War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko

Happy Christmas! Let's have a look at Dave Mullins' film, co-written with Sean Ono Lennon, which won Best Animated Short Film at the 2024 Oscars. We discuss the animation techniques, including use of the Unreal Engine, and talk about how John Lennon and Yoko Ono's Christmas song Happy Xmas (War Is Over) came about in 1971, and how it came to be used in the film.

Links

• We made a donation to the War Child charity for this episode, which you can too if you'd like

• Yoko Ono's 1966 piece, Play It By Trust

• Dave Mullins' Pixar short, Lou

• The Toy Story 3 scene in which the characters accept and wait for their death

• An article about the auction of the 1969 postcard John and Yoko sent UK Prime Minister Harold Wilson

Videos

• Watch War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko:

• The "making of" short documentary piece: