CoComelon, the global family entertainment phenomenon from Moonbug Entertainment, is heading to the big screen with CoComelon: The Movie, an all-new cinematic adventure filled with music, heart, humor and a fresh take on the characters families know and love. It’s a story about finding your courage, discovering your voice and learning that every new journey is better with friends by your side.
A big-screen experience for longtime fans, a new generation of CoComelon viewers and families looking for a fun movie to share together, CoComelon: The Movie brings the beloved world and music of CoComelon to theaters in a way families have never seen before, featuring ten new songs and a vibrant, joyful imaginative new world.
The film follows JJ (Connor Esterson, Spy Kids: Armageddon) as he embarks on the biggest adventure of his life: Kindergarten. But when, on his first day at school, JJ discovers that his beloved stuffed bear Boba has gone missing, JJ and his friends Cody, CeCe and Nina will begin a quest that will transport them into a magical land ruled by Princess Harmony, who has created a world with one rule: No singing.
The film’s acclaimed stars include Grammy winning superstar SZA (One of Them Days) as Princess Harmony, Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Nicholas Hoult (Superman, X-Men franchise) as Boba, and Actor Award winner and Emmy nominee Ike Barinholtz (The Studio, Suicide Squad) as Princess Harmony’s right-hand enforcer, Chicken Peels.
The film is directed by Kat Good (Swapped, Monsters at Work), whose impressive career includes her work as a story artist on Kung Fu Panda, Megamind and Penguins of Madagascar. And to celebrate the release of this brand new trailer for CoComelon: The Movie, Nick L’Barrow spoke with director Kat Good about JJ and his friends growing up, and the influence films like The Goonies had on this story!
Nick: Watching the trailer, I was reminded about that cinematic adventure feeling that films like The Goonies or any Steven Spielberg type of film can bring. I’m curious to know what some of the cinematic inspirations were for CoComelon The Movie?
Kat Good: Oh, my gosh! That’s just music to my ears that you caught all of that because that was something we were crafting from the very beginning. When we knew that this would be a child’s first film, I was talking to my team about how there’s this whole movie universe waiting for them to explore. We had an opportunity to kind of show them things that would be like, “Just wait, little one! There’s more coming!” There are all of these little hidden things that we’ve placed in there from all of our favourite films, from The Goonies, to Indiana Jones, Star Wars, even to Mad Max: Fury Road! There’s all of these nods and things that we even surprised ourselves with later in the process. So, we as filmmakers and our team were always talking about our favourite films and how they find their way into the storytelling that we’re doing with CoComelon. Thank you so much for noticing!
Nick: I love the idea that the movie follows JJ and the gang after they’ve grown up a little. They’re not babies anymore! What were some of the key elements about growing up and coming into a new phase of life that you were excited to explore with these characters?
KG: So, very early on, our treatment had this idea about JJ losing his bear. And that leads to what that means to be found, what it means to be lost, right? That was a stepping stone. We knew that they were going into a magical realm to explore JJ’s journey, so we had to think about what pivotal moment do you decide to enter someone’s story. We were talking about growing up, and when we discussed the first day of kindergarten, things like anxiety and courage, and all of those things came up. I mean, I think parents are sometimes more anxious than our kids are! Our kids might be a little bit more excited. But that is where the genesis of this story came from – watching JJ deal with this milestone and how that becomes an inciting incident for this adventure that he’s about to go on, ultimately resulting in him having to discover something that’s really true about himself, which is courage and finding his voice and realising that sometimes the journey is better with your friends.
Nick: Losing his bear plays a pivotal role in kickstarting JJ’s adventure. When I was a kid, I lost a Dorothy the Dinosaur hat at a fair ground, which was a formatively traumatising moment for me! Did you ever lose anything as a kid that has still stuck with you all of these years later?
KG: You know, it wasn’t something I lost, per se. In the research that we were doing early on, I discovered that before the age of eight a kid’s greatest fear is being lost. And as a parent, that’s mine too. When my daughter was really little, she went missing in our home for like 30 minutes. And later on, we found her in the closet. But that 30 minutes were the most terrifying 30 minutes of my life, right? All I knew in that moment was that I was going to move heaven and earth to find my baby. And I think that is the same feeling that I could relate to JJ. He needs his bear back. This kid is going to move heaven and earth to save his bear. It’s kind of leaning into that idea of art imitating life!
Nick: I think things like CoComelon play such an important role in fostering a creative sensibility in young kids. Is that something you are thinking about when you are making the film?
KG: Yes, it’s definitely at the top of mind, especially as a parent myself. A huge part of JJ’s imagination forms this realm of lost and found. When we began to world build for it, we were thinking about the textures of it. What is this world made out of? We have a blanket fort city made of lost blankies from little kids. We have the arts and crafts forest which is made of all of the missing arts and crafts projects and homework. We have monster truck mountain which is actually built out of adventure books that were lost from a library. We were really thinking about the types of materials that would get made out of lost blocks and puzzle pieces. Even water bottles! That ubiquitous water bottle that kids always lose! We just thought about what kids would lose and how we can use it to help tell the story. It tapped all of our imaginations, and that’s why I love animation.
Nick: I mean, you’ve worked on some amazing projects over your career. And I’m sure you’ve been asked before about how animation has evolved over the three decades you’ve worked in the artform. But I’m more curious to find out what are the foundational elements of animation that you’ve seen stand strong and withstand the test of time?
KG: My career started at Disney, and what really struck me growing up there was when Walt said, “Don’t talk down to kids.” I mean, he spoke to the kid inside of all of us, right? That was always a touchstone for me when it came to working. You have to have a core emotional resonant theme that speaks to the universal truth of being human. Something that we can all relate to and feel, yet still be specific to the character and their journey. Hopefully over the course of the movie, we then learn something about ourselves, you know? Or we feel seen or touched by these movies. I think that part is evergreen. That doesn’t change with good storytelling. We can have humour, and humour changes over time because of generations or whatever. But I think at the core is touching the human heart.
Nick: To close out, Kat – seeing the incredible cast you’ve gathered for this film is incredible. Plus, you’ve got SZA doing the soundtrack! Is there someone in this film that you just couldn’t believe you landed?
KG: Oh, it’s landing SZA. Let’s be honest! I mean, we were so blessed by all of our cast. Nicholas Hoult, Ike Barinholtz, Rhys Darby, Sara Sherman, Ego Nwodim, Josh Johnson, Matt Friend, Connor Esterson – we’ve got an incredible cast. But SZA is kind of penultimate, let’s not lie! And to have her be part of this film was just such a delight. She brings so much sweetness and warmth and emotional vulnerability to her character. It’s been wonderful to see.
Thank you so much to Kat for her time, and to Universal Pictures for organising the interview. Cocomelon The Movie releases in Australian cinemas in 2027.
