Zooey Deschanel didn’t realize she was doing a Christmas movie with Merv

Zooey Deschanel I accidentally made one of this year’s top-grossing holiday movies with a new rom-com, An insect.

“I didn’t think it was a Christmas movie when I read the script. I thought it was a rom-com about a dog, which I was happy to do,” Deschanel, 45, told Exclusive US of the Week Before the film Wednesday, December 10, release. “And it was like, ‘Oh, it’s set at Christmas!'”

Deschanel explained that while there are many festive feelings ahead of Merv, viewers shouldn’t go into the film thinking it’s “the kind of Christmas movie where there are elves and reindeer” – he said Hunger? “Christmas is a little sprinkling, like, thing,” she said. “What I like is that there are pounds, but it’s something you can watch any time of the year.”

The holiday packs a lot of emotional punch Mix it upv, a story about Anna (Deschanel) and RUSS (Charlie Cox) Who try to copy their beloved dog after going their own unique ways. When they learn that Merv is suffering from depression – and the word “Xanax” is thrown out by the vet – they agree to put their differences aside for their child’s well-being.

“The joy of putting something on Christmas, and having the holiday as a backdrop, means that emotionally, because the loneliness or loneliness of that holiday season is much greater than Christmas and everyone being together,” the director Jessica Swale explained in We. “So, I think it’s great from an actor’s point of view in terms of storytelling, because it gives you an extra level of stakes to play, to raise the heat under the drama.”

Deschanel agreed, noting that audience sympathy also increases during the holidays. “When you think about a single man on a Tuesday night, you’re like, ‘Meh,'” he said of Shrug. “And then you go, ‘only a boy for Christmas? Oh no!'”

It turns out that Ana, Russir and Merv are all lonely from the breakup, but that everything changes when they take a trip to Florida in a dream hotel (OK, Russian and Mervy Go and Anna follow). Time in the solar system gives Anna and Russion a way to get their issues resolved, while Merv is surrounded by many good friends.

It was a set-up that didn’t always make for the perfect days of shooting, Swale admitted, but he gave a lot of “joy” to his “boast”.

“A lot of those scenes had 20 or 30 dogs in them that weren’t performance dogs,” Swale revealed while laughing, “they don’t have gus’ [who plays Merv] Discipline at his Hollywood station, so they were more stubborn, and things could get crazy. “

Swale pointed to a certain area during dog yoga as it was especially Zany. “I had a bunch of trainers behind the camera all trying to communicate with all the different dogs in the room, and all the dogs going, I’m looking at what I’m supposed to do! ‘ It was chaos.”

Fortunately, Swale went ahead with the conviction that the Doggie Hotel, appropriately named Dog Beach, was a laid-back place where dogs could feel at ease. “It’s supposed to be a traditional holiday destination where people bring their pets from all over the country to have a good time, it seemed appropriate to me that dogs are just dogs,” she said.

Deschanel admitted that as a self-proclaimed cat mom, visiting a dog resort has never been on their list. However, he went with his Felines on vacation in the past, his children, Elsie Otter, 10, Charlie Wolf, shy. (Deschanel shares Elsie and Charlie’s ex-husband Jacob Pechenik.)

“The cats were actually totally happy and my kids were just like, ‘Cat holidays are the best holidays!'” she recalled. “They loved having the cats there.”

The cats also provided emotional support when Deschanel and her children arrived at their home during the Los Angeles fires earlier this year. “We were all stuck in a small hotel room, and the cats were nice and sweet. They were snuggling up every night,” she said. “They had no strings attached to me. My little white will come and be very loud, and say, under my chin, that he will keep me awake.”

Photographing family pets is one of the many things Deschanel likes to do with her children – especially around Christmas time.

“One of my favorite parts of the holiday [is] Listening to Christmas music, singing Christmas music, singing in groups,” said the singer We. “It’s really fun and it’s such a great way to connect with people. I also grew up doing a lot of cookie baking, cookie decorating. I really love doing that.”

An insect is available to stream on prime video now.