Filmmaker John Kelly chatted about his 2026 Academy Award nomination for “Best Animated Short Film” for “Retirement Plan.”
It was directed by John Kelly, who wrote the script with Tara Lawall. Irish actor Domhnall Gleeson voices the lead character Ray.
What inspired you to create “Retirement Plan”?
“Retirement” Plan was initially inspired by a feeling of overwhelm. The character grew out of this, someone forged from broken dreams.
To avoid this being as miserable as that last sentence I pulled in the help of Tara Lawall — one of the funniest people I know — to co-write it with me.
What did “Retirement Plan” teach you about yourself?
I learned how to get out of the way of myself. Up til now my work has typically been much more technically-elaborate stop motion animation and puppetry.
I still love working that way, but this approach — using my own drawings and iteratively creating it alongside a tiny team in a low-stakes way allowed me to work much more instinctively and spontaneously. This helped the final outcome.
How did it feel to earn a 2026 Oscar nomination?
One of the loveliest aspects has been sharing the news with others around me. There’s been so much miserable news lately, I think my family and friends have enjoyed having something optimistic to talk about.
It has been fun sharing stories and photos with them from behind the scenes of crazy experiences like the Oscar Nominees Luncheon.
Someone sent me a TikTok of Leonardo DiCaprio arriving and I’m walking right behind him like an unlikely member of his entourage.
What do your plans for the future include?
I’ve been talking about making this kind of animation for adults for years, but until now it’s always been academic – I’ve never had anything to show for it. Retirement Plan feels like a proof of concept for the kind of work I want to make, in short form and long form.
I’m currently working on animated documentary, which was also funded by Screen Ireland and this has overlapping style and sensibility. Also, some death (spoiler alert).
How does it feel to be a filmmaker in the digital age? (Now with streaming, technology and social media being so prevalent)
Social media is fun – and certainly the YouTube algorithm understands me better than I understand myself – but about five years I realized that I was consuming all that stuff, and news, at the expense of actually generating any work myself.
So, I put some guardrails on my phone to stop me doom-scrolling, and installed some apps and systems to write and keeping track of ideas.
After this point, anytime I had a moment with my phone – working up ideas became my procrastination. This film is the first outcome of that change in direction.
Were there any moments in your career that have helped define you?
I wrote and directed a two-minute commercial for Chipotle in 2010 with a soundtrack from Willie Nelson, which was played during the Grammy Awards. It went viral and won a crazy amount of awards – Clios, D&AD Pencils, One Show, and the jefe: a Grand Prix at Cannes Advertising Festival.
I assumed I would be set for life, and the phone would never stop ringing, but six months later it was deathly quiet again. This was a healthy reminder to be a self-starter.
What is your advice for young and emerging filmmakers?
Organize your ideas. Personally, I use a diary app to create a taggable, non-linear archive for ideas I have, big and small, and this syncs across my devices. But however you do it, find a way to create your own personal resource.
It’s a muscle — the more you write or record, the more will come.
What does the word success mean to you? (My favorite question)
For me, success is being able to do more of what you love, and ideally, not becoming a monster.
What would you like to say to your fans and supporters that have been with you on your journey?
Sorry for spamming you so much with this awards sprint, I love you all.
For more information on Oscar-nominated filmmaker John Kelly, follow him on Instagram.
Read More: “Retirement Plan” review.
