26 February 2012
Sunday Salon: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (2011)
One of the nominees for Best Animated Short in tonight's Oscars is a 15-minute film entitled "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore". I'll be honest: I was going to post a link to this film simply based on the title and the 30-second clip that I saw on CBS Sunday Morning. I decided against it because I figured there would be plenty of book bloggers posting about this film and doing it in a more eloquent manner than I could. Then I watched the film. Oh, my gosh! I just had to add my voice to any others out there touting this work of art.
This film moved me way more than I expected. I was the rare child who didn't like cartoons and I never had patience for wordless books. This short is animated and wordless, but I figured I could sit through it for 15 minutes. Instead, I was engaged right away. The animators did such a great job of bringing the books to life, and the musical score played a great supporting role. I would mention my favorite parts, but I don't want to ruin it for anyone!
The creators, Moonbot Studios, have a interactive storybook version of the film available for the iPad. One of their other apps, called The Numberlys, is also a storybook app about the creation of the alphabet. Judging from these two outings, they seem to be bookish folk. I hope they do well tonight.
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5 comments:
This does sound like a good one! Thanks for sharing....
Here's MY SUNDAY SALON POST
Oh, I'm so glad to know there is at least one other person who didn't like cartoons as a child! Me too. I was always buried in a book instead. Now, whenever people mention a cartoon, I always look at them with a blank stare and when I say I never watched cartoons ... well, I'm sure you can imagine the questions one gets. :)
It's beautiful. I've seen writers and bloggers sharing it around, but I haven't seen it through until now. It moved me to tears.
Ivana, I was also moved to tears, and I don't just mean a trickle or two down my cheek! I was sobbing and trying not to because I was watching with my 15-year-old daughters who are at that age where they look at me oddly when I cry at movies.
Melissa, I watched enough cartoons to know that I didn't like them so I don't feel totally out of the loop if someone my age wants to go on a nostalgia trip about them. I'm lost when adults talk about modern cartoons, though. I haven't watched "The Simpson" since they were an interstitial short on the old Tracey Ullman show, and I have no interest in shows like Family Guy.
I haven't seen the movie short yet, but I completely agree with you about cartoons and wordless books, although I have gotten a little more patience with wordless books as I've aged.
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