The Academy Award and Annie Award-winning animated short film, “WAR IS OVER! Inspired By The Music of John & Yoko,” is now available to watch for free exclusively on the Official John Lennon Channel on YouTube, marking its global streaming debut.
The film is set in an alternate WWI reality where, as a senseless war rages on, two soldiers on opposite sides of the conflict play a game of chess. A heroic carrier pigeon delivers the soldiers’ chess moves over the battlefield as the fighting escalates, meanwhile neither soldier knows his opponent as the game and the war builds to its climatic final move. Whoever wins the game, the film powerfully illustrates that one thing is for certain: there are no winners in war.
“WAR IS OVER!” was co-written by Sean Ono Lennon and 20-year Pixar alumni – writer, director, and animator – Dave Mullins (“Up,” “Soul,” “Incredibles 2,” “Cars 2”), directed by Mullins, produced by Brad Booker (“Iron Giant,” “The Book of Life,” “Rumble”), and executive produced by Sean Ono Lennon and Yoko Ono Lennon, with a score composed by 15-time Oscar®-nominee, Thomas Newman.
“WAR IS OVER!” is a co-production of Lenono Music and ElectroLeague with animation produced by Peter Jackson’s Wētā FX using Epic Games’ Unreal Engine.
“Being able to share this film freely with a global audience for the first time feels very meaningful to me,” said Sean Ono Lennon. “My parents always believed that art, even in its simplest form, could help change the world and move us toward love and compassion. The message of peace at the heart of this film feels more vital than ever. I’m very grateful to YouTube for partnering with us to make the film accessible to everyone. It feels especially fitting to release it now, as the holidays begin, as ‘Happy Xmas (War Is Over)’ has always been a reminder of hope and humanity at this time of year. Making “WAR IS OVER!” available to all truly honors that ethos: our shared belief in John & Yoko’s timeless anthem, “War is over if you want it!”