Anne Hathaway wants audiences to underestimate Denise Platt.
In “The End of Oak Street,” Hathaway plays an early 1980s suburban wife and mother whose seemingly ordinary life is shattered when a mysterious cosmic event transports her neighborhood to a terrifying place ruled by dinosaurs.
Crafting Denise’s look, Hathaway found inspiration in Dorothy’s iconic blue gingham dress from “The Wizard of Oz.”
I thought about the time in history when Denise would have gotten married, and what the world around her would have been like, how things would have changed, so I wanted her to be someone who felt a little bit like a doll, who may have felt like a little girl who hadn’t quite grown up all the way.
Returning to Dorothy as a visual reference, Hathaway asked costume designer Erin Benach to dress Denise in plenty of blue before the dinosaurs arrive.
There was just something about it that I loved. I just wanted everything to feel very defenseless, so the house coat she wears, it has that pink under layer to it, pink pockets on it, and I just wanted her to feel like the last person you would ever imagine could transform into a beast.
That contrast becomes especially powerful once Denise is forced to protect her children from unimaginable danger.
when she’s got blood splattered on her and she’s screaming and protecting her children from certain death from a gigantic billion-foot-long snake thing, you’re just like, ‘wow, I had you wrong, Denise Platt.
A Family Trapped in an Impossible World
Directed by David Robert Mitchell, known for “It Follows,” and co-produced by J.J. Abrams, “The End of Oak Street” stars Hathaway, Ewan McGregor, Maisy Stella, and Christian Convery as the Platt family.
Their quiet suburban life is upended when a mysterious cosmic event tears Oak Street away from the world they know. Transported to an unknown location, the family suddenly finds dinosaurs roaming through gardens, rooftops, and neighborhood streets.
For McGregor, filming the movie’s intense action sequences was an exhilarating experience.
Annie and I had some really long runs to do,” says the actor, “over gardens, down streets, jumping fences, running over peoples’ front yards, careful not to put our ankle down a hole. But we had fun doing that.
Still, beneath the spectacle and chaos, McGregor believes the Platt family gives the movie its emotional power.
As much as the dinosaur action is going to be incredible and insane, I think if you didn’t have a believable family at the heart of it that you cared about, it wouldn’t matter so much, he explains.
Building a Believable Family
Long before cameras rolled on the film’s largest action scenes, Hathaway, McGregor, Stella, and Convery worked on developing the warm and natural chemistry the filmmakers wanted.
Playing daughter Audrey, Stella spent time talking and laughing with her co-stars between takes. Those moments helped create the genuine affection that anchors the family on screen.
Both on and off camera, McGregor became an emotional center for the cast. Hathaway admired how effortlessly he shifted into demanding stunt work, while Stella credits his warmth and humor with helping the actors quickly feel like a real family.
Prior to “The End of Oak Street,” Stella, known for “My Old Ass,” had never performed wire work.
It’s big!” she shares. “The action and the stunts and the scope of the film feel very exciting. I have not done wire work before, and it was really cool!
Despite the movie’s enormous scale, Stella says its most exciting moments remain grounded in the Platts’ relationship.
We could feel the intensity, and I think the action is really nicely balanced with the family’s love and care, and their dynamic with each other. I think it needed that really beautiful blend of both.
Dinosaurs, Rooftops, and Relentless Action
Christian Convery, who won a Children’s and Family Emmy Award for his lead role in “Sweet Tooth,” was equally enthusiastic about the film’s action.
The scale of the action on Oak Street is definitely not what you would see in a normal action movie, because there are dinosaurs! he says.
There are ravenous, murderous dinosaurs that are constantly chasing our beloved protagonists throughout this film. There’s a lot of fence hopping. There is a lot of screaming. There are a lot of rooftops and a lot of jumping.
Meet Starbuck, the Platts’ Heroic Dog
Completing the Platt family is Starbuck, their loyal dog and, according to Hathaway, the undisputed hero of the movie.
Starbuck was brought to life by two Australian Cattle Dogs named Buzz and Brisket. Buzz excelled in the film’s quieter emotional scenes, while Brisket handled many of its physically demanding action sequences.
Together, they created one unforgettable canine companion.
Working with animals is always challenging, but our Starbuck – or Starbucks, actually, there were two – I love what they did, Mitchell says.
It was really nice having them on set and some of the sequences where, for example, Christian, who plays Brian, is interacting with his dog, are really beautiful. And we had a very talented trainer for these really talented dogs, which was great.
Brisket also formed close bonds with the cast, becoming a welcome source of comfort and comic relief during long days of action-heavy filming.
He was especially fond of Hathaway, often ignoring his assigned seat and curling up beside her instead. Their friendship quickly became an on-set favorite, with Hathaway joking that pizza was more than enough motivation to keep Brisket happy.
We were lucky to have Buzz and Brisket, Hathaway says.
Get ready for a thrilling trip to a neighborhood unlike any other when “The End of Oak Street” arrives in cinemas starting August 12. In North America, the film opens only in theaters and IMAX on August 14, 2026. The film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures.
