William Joyce, Ex-Pixar Designer, Creates Astounding Kids' Book For The iPad
/"The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore" is like a well-written bedtime story and an immersive animated movie at once. Every page has some delightful, hidden feature embedded into it.
Part of why the book works so well is its top-shelf creative pedigree: author William Joyce is also an accomplished illustrator and animator who's published New Yorker covers, won a bunch of Emmys, created character designs for some of Pixar's first animated classics, and worked on many others for Dreamworks and Disney. With his cohorts at Moonbot Studios, he created an interactive book-app around the story and a standalone animated film -- so you can experience "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore" however you like.
Truly delightful and beautiful book/app/experience.
Inspired, in equal measures, by Hurricane Katrina, Buster Keaton, The Wizard of Oz, and a love for books, “Morris Lessmore” is a story of people who devote their lives to books and books who return the favor. "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore" is a poignant, humorous allegory about the curative powers of story. Using a variety of techniques (miniatures, computer animation, 2D animation) award winning author/ illustrator William Joyce and Co-director Brandon Oldenburg present a hybrid style of animation that harkens back to silent films and M-G-M Technicolor musicals. “Morris Lessmore” is old fashioned and cutting edge at the same time.
The following are part 1-4 of The Making of "Morris Lessmore" with the final parts coming soon.