Greenes
Please don't spend money on this.
Mathilde the Guild
Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.
Scarlet
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
Lee Eisenberg
You wouldn't think that Hurricane Katrina would inspire a fantasy, but the Academy Award-winning short "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore" is just that. This 15-minute cartoon is a look at the power of literature. After seeing his memoirs destroyed by a hurricane, the titular character goes to a library where the books come to life.Books coming to life was an occasional theme in the early Merrie Melodies cartoons - usually involving puns - but here it takes on a more mystifying character. The books are become a new part of the protagonist's existence. It's one of the most impressive pieces of work that I've seen. I understand that director William Joyce worked on "Toy Story". I hope that he turns out more productions like this one. Good one.
ecrashe-541-936793
Recently I was at the local kids bookstore in my hometown. I happened upon the best book called "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore." I don't know why this book grabbed my attention as it was sitting in the middle of a bookshelf between tons of other books. I picked it up and opened it and wow my new favorite book. I brought it home (yes I paid for the hard cover version) and read the whole thing. I realized after reading the book that this was a short film as well. Not just any short film but an academy award winning short film. I decided to look it up. GREAT GREAT GREAT film. Super imaginative with outstanding animation. A must see. Its only 15 minutes long. You should totally watch (and possibly with a box of Kleenex). My mom read the book before she watched the film and she cried. This is not only my new favorite book but now its my new favorite short animation. This is a must watch for everyone including the kids out there and those of us who are young at heart.
sashank_kini-1
Like most other teenage bookworms in the 2000s decade, my first love was Harry Potter, not a guy named Harry Potter (!) but JK Rowling's literary magnum opus. I must have read the longest part Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (almost eight hundred pages in length) not less than seven times. For any normal teen like me, fantasy was a wonderful diversion from the usual drab studies. It was the first time I had begun really caring for a character, and not just caring, but supporting, emphasizing and rooting for him. Later, my mind opened by itself and I penned a novella in my little diary at the age of thirteen which unfortunately was misplaced. I remember being disappointed with the way I ended it abruptly, but that isn't the point. The point is that I wrote something original and I am absolutely proud of it, and what brought this creative drive in me were the precious Harry Potter books.The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore is a luminous display of the director's personal vision – to show how integral books are in developing a person's life. Our protagonist, Mr. Morris Lessmore is a bibliophile who enjoys writing in his diary while sitting cozily in the balcony with just books surrounding him. Suddenly, a mighty hurricane wrecks the entire town and all the material possessions of Mr. Morris and the other citizens are destroyed. What our leading man has is just the diary in his hand but the words have been rubbed out. In this dark period, Morris wanders miserably till he is captivated by a beautiful lady who is soaring high in the air with flapping books around her. Her dress has words written all over it and she looks exultant. A Humpty Dumpty book leads Mr. Morris to a huge library filled with books, and not plain books, but living and breathing ones. Mr. Morris, who has lost nearly everything in the hurricane, now devotes all his time to books. In this process, not only is he able to bring back happiness and a true sense of satisfaction in his life, but he also starts penning a novel and pledges to help the lives of other unfortunate souls by lending them books.What makes Fantastic Flying Books such a joyous watch is the beautiful manner in which director William Joyce brings books to life. The entire story itself feels like a tale said by a mother to her young child at night – the opening scene takes us into a book with the film's title. The contrast before and after the natural calamity is shown colors – while the initial scene is in color, the latter moment is shown in black and white. Also, colors begin reentering Mr. Morris' life only with the arrival of the books; his life comes alive after this. An ironic thing to be noted is that the same books that infuse life in its readers are typed in black and white.Even with the advancing technology and changing cultures, our books are trying hard to stay relevant. We have book readers, IPads and software to read online. Also, many classics like Romeo and Juliet, Wuthering Heights, Gone with the Wind etc are getting a makeover with bolder covers to appeal to this generation. I say it's a good thing but it is only in our hands to include or reject books from our lives. But everyone should give this short film a chance – its beautiful, poignant and thought provoking.
MartinHafer
For the last several years I have gone to see the Academy Award nominated shorts--both live action and animated. This year is a first for the animated category in that as we sat watching, I overheard a lot of murmurs about how bad the nominees were. The folks watching seemed, at times, genuinely mad at the choices. Fortunately, after three very sub-par films, the final three were excellent and it seems pretty clear that the race is between "La Luna" and "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore". And, like the last couple years, following these nominees, they showed some animated shorts that were not nominees but were sort of like runners up--and the folks I talked to preferred these films to several of the nominees."The Fantastic Flying Books" is a very, very good film. Even without some poor nominees against it, it would still be a film that is Oscar-worthy. While not perfect, it is my favorite of the films. It is interesting because the film was made in Louisiana and they were sure to show scenes of New Orleans ('NOLA') when the film begins. However, a tornado comes through town and carries away a bibliophile (book lover) and his book. When they land, things are VERY different. His book now is blank--all the words were blown off by the storm! And, soon he encounters a strange woman who, along with her books, is flying by--literally! Where it all goes from there is a nice little metaphor about the love of reading but I won't say more--partly because it's hard to describe and partly because I don't want to spoil it. Suffice to say, it's a lovely story with excellent CGI and a nice gentle spirit. Sweet and enjoyable.
