War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko | |
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Directed by | Dave Mullins |
Written 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 |
War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko is a 2023 independent [1] animated short film 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 written by Dave Mullins, with story by Dave 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]
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]
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]
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]
John Winston Ono Lennon was an English singer, songwriter and musician. He gained worldwide fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. His work included music, writing, drawings and film. His songwriting partnership with Paul McCartney remains the most successful in history as the primary songwriters in the Beatles.
Julian Charles John Lennon is an English musician, photographer, author, and philanthropist. He is the son of Beatles member John Lennon and his first wife, Cynthia, and he is named after his paternal grandmother, Julia Lennon. Julian inspired three Beatles songs: "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" (1967), "Hey Jude" (1968), and "Good Night" (1968). His parents divorced in 1968 after his father had an affair with Yoko Ono.
Yoko Ono is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking.
Sean Taro Ono Lennon is a British-American musician, songwriter, and producer. He is the son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and half-brother to Julian Lennon. Over the course of his career, he has been a member of the bands Cibo Matto, The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger, The Claypool Lennon Delirium and his parents' group Plastic Ono Band. He has released two solo albums: Into the Sun (1998) and Friendly Fire (2006). He has produced numerous albums for various artists, including Black Lips and the Plastic Ono Band.
Some Time in New York City is a part-studio, part-live double album by John Lennon and Yoko Ono as Plastic Ono Band that included backing by the American rock band Elephant's Memory. Released in June 1972 in the US and in September 1972 in the UK on Apple Records, it is Lennon's sixth album to be released under his own name, and his fourth with Ono. Like Lennon's previous solo albums, it was co-produced by Lennon, Ono and Phil Spector. The album's agitprop lyrics are politically charged compared to its predecessors, addressing political and social issues and topics such as sexism, incarceration, colonialism, and racism.
Double Fantasy is the fifth studio album by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and the final one to feature Lennon before his death. Released in November 1980 on Geffen Records, the album marked Lennon's return to recording music full-time, following his five-year hiatus to raise his son Sean. Recording sessions took place at the Hit Factory in New York City between August and October 1980. The final album features songs from both Lennon and Ono, largely alternating between the two in its track listing. Other tracks recorded by Lennon from the sessions were compiled by Ono for release on Milk and Honey in 1984.
The Plastic Ono Band was a rock band formed by John Lennon and Yoko Ono in 1969 for their collaborative and solo projects based on their 1968 Fluxus conceptual art project of the same name.
"Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" is a Christmas song released in 1971 as a single by John & Yoko/The Plastic Ono Band with the Harlem Community Choir. It was the seventh single release by John Lennon outside his work with the Beatles. The song reached number four in the UK, where its release was delayed until November 1972, and has occasionally re-emerged on the UK Singles Chart, most notably after Lennon's murder in December 1980, when it peaked at number two.
The bed-ins for peace were two week-long nonviolent protests against wars, intended as experimental tests of new ways to promote peace. As the Vietnam War raged in 1969, artist Yoko Ono and her husband John Lennon held one protest at the Hilton Hotel in Amsterdam and one at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal. The idea is derived from a "sit-in", in which a group of protesters remain seated in front of or within an establishment until they are evicted, arrested, or their requests are met.
Peace, Love & Truth is a compilation album of music celebrating John Lennon and Yoko Ono's songs for peace, released only in Asian and Australian markets in August 2005. In place of this release for the rest of the world, Working Class Hero: The Definitive Lennon was issued in October of the same year.
"Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)" is a song written and performed by John Lennon. It was released on the 1980 album Double Fantasy, the last album by Lennon and Ono released before his death.
Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon is a DVD that was released in November 2003, alongside the album of the same name. It features a series of remastered, remixed, and new videos with Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound audio mixes.
"Grow Old with Me" is one of the final songs written by John Lennon. It was first recorded by Lennon as a demo while in Bermuda. A handwritten lyric sheet for the song is dated July 5, 1980 Fairyland Bermuda. The song was first released on the posthumous album Milk and Honey in 1984. It was also rumored to be among the songs planned as a possible reunion single by his former bandmates during the making of The Beatles Anthology.
The Incredible Penguins were an Australian supergroup formed in 1985, which reached the top ten on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart with their cover of "Happy Xmas " in December. Contributors included Angry Anderson, Bob Geldof, Brian Mannix, Scott Carne, Colleen Hewett, and John Farnham. The charity project, for research on little penguins, was organized and produced by Countdown host, Ian Meldrum.
Instant Karma: All-Time Greatest Hits, a three-disc compilation album of music recorded by John Lennon, is a budget release targeted for sale at warehouse-type stores such as Sam's Club and Costco. The album was released in 2002 by Timeless/Traditions Alive Music under license from Capitol/EMI Special Projects.
The War Is Over may refer to:
Icon is a compilation album by John Lennon, released in 2014. It is part of the budget line Icon album series issued by Universal Music Enterprises since 2010.
Dave Mullins is an American writer, director and animator and co-founder of the Los Angeles-based animation studio ElectroLeague, best known for his animated short film, LOU (2017), for which he received critical acclaim and was nominated for Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 90th Academy Awards. On January 23, 2024, Mullins received his second nomination in that same category, with the short film WAR IS OVER! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko (2023) at the 96th Academy Awards.
Brad Booker is an American producer and animator, founder of the American animation studio ElectroLeague. Booker is best known for The Iron Giant (1999), The Book of Life (2014) and the animated short film WAR IS OVER! Inspired by the Music of John and Ono (2023), which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at 96th Academy Awards on January 23, 2024.