There are actually a few things that inspired me to make Journey of the Spark. I’ll list down some of the big reasons why I decided to make the movie:

1. The death of my grandmother was one of the big things that made me wanna do it. My grandmother was very much like Celestia to me, so the relationship that the two of us shared became reflected in how I wanted to write Twilight and Celestia’s relationship in the movie. Journey of the Spark is also dedicated to my grandmother and you’ll see a message at the end of the film in her memory.
2. I’m not too big on most animated films these days. While there are some great pieces of animation out there, I wanted to make a film that harkened back to the early days of animation, when animators weren’t afraid of treating children like they were adults. I wanted to make a film that children could identify with on a emotional level, one that didn’t talk down to them or treat them like they weren’t capable of understanding what was being presented to them.
3. I want to be an animated film director! I’ve always been a ridiculously ambitious individual and the thought of going out and making a feature-length pony movie was just an exciting endeavor to me!