'I'm in this year's John Lewis Xmas advert - I found one part of filming hard'

09 November 2023 , 07:00

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Like Halloween and Bonfire night, the release of the John Lewis Christmas advert is one of the most highly anticpated moments of the year - and the pressure is on every year for the department store to up their game.

A carniverous plant is the unlikely main character in this year's festive helping as it grows with the help of a young boy, who nurtures it into a very unconventional Christmas tree. From a tiny seed Alfie finds from a car boot sale, Snapper the mischievous Venus flytrap grows and brings an unexpected twist and joy to celebrations. After his antics prove too much for his new family as he creates havoc in the home, he's thrown outside into the cold and is heartbreakingly forced to watch as he's replaced by a conventional Christmas tree. Yet it's Alfie, who reaches out again to Snapper as he hands the plant a present and prompts his family to embrace the loveable creature.

Young eight-year-old actor Teddy Holton-Frances, from Bournemouth, stars as Alfie in the advert. Opening up about the choice to cast Teddy, Franki Goodwin - of Saatchi & Saatchi - says: "We found this incredibly talented young boy called Teddy, who honestly is one of the best actors, large or small, I've ever worked with. He is incredible. His consistency, his nuance."

"What I like most about being the actor is like seeing how people work on cameras, it's really cool," Teddy says. "The hardest part of a shoot was like when I needed to look really sad when the cameras zoomed up on me."

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Teddy Holton-Frances plays Alfie in the blockbuster advert (John Lewis)

While Snapper is created through CGI, a puppet was used on set to create more authentic reactions from actors on set. "Having a real tangible puppet on set is super important for loads of different departments," puppet maker Hugh Purves explains. "The actor has something to actually act against and work with. The camera team actually can see the size of the object in the framing. The director can direct the movement of the puppeteer as well as the actor."

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Speaking about creating the character of Snapper, Electric Theatre Company's Dean Robinson says: "He’s a pretty cheeky chappie. I think that's what was quite unexpected about him. I think his personality really is like a fun loving little puppy. His head as a sort of like Venus flytrap has got sort of emotion to it. And, you know, even without thinking of it as being the creature, you can imagine that personality in it. You know, you can make him feel sad or happy or sort of like laughing around. It's all down to the animation."

The advert also features a very recognisable voice providing an upbeat and joyful original song. World-renowned opera legend Andrea Bocelli performs 'Festa', meaning 'celebration', which is written and produced by Le Feste Antonacci. The song will be released in a longr form as a charity single, with a portion of the proceeds from the sale going towards John Lewis Partnership’s Building Happier Futures charities, which help care experienced young people and families in need.

'I'm in this year's John Lewis Xmas advert - I found one part of filming hard'

Snapper quickly grows to become a very unusual Christmas tree (John Lewis)

“I am delighted to take part in this wonderful and unique tradition of Christmas storytelling," Andrea Bocelli said. "It is very special for me given the great support this will bring to both the John Lewis and Andrea Bocelli foundations. Joy to all of your worlds this Christmas!"

The lyrics are very simple, with the focus on the melody and sound rather than words. 'La vita e una festa' is repeated throughout, meaning 'life is a celebration'. Opening about the choice of song, Saatchi & Saatchi Managing Director Sarah Jenkins tells the Mirror: "We didn't need a lyric to carry it so much, actually what the directors had was the brilliant idea of putting an Italian track on it so that the lyric was more of an instrument, so that the voice was an instrument and it was a way to bring joy and bring surprise to it. They had this track by a band they knew and we rewrote and re-recorded it and then called up Bocelli and asked if he would like to get involved and we were lucky enough for him to say yes!"

Products available to buy from the advert: