"Instant Family" is more of a personal project for Sean Anders as it's based on his own life as an adoptive parent. Anders recalled in a written piece for Time that he and his wife Beth were initially planning to adopt one kid. Instead, they wound up adopting three siblings: an 18-month-old, three-year-old, and a six-year-old. It was definitely a rough journey for the family at first, as Anders wrote that "When you get three at once you don't have time to get your sea legs." Fortunately, it wasn't long before Anders and his wife couldn't picture their lives without their children.
As Anders revealed in an interview with Screen Rant, there are a lot of scenes in "Instant Family" pulled from his own life. However, "Instant Family" isn't just rooted in his own personal story — the movie also pulls from other foster parents and former foster children he met while working on the script. Anders told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about Maraide Green, one such former foster child adopted as a teen, who became a consultant for "Instant Family." Much of her own story is in the movie.
So while "Instant Family" has its share of laughs and earnest moments, it still also aims to be a realistic portrayal of the foster care system and what being an adoptive parent really entails.
