-Talbert opened up about the African meets Victorian aesthetic used in Jingle Jangle and her goal to create a colorful onscreen universe.

“I wanted it to be this vibrant, fantastic, world with the colors and the patterns, but then we also wanted to ground it. You don’t want it to be so candy-coated that it looks like costumes,” she shared. “Michael Wilkinson, our costume designer, was so open to all those things. He wanted to layer in African fabrics. If you look at the time period, you’re only one or two generations from your ancestors, so any of those cultures and materials and patterns would be within you still. You’d still have those pieces.”

View the full conversation featured on Yahoo Entertainment.