“We’re busy!”
So laughs director Kat Good as she continues work on CoComelon: The Movie, with the big-screen spin-off of the children’s favourite coming to cinemas in early 2027.
Here, the animation industry veteran tells us what’s in store.
Harry Guerin: Tell me about the adventure you’ve been on with this film.
Kat Good: It’s been several years of developing and storyboarding, and doing animation on this film, and recording our actors. It’s just been such a joy in the journey. We’re really, really thrilled with the film we’re making, and, you know, we’re really hoping that with this brand-new cinematic experience, people will really see CoComelon in a brand-new way as it evolves into its next stage of growing up with JJ and his friends.
“We get to see JJ go on a journey where he gets to discover his own courage and find his voice, and know that this journey is always better with friends by his side”
How has the CoComelon universe expanded for the big screen?
So, JJ and his friends are actually moving on; they’re going into kindergarten, which brings on some anxieties of its own for JJ!
And so, on the first day of kindergarten, he takes his beloved stuffy bear Boba with him to school – and inadvertently ends up losing him. He has to go on a journey with his best friends, Cody, Cece, and Nina, into a magical realm of The Lost and Found in order to get his bear back.
So, that’s where the beginning of the story happens – our inciting incident. We get to see JJ go on a journey where he gets to discover his own courage and find his voice, and know that this journey is always better with friends by his side.
You’ve worked on a lot of films, on a lot of TV shows, in a lot of different departments. What’s your take on why CoComelon has connected as it has?
Wow, so I think CoComelon is a phenomenon, right? There’s billions of kids around the world watching this thing every day, and I think that a lot of it has to do with the characters. They see themselves in JJ, and Cody, and Cece, and Nina, and Bella, and Nico. They relate to them, and the music is such a fundamental piece of what they connect with.
That became a foundation for us on the film as well: understanding that this musical journey, this adventure that they go on, is going to be a part of the musical narrative of the film.
CoComelon: The Movie opens in cinemas on 12 February, 2027
We’re really fortunate to have our executive music producer, Justin Tranter (who co-wrote Chappell Roan’s Good Luck, Babe!, Imagine Dragons’ Believer, and Justin Bieber’s Sorry), come on [board]. They’re just a phenomenal talent who’s brought 10 new songs with this contemporary sound that just are earwormy. These are songs that are going to get stuck inside people’s heads, and I just can’t wait for people to hear them. Everybody always asks me what’s my favourite one – and I can’t pick! We walk around with them in our heads on any given day.
I think that music is such a huge piece of what makes it just resonate in the minds [of viewers], especially in children. Young children learn a lot through music as well.
When you’ve said to other parents, ‘I’m working on CoComelon: The Movie’, what has been their response, or what’s the one question that they always ask?
‘How do you make a movie out of that series?! How do you tell a narrative?’ And I’m like, ‘Just sit back and wait!’
The biggest question is: how do you take something that was YouTube shorts and turn it into a feature film? And a lot of times, that’s just by, again, connecting with a rich emotional story that is meaningful, that speaks to the kids and where they’re at in their lives.
You know, first day of kindergarten’s fraught with a whole bunch of anxiety, right? And then… but also to the kid inside of each and every one of us – that parents and caregivers will see that there’s something in the message of the story for themselves as well. That was sort of a main topic – touchstone – for me: knowing that this would be a shared family experience at the theatre. And if you’re going to do that, then you want to speak to all ages and have a story that’s relevant, not just to littles, but to… the kid in me, too.
I think that also I said, ‘Just sit back and wait for the music, guys. It’s incredible!’
“There’s billions of kids around the world watching this thing every day, and I think that a lot of it has to do with the characters. They see themselves in JJ, and Cody, and Cece, and Nina, and Bella, and Nico”
How much have you left to do?
We have about 40% left to go. We just had a screening of 50% and it went so great. It was wind beneath our wings. Everyone’s so delighted to see how far it’s come, and it just gave us all of the energy we need to take her home.
CoComelon: The Movie opens in cinemas on 12 February, 2027.