The concept of The Florida Project came about with Sean Baker seeing the potential in a feature film that showcased poverty in America through juxtaposition. Thus, the film setting of the main characters particularly children growing up in budget motels just adjacent to a place considered as the most enchanting location for kids, Walt Disney World. Moreover, Baker remarked that he is drawn to narratives about female rapport and mother-daughter relationships.
Drawing inspiration from Hal Roach’s Our Gang series the ‘Little Rascals’ Baker aimed to capture the real essence of childhood. The film series that portrayed a group of shabby and rascally children during the Great Depression showed children behaving in a rather natural manner. Therefore through his film, Baker captured the same naturalistic spirit with the child actors as the film is also shot from the perspective of the child. Furthermore, Baker and co-screenwriter Chris Bergoch ensured the names of all the characters ended with ‘e’ or ‘y’ when casting Moonee and her friends Scooty and Jancy. In casting Moonee’s mother Halley, he considered to cast a pop star or a well-known actress but threw the idea after determining the part needed a new face.
Additionally, Baker intended to leave the ending open-ended to be interpreted by the audience. As a particularly inescapable drama it features an almost sad ending until the final scene. The scene features Moonee and her friend running into the Magic Kingdom Park at Disney World. The film shows Moonee as a child growing up below the poverty line unable to experience the park thus escapes into the imagination of her surroundings. Henceforth the audience is also offered the same sense of imagination. As Baker asserts that for the happy ending the audience has to enter into the child’s headspace as that will be the only way to achieve it.
