This 26 minute special feature documents the 10 year journey it took for Secondhand Lions to be made , from Tim McCanlies writing " the most personal story he had ever written " in the early 1990s, to the many difficulties and obstacles that were encountered before this wonderful story made it to the big screen .

Interviews with Tim McCanlies as well as Producers Karen Loop, Cory Sienega , David Kirschner ,Scott Ross and Mark Kaufman reveal how much everyone believed in this film, and how touched they each were on a personal level by the story.

It's interesting to note that although there were some "big name" actors in Hollywood who were initially approached to play the role of the Brothers McCann, none of them were interested because nobody wanted to play " old " . The problem of casting the older actors continued for over 2 years. However, Executive Producer Karen Loop realised that to get the film off the ground, it was important to cast the role of young Walter .

As Producer David Kirschner says , " Karen Loop was enormously persistent in getting the script to Haley Joel Osment .... there were not too many boys, at that point in time, as far as their being 13 or 14 years old, who are major stars, so it made a great deal of sense to get to Haley Joel Osment " .

Karen Loop herself said, " There was really only one shot at one boy in town who could draw that kind of attention , and ( after Haley's name was attached to the picture ) when people called back and said that they were interested in doing the picture, our jaws just dropped. It was really shocking. " Haley's name being attached to the film drew in not only the rest of the cast, but the backers and buyers needed to get the production going. He really was the reason that the movie was greenlighted.

Secondhand Lions was the first film released by the newly formed Family Film Division of Newline Cinemas . Initially, the studio was concerned about Tim McCanlies being a first time studio director, particularly with regards to his ability to film the special effects and fantasy sequences, and they even went to the extent of suggesting that another director replace Tim McCanlies. Tim McCanlies' adamant reply was "No ! " He had waited 10 years to get the film made, it was his film, and he would definitely get it made... it was just a matter of which studio he would get it made at . Such was the depth of his passion for his script and film !

The documentary feature aptly ends with these fitting words , " After 10 years, McCanlies was truly ready to commit to film the most personal screenplay he had ever written. "

As Tim McCanlies himself says , " Everything happens for a reason, I guess ... I think the time was just right for Secondhand Lions. I'm glad it took as long as it did. I think I really needed to be the person to direct Secondhand Lions. Everything happened for a reason, and I'm really glad everything worked out the way it did. I think everything worked out the right way. "

We couldn't agree more !