Finding Happy (2024): Cast, Story and Release Details

Prepared by Movies Dock Editorial

Finding Happy follows a woman who rescues a day-old sparrow during a difficult period in her life. Their bond leads to a worldwide exploration of unusual human-animal relationships and the ways kindness, compassion and connection can shape how people understand healing and happiness.

Finding Happy is a 2024 documentary about the bond between a woman and an injured one-day-old sparrow. What begins during a low point in her life develops into a broader exploration of meaningful relationships between people and animals.

Directed and written by Maria Bertrand, the film examines kindness, compassion, mental health and healing through a personal story that expands beyond one rescue. Its 73-minute running time keeps the focus on the emotional and human-animal connections at the center of the documentary.

Finding Happy movie details

Story without spoilers

The film begins when a woman rescues an injured sparrow that is only one day old. The connection that follows becomes the starting point for a worldwide journey, introducing other extraordinary relationships between humans and animals.

Rather than focusing solely on the bird, Finding Happy uses that bond to consider larger questions about kindness, emotional connection and compassion. The documentary’s premise suggests a movement from one intimate act of care toward a wider look at how animals can affect people’s lives and perspectives.

What to expect

As a documentary, Finding Happy is built around real human-animal relationships rather than a fictional plot. Its central subjects include an injured sparrow and other animals, with the story connected to themes of mental health, healing, kindness and happiness.

Viewers can expect an inspirational, compassion-focused premise that moves from a personal rescue to a global exploration. The supplied cast includes people appearing as themselves, along with several animals identified by name, including Happy the Sparrow, Honk the Goose, Sammi the Chicken and Jenna the Cow.

Cast and creative team

Maria Bertrand serves as both director and writer and appears as herself. The documentary also features Zach Skow and Cheryl Allison as themselves. The animal participants listed in the cast are Happy The Sparrow, Honk The Goose, Sammi the Chicken and Jenna the Cow, each appearing as themselves.

• Maria Bertrand as Self
• Zach Skow as Self
• Cheryl Allison as Self
• Happy The Sparrow as Self
• Honk The Goose as Self
• Sammi the Chicken as Self
• Jenna the Cow as Self

Release and production context

Finding Happy was released on October 20, 2024. It is a documentary from the United States of America, spoken in English, with a runtime of 1 hour and 13 minutes. The production companies are Happy Moone Productions and We Are All Animals.

Production companies: Happy Moone Productions, We Are All Animals

Finding Happy official trailer

Watch the official trailer on YouTube

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Finding Happy presents a focused documentary premise: an unexpected bond with a very young sparrow opens the door to a wider examination of human-animal connection. With its emphasis on kindness, compassion, mental health and healing, the film frames personal care as the beginning of a much larger conversation.

Film data:
TMDB