Build-A-Bear Entertainment is bringing popular Glisten and the Merry Mission to the big screen with a new animated feature for the whole family to kick-off the holiday season. It opens exclusively in Cinemark theaters nationwide this Friday November 3rd. Director Cory Morrison explains the magic of the movie and what Clark Griswold and Jolly Ol’ Saint Nick have in common. (This Animation Scoop Q&A was edited for length and clarity.)

Jackson Murphy: So before we get into the story and many of the great aspects of this, I want to know a little bit about the origins of you and Build-A-Bear coming together to make an animated movie. How did it all happen?

Cory Morrison: It started with Foundation Media. They’re the producers on it. Patrick Hughes called up a mutual friend and recommended us, Big Jump Entertainment. There originally wasn’t really any sort of development phase. It was sort of carte blanche. A great story that had all these wonderful characters and part of the ethos of Build-A-Bear for quite some time. Glisten and the Merry Mission have been around in Build-A-Bear stores for at least eight years or so. A lot of stories have built up over a period of time, and we decided to make a feature out of it.

JM: Nice. And like Build-A-Bear stores, there are Cinemark theaters all over the country. This is exclusive to them. How does it feel having this movie at Cinemark locations?

CM: I’m completely honored. It’s great. So much work went into this film. A big pat on the back of the crew that worked on this. Everyone worked so hard. When we discovered that everything was going to go up on the big screen, we were completely thrilled. And it deserves it. The core theme of the story is about believing, and this is exactly what that kind of belief gets you at the end of the day.

JM: Yeah. Believe in the power of Glisten and the holidays and the theatrical experience. And what I love about this movie is that at its core, it’s a great mother-daughter story. There are a lot of great scenes with them together and when they go off on their own and meet other characters. How did you want to focus on that aspect?

CM: It’s an integral part of any relationship. Mom [Cinnameg] is busy. She’s a single mom working really hard and trying to maintain what she does on a day to day and still look out for her daughter [Marzipan] as well. It’s that relationship and connection that always needs to drive home with how that dynamic works. It was very important to dive into these types of characters and make a lovely story about it.

JM: It is a lovely story, set in Santa’s Village. It’s about saving Christmas and protecting what it means to a lot of people. For you, when it comes to these characters and this message, how does Christmas mean something to you?

CM: Christmas to me, and I think for a lot of folks out there, is something very dear. It’s about family. It’s about being together with people that you love, celebrating something that you really look forward to every single year. It’s an opportunity to give back too. To reconnect with family members you might not have seen in some time. It’s a very magical time of year.

JM: And I love Grizz the bear, who is voiced by Michael Rappaport. He’s very funny. His whole persona really goes into this character who kind of butts heads a little bit with Marzipan early on but then you discover there’s a purpose for this bear being involved with everybody else in trying to make sure Christmas happens.

CM: He’s the one that’s on the Naughty List… and not necessarily because of something he did that was wrong. Sometimes it’s a misunderstood concept. What’s important is to showcase that there’s something good in everybody. There’s always something good to pull out, especially this time of year. Grizz comes across as this rough loner. Most people are afraid of him because, let’s face it, he’s a bear. And Marzipan, this cute little elfling befriends him, which is wonderful.

JM: This is big: The fact that you got Chevy Chase from “Christmas Vacation” to Santa… Wow! How did you make that happen?

CM: (laughs) Honestly, I had nothing to do with that. That was all Foundation Media and Build-A-Bear. They put together a really fantastic group — Freddie Prinze, Jr., Julia Michaels, Trinity Bliss… brilliant all across the board. Chevy Chase as Santa Claus is pretty wonderful.

JM: He brings a lot of honesty and humanity to Santa Claus, in the scenes with Cinnameg talking about what Christmas means, and the value of her on the team. Did you get any vibes of him kind of taking it in that he’s a part of another big Christmas movie?

CM: Chevy Chase is a little older, so he gets to play that sort of grandfather tone to this. He’s seen a few Christmases. He’s got an extended family. He knows what it’s like and what this type of year is. It’s one of those moments where you really get to connect to the kids out there.

JM: Yeah. Everybody’s great in this, including Dionne Warwick. There’s such a nice spirit and beauty to Glisten the Snow Deer. The character is in it, strategically and purposefully… which is good when it comes to the anticipation building in the story. How did you want to capture and display the beauty of Glisten — and the spirituality of it all?

CM: Glisten is a dominant character in Build-A-Bear. We wanted to make a really wonderful lead-up to this character’s reveal. The only way that Glisten is going to come about is through the power of belief and believing in the spirit of Christmas.

JM: It’s a great journey. And you also have a really lovely looking, hand-drawn village. What were some of the challenges of making a cool, nice, warm village for the holidays?

CM: Very lucky with the crew. Elliott Beavan was the art director on the film. I’ve been working with him for a few years. Josh Gay did an incredible job designing the overall look and feel of this world. Together we wanted to make sure it still maintained the traditional look of what Christmas is — what Santa’s Village would look like. We wanted to keep it soft, bright and colorful. The whole thing about Build-A-Bear is you want to feel like it’s a big hug. We wanted to make sure Santa’s Village and those characters had those big hug feels. As Marzipan moves away from Santa’s Village, it becomes a little more jagged, a little bit darker and cool. We had a lot of fun.

JM: And one of the interesting themes you bring up involving this area and this time of year is change. Christmas is absolutely about heart and belief, but it’s also about change. You incorporate that a little bit with the reindeer radar element — the modern, high-tech stuff, which I thought was pretty funny.

CM: One of the core things was tradition vs. newer technology that might come into play. Traditionally, Santa’s all about wood, hammers, mallets and screwdrivers — making things traditionally with their hands. The idea of maybe making things a little more mechanical… more advanced to help everybody get things through quicker. That juxtaposition of the old and the new clashing together.

JM: When I was a child, my grandmother gave me a little bear named Mr. Tormenta, who would help me get through nasty storms. What is the earliest memory you have of a Teddy Bear in your life?

CM: I had a Teddy, named Teddy, of course, when I was a kid. The bear was as big as I was. He slept with me every night. We were together. He was one of my best friends. I remember when I was four or five years old, he went everywhere I went. I think to a lot of kids out there, having a Teddy or an imaginary friend — someone to confide in and be around — is important. It’s part of that idea of growing up and coming into your own.

JM: Maybe kids can bring their own Teddy to this movie!

CM: Absolutely!