The film amplified the gothic whimsy of the book. While the book relies on the reader's imagination to fill in the gaps of the grainy photos, Burton gave us high-definition wonder. He leaned into the contrast between the drab, rainy modern world of Florida, where protagonist Jacob Portman begins, and the saturated, golden-hour loop of 1943 Cairnholm Island.

This is the core story arc, following Jacob’s initial journey.

Author Ransom Riggs, a film school graduate, developed a passion for collecting vintage “vernacular photography” at flea markets and antique shops. He accumulated a vast collection of strange, eerie, and oddly beautiful snapshots of unidentified children from the early 20th century. "I started this collection of old photos on a whim," Riggs recalls. "It never occurred to me that there were so many wonderful photos that had been orphaned... Over time, I found a lot of very strange pictures of kids, and I wanted to know who they were, what their stories were. Since the photos had no context, I decided I needed to make it up".