When Sean Ono Lennon got to work with director Dave Mullins on the short film War Is Over!winning an Oscar was not on his mind. The idea was to take the Christmas and pacifist anthem Happy Xmas (War Is Over)written and recorded in 1971 by his parents John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and introduce it to a new generation through an 11-minute animated film. The short film tells of soldiers on opposing sides in the First World War playing chess using a carrier pigeon. After being screened at various festivals, War Is Over! it actually won an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film. “We tried to do justice to the universal message of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, who wrote the song that inspired us,” Mullins said on Oscar night. Sean then made a children's picture book based on the film.
Despite the Oscar, so many people still haven't seen it War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko. They can do it now that it has arrived on YouTube (see below). For the occasion, Sean Lennon answered our questions via email about the short, what he learned from making it, the Oscars and the new concept album with Les Claypool.
How did you meet Mullins?
I wanted to make an unconventional video for Happy Xmas (War Is Over)not the usual music video in short, but something more ambitious. Thanks to a tip from a friend I took a look at Dave's work and in particular a short film entitled Louwhich was nominated for an Oscar. I recommend you watch it. I met Dave and we came up with the bulk of the story right away. There was a creative understanding, it was obvious, it all started from there.
How did you develop the story?
We started with the chess game. I then got the idea that enemy soldiers secretly played with it via carrier pigeons, which were actually used in war. I found it interesting as an idea, I love pigeons, I love birds and they are rarely the focus of animated films, there is always a dog or some other animal. It seemed nice to me to tell the story of a heroic pigeon, many died in war to save human beings or protect them or help them, somewhere there is also a statue dedicated to one of the bravest pigeons of the First World War or thereabouts. I was inspired by the fact that animals can be heroes too. It all started from there.
What were the biggest challenges in making it happen?
I've said it before, and it's interesting, but we did it easily and quickly. We also managed to get Thomas Newman for the soundtrack and he's someone who usually works on much bigger projects. I don't think he's ever made a short before. When I talked to Peter Jackson about it, he had just made it Get Back for the Beatles, he said he wanted to help out with the graphics and animation process. It was all incredibly simple. And to be honest after the nomination I was pretty sure we were going to win the Oscar.
What did you learn from working on it?
That I'm not crazy. Before I met Dave when I was telling people that I wanted to make a short film instead of a music video, the idea seemed ridiculous considering that most living artists can't even afford the budget for videos like in the old days. It seemed unrealistic, in short. But evidently by thinking outside the box you can also realize crazy and ambitious ideas.
What do you hope the public gets?
Honest: One of the first and most important things I told Dave was that I wanted to make people cry. I feel guilty saying it like that, but there's nothing sadistic about it. I just want it to touch people. We have become indifferent when it comes to being against war after so many protests we have seen over the last decades, perhaps even centuries. It's an easy idea to dismiss and so I wanted to emotionally engage the viewer to make sure the song's message came across loud and clear.
How did you feel when they read your name at the Academy Awards?
It was surreal, almost an out-of-body experience, unreal. I thought it would be like when a miss wins a competition, starts crying, they throw flowers at her. Instead it was more like floating in a surreal dream from which I expected to wake up at any moment. We were towards the beginning of the ceremony, perhaps it was the first prize of the television part and in an instant it was all over. Better, I was able to enjoy the rest of the evening stress-free.
Why was it important to release the film on YouTube in time for the holidays?
Because it is the very meaning of the song and the film. In the end, it's a Christmas piece.
What are you working on now?
My band, Claypool Lennon Delirium, just finished a double album/rock opera that will be out soon, early next year. I'm thrilled about it. It's our first double album, our third album and it's a conceptual album with a story. There will also be one graphic novels tied to the disk. You'll see, it'll be cool.
From Rolling Stone US.
