The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse (film)

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
Official release poster
Directed by	Peter Baynton Charlie Mackesy
Screenplay by	Jon Croker Charlie Mackesy
Based on	The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy
Produced by	Cara Speller Matthew Freud Hannah Minghella J. J. Abrams
Starring	Jude Coward Nicoll Tom Hollander Idris Elba Gabriel Byrne
Edited by	Daniel Budin
Music by	Isobel Waller-Bridge
Production companies	Apple Studios Bad Robot Productions NoneMore Productions
Distributed by	Apple TV+ (United States) BBC One BBC iPlayer (United Kingdom)
Release dates	24 December 2022 (2022-12-24) (United Kingdom) 25 December 2022 (2022-12-25) (United States)
Running time	34 minutes
Countries	United Kingdom United States
Language	English

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse is a 2022 animated short film directed by Peter Baynton and Charlie Mackesy and written by Jon Croker and Mackesy. It is based on Mackesy's 2019 picture book of the same name. It features the voices of Jude Coward Nicoll, Tom Hollander, Idris Elba and Gabriel Byrne as the four titular characters who form an unlikely friendship as they travel together in search of the Boy's home.

In early 2020, as the book became a bestseller, several producers attempted to acquire the rights of the novel for a potential screen adaptation. These rights were later acquired by Cara Speller, who collaborated with Matthew Freud in producing the film under their NoneMore Productions banner in their first production. J. J. Abrams also produced the film under the Bad Robot Productions banner. The animation was done remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic, with more than 120 people from over 20 countries working on the film. Since the illustrated book had a loose and unfinished quality of styling, Baynton and his animation team wanted to match this by using pencil ink for the characters, which had an intricate detailing, and watercolour-inspired texture in the background.

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse was released in the United Kingdom through BBC One and BBC iPlayer on 24 December 2022 and in other countries on Apple TV+ on 25 December 2022. It was acclaimed by critics and won Best Animated Short Film at the 95th Academy Awards and Best Short Animation at the 76th British Academy Film Awards.