At the 2024 Oscars, Sean Ono Lennon, the son of musicians Yoko Ono and the late John Lennon, won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short, as part of the team behind War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko.
Based on the 1971 song “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” written by Ono and Lennon, War Is Over! reiterates the theme of the Christmas classic, released as a protest song during the escalation of the Vietnam War. The song gained further popularity after Lennon’s murder in December 1980, as a message of peace and solidarity across human divisions during the religious holiday. Ono Lennon served as a writer for the film, alongside director and co-writer Dave Mullins, who serves as an animator for multiple Pixar films.
War Is Over! is an 11-minute fictional tale set during the First World War, following two opposing armies as they unknowingly play a game of chess against one another. With moves exchanged via a messenger pigeon, the two sides realize they have more in common than they think.
Where can I stream ‘War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko’?
The short film is currently playing in theaters worldwide, in compilation with several other Oscar-nominated shorts, including live-action, animated, and documentary features, presented by ShortsTV. To find your nearest showing, the ShortsTV website allows users to search by region, location, and showtimes to book tickets to see the short.