The horror short film The Littles held its public premiere at New York Comic Con 2025 in front of a full house. Volunteers estimate turning away more than two hundred people after filling all the seats and allowing some to stand along the walls for the film’s debut and panel.

The Littles stars Violet McGraw (Thunderbolts*, Black Widow, Megan) as 11-year-old Juliette. The film opens with her scream as she stubs her toe on a loose floorboard, prompting her parents, played by Janel Parrish and Dominic Sherwood, to rush into the room to help. Her father’s efforts as a handyman paired with Juliette’s curiosity trigger a string of events, leading to an ending that leaves the viewer wanting more after its sub-seven minute run.

That’s not just my opinion. Several questions and statements from the audience also encouraged the short film to turn into something more. The film’s writer and director, Andrew Duplessie, answered questions about a potential full-length film or sequel, saying there is a 96-page screenplay written and things are looking good toward making it happen. Duplessie also said McGraw is signed on to play Juliette if it gets the green light.

While Parish and Sherwood were unable to attend NYCC as previously announced due to the weather, Duplessie and McGraw fielded audience questions about the film, their prior work, and their creative processes. Duplessie revealed they refered to McGraw as “One-Take Violet” by the end of the shoot due to her ability to nail what they were looking for on the first try. That’s in contrast to Sherwood’s ability to smoothly hammer a nail into the floorboard, which Duplessie and McGraw said involved several takes, including at least one where Sherwood hit his hand.

One thing that makes The Littles unique is its blend of live action and stop motion. Duplessie tapped Anthony Scott for the stop motion portions of the film. Scott previously worked on The Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline, and Pinocchio, and brings that level of artistry to The Littles. To see more on the making of the stop motion portion of the film, check out this featurette, which was also shown along with the film at NYCC.

Following the panel, fans rushed the table for autographs and selfies with Duplessie and McGraw. Both stayed and interacted with fans until attendees wanting to see the next panel started filing into the room. Duplessie hopes to return to NYCC in the future to show more work in a bigger room.

The Littles is making the rounds at independent film festivals, including picking up a win in the horror category at Indy Shorts International Film Festival in July 2025. Duplessie says plans are in the works to make the film available to stream with a goal date of spring 2026.