Those who watch the Oscars, whether faithfully or occasionally, usually focus on the major categories, such as acting, directing, writing and film achievements. Every once in a while, there's that gem of a discovery among the other categories casual watchers usually tune out on while watching award shows.
This year, the category was Best Animated Short Film and the winner was The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. There were two things that made me pay attention to this production by Moonbot Studios.
First, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore beat Pixar Animation Studio's entry La Luna. The animation giant submitted an entry in the category where it first won an Oscar, and given the success that Pixar had and continue to achieve in both full feature and short format animation, it was a surprise when the award was given to the Moonbot Studios creation. So yes, there was a sudden interest on what made The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore great.
Second, the film had books in it. Magical books. Magical flying books. It'd probably freak people out if books actually started flying around them, but I am so on board with the idea of magical books.
The film tells the story of Mr. Morris Lessmore, who was writing his memoir when a storm blew into town. The storm was so devastating, it uprooted all of the building and blew all of the letters away from his memoir. Despondent, he wanders the town until he encounters a strange sight. A woman is flying in the air, pulled by dozens of flying books. The woman sends him one of the books flying with her to Mr. Lessmore, and the book, which featured Humpty Dumpty, leads him to a library. Thus, his life as the librarian and caretaker of the flying books begin. He also helps bring literal color back to people's lives by lending out the books in the library. His new experiences inspire him to start writing his memoir again.
The various inspirations of the filmmakers were evident throughout the short film, such as Hurricane Katrina, silent film actor Buster Keaton and Wizard of Oz. Not a single word is uttered, but the lack of dialogue doesn't diminish and instead heightens the prevailing sense of wonder throughout the entire film, which is reflected by Mr. Lessmore and the inhabitants of his devastated town every time they encounter the books, whether flying or not. And that sense of wonder affects the film's audience. The animation, the human and printed characters, the music and the story of Mr. Lessmore and his flying books all come together to create a film that didn't need over 90 minutes of film time to tell a wonderful story effectively.
You can find The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore in YouTube, though I am not sure how long the uploaded videos, including the one I posted below, will stay online. I suggest you check it out today. And even if you're not a fan of animation, books or silent films, it's only 15 minutes long, which we can all spare to watch something magical.
The film is also available for download in iTunes for Apple devices. If you own an iPad, then you can check out the interactive storybook App version of the film.
Happy viewing!!...
and if The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore inspires you to pick up a book...
Happy reading!!Labels: Animation, Drama, Fantastic Flying Books, Fantasy, Film, Must-Watch, Short, Silent
