The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore offers a modern tribute to an old world. Made with an animation style that blends stop motion with computer animation and traditional hand-drawing, the silent film pays homage to a bygone era when elegantly printed books inhabited our world. The 15-minute short is the first made by Moonbot Studios, a fledgling animation shop in Shreveport, Louisiana. For their efforts, Moonbot’s founders (William Joyce, Brandon Oldenburg and Lampton Enochs) received an Oscar-nomination this week (Best Animated Short), putting them in competition with two other films featured on Open Culture: Sunday and Wild Life.
We recommend watching The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore in “Couch mode” on Vimeo, or downloading it for free in HD from iTunes. iPad owners will also want to consider buying the related app ($4.99) that turns the film into an interactive narrative experience.
For more animated bibliophilia, don’t miss:
Spike Jonze Presents a Stop Motion Film for Bibliophiles
Books Savored in Stop Motion Film
Going West: A Stop Motion Novel
Books Come to Life in Classic Cartoons from 1930s and 1940s
Such a gorgeous film. It brings me back to the heart and soul of animation. No neat tricks, convoluted plots, just clean, crisp, and emotional.
As a book lover, I clearly understood the passion and love filmmakers had for books. The story’s simplicity is gorgeous.
Sublimely beautiful. Thank you.
Beautiful!
Ahhh…very nice!
Thank you a million times.
dobar !