Daydream Believer: Christmas Edition Makes Fantasies Come True!

The new film by renowned comedy genius Ben Stiller is set to hit theaters on Christmas Eve. This time, he reinterprets James Thurber’s short story “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” from a contemporary perspective—a timeless piece that captures the irresistible magic of daydreaming and is hailed as one of the most influential fantasy stories of all time. Stiller takes that classic 2.5-page 1939 story and transforms it into a 21st-century comedic epic, following a man whose mundane reality begins to make his vivid fantasies come true.

“The driving forces behind the dreams hidden in our hearts are always puzzling... until one day, that power inspires and influences our real lives.” That’s the concept this film aims to tell and remind its viewers. Walter Mitty (played by Ben Stiller) is a modern-day daydreamer, an ordinary photo editor at a magazine, stuck in a dull job that leads him to often escape into fantastical worlds—imagining himself as a hero, living passionate romances, and constantly conquering dangers. But when Mitty and his secret crush (played by Kristen Wiig) actually face the threat of losing their jobs, he is forced to do something he never thought he would: he takes real action—triggering a globe-trotting adventure even more extraordinary than his wildest daydreams.

           For Stiller, *The Secret Life of Walter Mitty* offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reflect on an iconic American story from a fresh angle and through a different era. He first read Thurber’s story in high school. The short, powerful piece made a huge splash when it was first published in The New Yorker. The story was adapted into a popular comedy film in the 1940s and countless stage productions since then, also giving rise to the phrase “he’s a Walter Mitty,” used to describe anyone who daydreams endlessly without engaging seriously with life.

Today, Stiller saw the chance to bring Thurber’s detached daydreamer into a more complex modern reality—covering social dynamics, corporate layoffs, self-improvement, and more—and to enhance the story with comedy, drama, and cinematic elements, incorporating the visual wonders made possible by modern filmmaking techniques.

“I love this story because you can’t categorize it,” Stiller said. “It has elements of comedy, it’s a drama, it’s an adventure story, and it’s both grounded and fantastically surreal. Yet at its core, it’s about a character we can all relate to—a seemingly ordinary guy whose inner world is completely different. I think he represents all the imaginations we have about ourselves and the world—the parts we’ve never spoken out loud.”

As a director, Stiller has earned critical acclaim for his sharp and endearing unique comedic style, seen in films like his satirical take on the fashion world, *Zoolander*, and the successful spoof on action movie mania and friendship, *Tropic Thunder*. With *The Secret Life of Walter Mitty*, Stiller pushes both in front of and behind the camera to places he’s never been before. The film instantly became his most visually daring and emotionally resonant work to date.

 

The film faithfully echoes the immortal fable by American humorist James Thurber, which tells the story of a mild-mannered man forced to transform his life’s frustrations into astonishing flights of fancy. But Stiller’s version of Mitty is a true modern man. Like most of us, he struggles to adapt to an increasingly disconnected, digital world and rapid changes. His way of life feels outdated. His only escape is a series of grandiose daydreams where he is a fearless hero fighting for a better, fairer world. But this has always been his private world, never shared with anyone... until one day, while trying to recover a lost negative from a renowned photographer (played by Sean Penn), he unexpectedly opens a dialogue with another world.