^{Credit: Retirement Plan (John Kelly)}

What’s on your bucket list? If you haven’t given this question much thought, you most certainly will after watching director John Kelly’s Retirement Plan. Although it’s a short subject, we watch a man’s twilight years flash before our eyes as he contemplates all the things he wishes to accomplish before retirement, some simple, some profound, some profoundly simple, and some simply profound. Kelly wrote the script with Tara Lawall, while actor Domhnall Gleeson voices protagonist Ray. Retirement Plan won top prizes at Palm Springs International ShortFest and South by Southwest, qualifying it for the 98^th Academy Awards. Cartoon Contender spoke with Kelly and Lawall about the film’s genesis, working with Gleeson, and what’s on their bucket lists.

^{Credit: John Kelly}

Q: What first got you thinking about retirement? 

John Kelly: I’m in my mid-40s, and it definitely feels like the mid-point of something. I’m not quite over the hill, but for the first time have a good view in both directions. Also, I’m pretty time poor- and bad at managing what time I have. So, the tantalizing prospect of retirement as somewhere to shelve my dreams feels alluring. 

^{Credit: Tara Lawall}

Q: Listening to someone’s to-do list might not seem like an exciting setup. Yet, you made it an absolute charm. What was your writing process for the film?

Tara Lawall: John sent me a video pitch with the beginning, middle, and end already mapped out, and asked if I could fill it in. I think because I am always living with 100 things flying around in my head that I feel vague pressure that I should be or could be doing. Simply being invited to put the ideas down on paper made the writing freeing and simple. I sent John a rough draft based on his structure, and from there we just volleyed back and forth, pulsing up certain parts, smoothing others, and generally giving the whole thing some love.

Q: Was Domhnall Gleeson your only choice to narrate the film, or did you have a few different actors in mind for the role of Ray? 

John Kelly: I immediately thought of Domhnall. Tara and I both agreed he'd be the perfect candidate to capture what we had in mind, a mix of humor and wistfulness. Having no backup options can be helpful, it means you pour everything into that singular approach, and thankfully, he was into it.

Q: Was there any improvisation on Gleeson’s part?

John Kelly: The narration was mostly as scripted, but Domhnall improvised a lot for the dialogue and noises you see his on-screen character Ray say, within the scenes. For example, when he’s chatting to a sommelier or jumping as a cat appears. We didn’t end up using one of my improvisations, however. Towards the end of the film, Ray's ghost is haunting his childhood nemesis. Out of nowhere, Domhnall said, “Deirdre: you’re fucked.” It was beautiful, but we couldn’t fit it in. This is now making me think we need an animated blooper reel.

Q: I read that the first actor John ever directed was George Clooney for a United Nations promo. If Retirement Plan gets nominated for an Oscar and Clooney happens to be there for the film Jay Kelly, will you say hello?  

John Kelly: The thought of this fills me with an intense surge of anxiety, so yes. Yes, I will. 

Q: Marah Curran and Eamonn O’Neill served as the film’s animators. What was your collaboration with them like?

John Kelly: Eamonn and Marah are the power couple of Irish animation, so it was a real treat that they could animate our film. We worked together remotely - I’d draw scenes and put them into a shared drive, and they’d send them back MOVING. They were inspiring to work with, always adding unexpected ideas and nuance. Receiving each shot back from them was like getting a little Christmas present. 

^{Credit: Retirement Plan (John Kelly)}

Q: Every year, The New Yorker picks up a few shorts around award season to share on YouTube. How did you get in contact with the outlet? 

John Kelly: Paul Moakley at The New Yorker got in touch with us very early in our festival run. He said the film felt a bit like a New Yorker cartoon come to life, which is a lovely thing to hear. I’m a sucker for flattery and love TNY, so it was a non-decision. David Sedaris writing an introduction to our short film is something I will take to my grave.

Q: What’s one bucket list item you both have that you’d like to cross off upon retiring (Not one already mentioned in the film)? 

Tara Lawall: I want to learn to knit. But only just maybe. I don’t know if I have the patience to just sit there. I want to be a person that puts on records. I have records, but I never think to put them on. I imagine this life for myself, though, where I sip tea and listen to records. How romantic. I also want to get into tea. 

John Kelly: I also want to get into records but don’t have a record player - so you're one step ahead of me there Lawall. I would like to speak fluent Italian (I currently speak none) and become a master carpenter.

Q: So… did you ever figure out how a terrapin is different from a turtle?

Tara Lawall: Haha, no idea. I went to University of Maryland, whose mascot is a Terapin. So I should know and I have no idea. Let me Google it for us… Looks like terrapins are a type of turtle. All terrapins are turtles. Not all turtles are terrapins. Wow, should have Googled this earlier. Sorry, John!  

Nick Spake is the Author of Bright & Shiny: A History of Animation at Award Shows Volumes 1 and 2. Available Now!