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That's how writer and director Louis Gonzales describes a crucial moment in the development of his short film, Nona. Developed during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, while working remotely, Gonzales struggled with the project as it went through several drafts, changes, and rewrites. However, this is a wrestling match that he ended up winning in the end.
Nona follows the titular grandmother (Wilma Bonet), a huge wrestling fan, who is just preparing to watch her favorite wrestling event. As she's "turning off the world" to focus on the show, her granddaughter is unexpectedly dropped at her apartment, forcing her to choose between her beloved wrestling show and her family.
There really isn't much to the short. It's very simple and cute. Apparently, the biggest conflict between Gonzales and his team was in how "neglectful" the grandmother should be with her granddaughter, and how "confrontational" should she be as a result. After all, Gonzales jokingly describes the two characters as "opponents" in an interview.
Much like the "wrestling" event depicted in the short, and the "wrestling" between grandmother and granddaughter, Gonzales had to "wrestle" with many obstacles to get to where he wanted. From creative differences with his team, to the struggles of working remotely. It's nice to see he was able to work with it long enough to come up with a version he was satisfied with. It's probably my least favorite of these Pixar SparkShorts, but it's still a charming one.
Grade:
NONA
(2021, Gonzales)
(2021, Gonzales)
"I’ve taken too much time on this and I can’t get it to work; I just dug myself in a deeper hole. We need to stop. I like the other version, [and] I need to tell the team."
That's how writer and director Louis Gonzales describes a crucial moment in the development of his short film, Nona. Developed during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, while working remotely, Gonzales struggled with the project as it went through several drafts, changes, and rewrites. However, this is a wrestling match that he ended up winning in the end.
Nona follows the titular grandmother (Wilma Bonet), a huge wrestling fan, who is just preparing to watch her favorite wrestling event. As she's "turning off the world" to focus on the show, her granddaughter is unexpectedly dropped at her apartment, forcing her to choose between her beloved wrestling show and her family.
There really isn't much to the short. It's very simple and cute. Apparently, the biggest conflict between Gonzales and his team was in how "neglectful" the grandmother should be with her granddaughter, and how "confrontational" should she be as a result. After all, Gonzales jokingly describes the two characters as "opponents" in an interview.
Much like the "wrestling" event depicted in the short, and the "wrestling" between grandmother and granddaughter, Gonzales had to "wrestle" with many obstacles to get to where he wanted. From creative differences with his team, to the struggles of working remotely. It's nice to see he was able to work with it long enough to come up with a version he was satisfied with. It's probably my least favorite of these Pixar SparkShorts, but it's still a charming one.
Grade: