We are all may be familiar with Moonbot Studios fantastically imaginative iPad apps for kids–well, as a spin-off from one of these apps, the short animated film The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore by directors William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg, which was released for the iPad in May of last year, and is one of five animated short-films to be nominated for “outstanding film achievements” in the 84th Academy Awards,® which take place on February 26, 2012. Moonbot Studios is based in Shreveport, Louisiana (near my home-town of New Orleans), so I am extremely excited that one of Louisiana’s newly opened, creative companies won the nomination.

“We made Morris Lessmore with passion, sweat and every nickel we could rub together,” said William Joyce, managing creative partner of Moonbot Studios.  “To see it embraced by the Academy is the biggest smile imaginable.”

“Mr. Morris,” winner of several awards including the Cinequest Film Fest for “Best Animated Short;” the Cleveland International Film Festival ”Best Animated Short-film Award;” and the Tacoma Film Festival award for “Best Animated Film,” to name a few. In total, the creative team at Moonbot has already won 12+ animated film awards, and very likely to win even more.

The animation itself may be compared to the animated Pixar films–but is completely unlike Pixar animation–the film itself is a microcosm of events that gives “Mr. Morris” a distinctive look and appeal–like featuring the main character resting on the balcony of a historic building familiar to many of the vintage French hotels and homes that dominate the New Orleans French Quarter. You gain appreciation for their ability to tell an engaging story, and through the adaptable use of transmedia, the brilliant animated short-film project transcend into an iPad application “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore,” an adventure everyone can continue.

Inspired in part by the devastating 2005 storm Hurricane Katrina, the comedic actor, filmmaker, and producer Buster Keaton, the animated Mr. Morris even favors him, The Wizard of Oz, and a love for books, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore is a story about a gentle book lover, who has devoted his life to books. One day, the books return the favor. Mr. Morris is swept up and away and becomes a care-taker of a living library.

Source: Moonbot Studios