Retirement Plan’s production moved quickly, according to the director, taking about nine months from green light to delivery, with roughly four months dedicated to the animation work by Marah Curran and Eamonn O’Neill.
That pace, Kelly said, is unusually fast for animation, with much of his previous work involving stop‑motion and puppetry, techniques that demand larger teams and time.
With animation offering limitless possibilities, Kelly felt it was important to resist the temptation to add flourishes, instead opting for a stripped‑back visual style that focused on subtle movements and lighting.
“I felt like the film would have a little bit more relatability and feel a bit more real if we just kept things grounded… There’s no crazy moves,” he explained.
“It’s lots of little, quiet, introspective moments. There’s a bit where we had one line, which is, ‘I will cry more and I will cry less’.
“I thought, what if he is at the funeral of maybe his 10th friend that’s died because he’s getting really old and he’s become deadened… emotionally numb.
“We were coming to animate that, it’s literally just an open casket and he’s standing beside it and…so does he lift his hand up and put his hand on the casket?
“In the end we decide, no, he’s just going to stand completely still, and he’s just standing there looking at it.”