War Is Over!

'War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko' is a 2023 independent animated short film directed by Dave Mullins. The 11-minute short was inspired by and features John Lennon and Yoko Ono's anti-war anthem "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)". The film was written by Dave Mullins, with story by Dave Mullins and Sean Ono Lennon. The film was produced by Brad Booker and production was handled by Booker and Mullins' Los Angeles-based animation studio ElectroLeague, in partnership with Lenono Music, Sean Ono Lennon and Yoko Ono. Thomas Newman composed the score for the film.

Plot
Set in an alternate WWI reality, a heroic pigeon delivers messages across the battlefield, from one side to the other. The messages are exchanged by two soldiers on opposite sides, who, unaware of who their opponent is, are playing a game of chess against each other. As the fighting and the game both escalate, they continue to exchange their chess moves, delivered by the brave pigeon. Whoever wins the game, what's certain is that there are no winners in war.

Production
''War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko'' is an animated short film produced by ElectroLeague studio. The animation and visual effects were created by Peter Jackson's New Zealand-based VFX company Wētā FX. Epic Games’ Unreal Engine was used in production to create the imagery. The film was edited by John K. Carr and scored by Oscar-nominated composer Thomas Newman.

Accolades
The film won the Annie Award for Best Animated Short Subject at the 51st Annie Awards on February 17, 2024, and later won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 96th Academy Awards on March 10, 2024.