Charlie Mackesy on Adapting 'The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse'

In 2019, British author and illustrator Charlie Mackesy wowed readers with his book The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, a moving story about a child's friendship with the three titular animals.

At the time, it was named both Barnes & Noble and Waterstones' Book of the Year, and now the story has been adapted for a Christmas special that hits Apple TV+ on December 25.

Mackesy told Newsweek what it was like to adapt his own work and how he felt about his characters being brought to life.

Charlie Mackesy on Adapting 'The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse'

When Mackesy was first approached about adapting The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse he was "scared of what people would do to it" so he was keen to be as involved as possible from the outset with the Apple TV+ version.

"Because I was involved in the whole process it felt calm," the author said of the short film. "And I enjoyed it because I could have a say in how they looked and everything, I guess, for me, it was a real pleasure to be allowed to be involved in it and have some control over the animation.

"I think it was also difficult for everyone making it, if it had been filmed without a book it would have been easier because we wouldn't have had to be faithful to an original.

"Making a film of a book, particularly one like this, where there is such a strong visual character, it was difficult for everybody to turn those characters into workable, animated versions of themselves. But I have real admiration for everyone working on it, all the animators were amazing, they were so committed to it way beyond the realms of a job."

The film took two years to make, and during this time Mackesy helped in a range of areas including co-writing the script, helping the animation team and also giving advice to the film's voice cast.

Of helping the animation team recreate his art, Mackesy said: "I worked a lot with them because it mattered how they moved, it mattered to me how they translated onscreen.

"To try to recreate them, the animators basically had to learn a new language because, again, if they started from scratch they could create their own but they were trying to emulate something that already existed and that's a tough job, and I was involved very deeply in the early stages of developing the characters."

"Whenever I look at any piece of film I just remember the intention that went into each bit," he went on. "And I think the animators did a very fine job in the end learning the language and being able to do it. I take my hat off to all of them, I have a real respect for them."

On 'The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse' Voice Cast

The film has an A-list cast, with actors Idris Elba, Tom Hollander, and Gabriel Byrne lending their voices to the Fox, the Mole, and the Horse, respectively. They're joined by Jude Coward Nicoll, who voices the Boy.

"Collectively they were just so perfect," Mackesy said of the actors. "And each one had their own journey to the film. The Boy, whose voice I had in my head for a long time, when I heard [Jude's] voice it was the perfect fit for me as the voice.

"Tom is an extremely gifted actor, a voice like velvet, very Mole-like, he was capable of such a range of emotion, he could give you pathos and humor in the same sentence.

"Gabriel, I hand-wrote a letter to him asking if he could be the Horse and he wrote me one back and told me 'I am the Horse,' it was an amazing performance. And Idris is so talented, he can have that threatening sound as the Fox and then he could turn that into kindness very quickly."

Mackesy went on: "These guys seemed so good and so perfect it made sense [to cast them], and they were wonderful to work with.

"It was odd for me as this author and illustrator to be involved in the direction of these heavyweights but, again, they were so open and humble, and so committed to their craft and you could tell that they just wanted to get things right and didn't mind suggestions or direction, and that was a lovely thing."

A Message of Hope

Something that was most important to convey in the film was taking the book's message about mental health, and supporting those who are struggling with their own, in a meaningful way.

Mackesy said he included the subject in his original book as "an instinct" and said: "I just felt, particularly in men, that we struggle to be honest about our feelings, or ask for help, or say things that appear to be vulnerable but I feel that vulnerability is such an important part of connecting to each other.

"Having made the book I didn't want to compromise by not having those issues infused into the film. In the Mole finding it hard to say he loved them, or the Horse asking for help, or the Fox confessing that sometimes his mind plays tricks on him, I think they're all things we suffer from.

"I think they're all things probably we struggle to admit or engage with, with each other, and I just wanted to make sure [it was in the film]. I didn't want to make a film that just looked pretty, I wanted it to have a bit of grit in it, I wanted it to have meaning."

"I suppose when you make a book or a film it's a linear event, people start one place and end somewhere else, and you can only hope they feel better at the end, or more hopeful, or more open, or more encouraged to tell the truth about themselves," the author went on.

"In a way it's why I made the book, I never thought the book would sell because it was quite odd [...] I was advised to do it differently but chose not to.

"Certainly with the film we could have made it less pithy, perhaps, but I wanted instinctively to keep some of the central messages from [the book] in the film, things that have helped me, or things that I've learned that have become important to me, that was difficult but I wanted to keep it in."

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse is out on Apple TV+ now.