SmugKitZine Tied for the best movie I have ever seen

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Benas Mcloughlin Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

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.

BikeBill This is a simple story, told without spoken word but rather by pictures and music. I wasn't sure what I was seeing at first, but was willing to give fifteen minutes. At the end, there were no reasons for regret, and I was in full agreement with the Academy for acknowledging this work with the Oscar for Best Animated Short.*** WARNING: Possible spoilers ahead ***Is this film a sort-of sideways slap at technology, such as e-books and devices like the Kindle or Nook? Perhaps, especially as the main character performs "surgery" on the old bedraggled tome rather than merely scanning it into a database. But the point I took away from this scene was that books live only so long as they are read, and to stop reading them is to kill them. The other thing to remember is that while e-books offer a way to put the printed word in front of more people more economically, not everybody, especially in developing countries or following natural disasters, will have access to the needed technology or infrastructure to fully take advantage of e-books. Not to mention that sometimes curling up with an actual physical book, turning the pages and idly wondering who else might have held this volume transcends the convenience of glowing letters on a glass screen.Librarians and bibliophiles will be drawn to this, of course, but one can only hope that ordinary people will also see this. One hopes that they will take away the underlying lesson — that books and stories live on, but only so long as people continue to read, write, and tell them.

MissSimonetta Charming, humorous, and poignant is the best way to describe The Fantastic Flying Books of Morris Lessmore, a little piece about the power of stories and how they can positively affect our lives. The art style itself is reminiscent of a book illustration with its rounded characters, soft colors, and warm lighting. The animation utilizes a variety of techniques from CG to stop motion, and, combined with the great background and character designs, makes for pure eye candy.However, the real reason to check out Morris Lessmore is for the story. It tells the story of a young man in love with books and writing who comes across a library full of living, flying books after his city is destroyed by a hurricane. The books bring liveliness and joy back into his life, and in turn, he takes care of them. More happens after that, but I won't dare spoil it for you, as you have to see it in order to really enjoy it.It's a brief piece at only fifteen minutes, but I assure you it's worth every second. The ending had me uplifted and actually shedding tears. Thus I'm baffled at the current score-- I'm not saying I was expecting a 10 or even an 8, but not even a 7 seems too low a score for one of the best animated short films of the past year.