War Is Over!

War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko is a 2023 independent^[1] animated short film written and directed by Dave Mullins.^[2] The 11-minute short was inspired by and features John Lennon and Yoko Ono's anti-war anthem "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)". The film was also based on a story by Mullins and Sean Ono Lennon.^[3] The film was produced by Brad Booker and production was handled by Booker and Mullins' Los Angeles-based animation studio ElectroLeague,^[4] in partnership with Lenono Music, Sean Ono Lennon and Yoko Ono.^[5][6] Thomas Newman composed the score for the film.^[7]

War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko
Directed by	Dave Mullins
Written by	Dave Mullins
Story by	Dave Mullins Sean Ono Lennon
Produced by	Brad Booker Sophie Cherry
Music by	Thomas Newman
Production company	ElectroLeague
Running time	11 minutes
Country	United States

Plot

Set in an alternate WWI reality, a heroic pigeon delivers messages across the battlefield, from one side to the other. The messages are exchanged by two soldiers on opposite sides, who, unaware of who their opponent is, are playing a game of chess against each other. As the fighting and the game both escalate, they continue to exchange their chess moves, delivered by the brave pigeon. Whoever wins the game, what's certain is that there are no winners in war.^[1]

Production

War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko is an animated short film produced by ElectroLeague studio.^[8] The animation and visual effects were created by Peter Jackson's New Zealand-based VFX company Wētā FX.^[7][5] Epic Games’ Unreal Engine was used in production to create the imagery.^[5] The film was edited by John K. Carr and scored by Oscar-nominated composer Thomas Newman.^[7][9]

Accolades

The film won the Annie Award for Best Animated Short Subject at the 51st Annie Awards on February 17, 2024, and later won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 96th Academy Awards on March 10, 2024.^[10]

Reception

Collin Souter of Roger Ebert.com praised the film (seen as part of ShortsTV program of Oscar-nominated short films), confessing that:^[11]

"Maybe I liked this more than others because it was the last one I watched and, for once, it wasn’t someone narrating a story about their past. And maybe because I’m a sap for the song. I get why people roll their eyes at the end, and I think I did at first, but I eventually found myself going along with its heartfelt sincerity, just like any Lennon/Ono song that wears its heart on its sleeve. The artists at WETA digital collaborated with Sean Lennon Ono on the piece and it tells a good story no matter how hamfisted the ending may be. I went into this thinking we’d be getting a music video treatment of the song, coupled with obvious present-day footage to make a point. This was a refreshing change of pace, both for the program and the approach".

Bea Hammam of 34th Street Magazine stated that the film was stylistically the least creative out of all the Animated Short nominees.^[12]