WAR IS OVER! has already won an Annie Award for Best Animated Short Subject, as well as a nomination for an Academy Award® for Best Animated Short Film!
So we were naturally delighted to welcome Director Dave Mullins and Executive Producer Sean Ono Lennon to DNEG earlier this month to talk about the film!
Dave and Sean joined us for a chat as part of our INSPIRE SERIES hosted by David Park, Head of Production at DNEG Animation. During the panel, our guests and moderator talked at length about the short film and the story behind it.
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From L-R: Sean Ono Lennon, Dave Mullins and David Park
WAR IS OVER! is an 11-minute film inspired by John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s 50-year-old classic song – Happy Xmas (War Is Over). The short was written and directed by Pixar alum of 20 years and Oscar® nominee, Dave Mullins and produced by Golden Globe® nominee, Brad Booker. Sean Ono Lennon and Yoko Ono served as Executive Producers, animation was produced by Peter Jackson’s Weta FX using Epic Games’ Unreal Engine, and the score was composed by 15-time Oscar® nominee Thomas Newman.
“Whatever treatments I read were good, but they weren’t compelling and felt unnecessary,” said Sean Lennon, talking about the early stages of the project. “Eventually, when Dave and I met, we came up with some exciting ideas and the story came to us rather quickly! We also had to explore why this song is sadly still so relevant, even today”.
Lennon and Mullin went on to share that, surprisingly, there was a point where everything was working, in terms of placement, except for the song! As Dave Mullins explained: “We always need to be prepared for moments where everything that you thought was working may not work anymore. The film starts telling you what it wants to be, and you stop telling the film what it should be… That was the case with the song. We spoke with our expert friends for a few hours then came out feeling good, ready to fix it. That’s how we make great films – we help each other out!”