The Toronto International Film Festival commenced its 49th edition with the global premiere of “ Nutcrackers ,” a charming fish-out-of-water comedy directed by David Gordon Green and starring Ben Stiller in his first film role in seven years.

Stiller’s big screen homecoming wasn’t the only major return to TIFF. Star power is back, baby! Last year’s festival was hobbled by labor strikes that left actors and screenwriters on the picket lines and unable to promote their films. So, it’s a huge relief to not only TIFF organizers but also studios and agencies (who were tasked in 2023 with drumming up excitement for movies without many boldface names in attendance) that A-listers like Cate Blanchett, Lupita Nyong’o, Selena Gomez, Elton John, Ana de Armas, Dakota Johnson and Mark Hamill scheduled to touch down in Toronto over the next 11 days.

It’s not just Hollywood that’s bringing energy to TIFF. At Thursday’s premiere, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a surprise appearance and was greeted with a warm welcome. He acknowledged the country's filmmaking efforts and expressed gratitude to the festival’s CEO Cameron Bailey for “help[ing] put Canada on the international map in terms of film, where it needs to be.”

As for Stiller, he explains that his extended break from acting wasn't intentional. “It was just how things evolved,” he told Variety prior to the premiere. For much of the past decade, he’s been focused on directing the 2018 prison-break miniseries “Escape at Dannemora” and 2022’s workplace sci-fi thriller “Severance.” However, after the strikes halted production of the second season of “Severance”, Stiller found himself available to film “Nutcrackers” (which received an exemption from the unions because it was produced and financed outside the studio system). In the film, Stiller portrays a meticulous, workaholic city dweller who unexpectedly becomes the caretaker of his four orphaned nephews, who reside on a farm in Ohio.

While some seats remained empty at the Roy Thomson Hall, the audience present was enthusiastic, laughing and applauding the film’s family-friendly humor involving fart jokes, a hilariously botched nativity scene, and interactions with various farm animals (including a scene that’ll make people look differently at rotisserie chicken). The story takes a sentimental turn as the boys work to stage a dance production in hopes of finding foster parents — although as Stiller’s character says in the movie, this rendition of Tchaikovsky’s holiday classic “isn’t your grandmother’s” “Nutcracker.” Their performance, featuring samurais, swords, and quirky mustaches, showcases the young actors’ ballet skills — and the film’s final sequence prompted some misty eyes in the room.

Stiller and his four fresh-faced co-stars — brothers Homer Janson, Ulysses Janson, Atlas Janson and Arlo Janson — were greeted with a standing ovation at the Q&A session.

“I made a decision a few years ago that I would only commit to projects that truly resonated with me,” Stiller told the audience. “I wanted to meet these boys and be a part of this.”

Green, the director of “Pineapple Express” and the “Halloween” reboot series, said he conceived the idea for “Nutcrackers” while editing the horror sequel “The Exorcist: Believer,” which was released in 2023. He reached out to his longtime friend, who was a film school classmate and worked on his debut feature 2000’s “George Washington,” and found inspiration in her four sons, none of whom had ever acted.

“There was a part of me that felt it was time to try something different,” he said. “I challenged myself to create a movie devoid of cynicism and malice.”

Green hoped that “Nutcrackers” would grace the big screen, and Stiller agreed, adding that “it’s crucial for us to experience a film like this in a theater. We need more films like this on screen. It’s nostalgic for us, but it’s what audiences love.”

Stiller then shifted the focus to a significant theme of the movie.

“I would like to talk about the farting,” he said.

One of the Janson brothers took over the story, sharing a particularly pungent on-set memory. “I let one rip for like 20 seconds… I don’t know.”

“It was incredible,” Stiller reassured the cinema enthusiasts in the audience. “This is probably the only fart anecdote of the entire festival.”