About two years ago, musician Sean Lennon was hoping to make a music video for his parents John and Yoko’s much-loved song “Happy Xmas (War Is Over!).” So, he reached out to Pixar alum Dave Mullins, who has worked as movies such as such as Ratatouille, Up, Incredibles 2 and Soul and also directed the 2017 Oscar-nominated short Lou.
“I love the song and was immediately intrigued,” says Mullins in a recent interview. “I did however have a moment of pause not only because of the cultural significance of the song but also being so focused on narrative storytelling — I assumed a project like this wouldn’t necessarily be anchored in story and character.”
After chatting with Lennon for a few minutes, his fears were immediately dismissed. “He wanted to create a narrative short film that honored the anti-war message of his parent’s song which is over 50 years old,” he says. “He was so committed to John and Yoko’s message of peace, he said if the song gets in the way — we could even just play it over the credits. With that type of narrative and creative freedom, the ideas began to flow quickly.”
To visualize John & Yoko’s message of peace, Lennon and Mullins began discussing the Christmas truce of WWI, when the soldiers stopped fighting on Christmas Day to swap prisoners, play football and drink beer. “This was the spark that burns at the heart of our story,” says the director. “We quickly came up with a narrative around this idea and I went home that night and wrote the script.”
Mullins says working with such an iconic song that means so much to so many people was a challenging aspect of the project. “We struggled a lot with temp music and then Thomas Newman agreed to do the score,” he recalls. “Once he was on he had an incredible perspective that he brought to the film. Since there is no dialog in the film, I knew that Tom would be the voice of the characters, not literally but emotionally.
Letting the Music Speak
He also points out that the placement of the song was quite critical. “I was suggesting we maybe echo the song in the score or that we prepare the audience for what they were about to hear,” says Mullins. “I was worried about the song placement and it being so powerful. It had to happen at the right moment. But Tom disagreed. He said ‘Don’t apologize for the song! Let it be powerful!” He was, of course, right and masterfully built a score that perfectly set us up for that magical moment when John and Yoko’s iconic song echoes everything we have built into the story.
Because Mullins comes from a strong painting and animation background, he wanted a rich visual style and language for the film. “J.C. Leyendecker and Norman Rockwell are two of my favorite artists and genuinely reflect the time period the film is roughly set in,” he notes. “Zac Retz (Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish) was our production designer and ran with that reference but with his own unique vision added to it. Many of the images you see in the film are Zac’s paintings, from skies and matte painted sets to skin textures and props. Zac worked closely with the amazing team at Wētā in New Zealand to develop the film’s distinctive style on screen.”
“Max Narciso (Luck, Love, Death + Robots) was our character designer,” he says. “He worked closely with Zac and Wētā to develop this handmade look that is everything I had hoped for and that the song deserves. So, there’s a harmony in the look, movement and sound that I think holds up to a song as universal and big as this one. The very talented crew of this film hit it hard and knocked it out of the park.”
Mullins and the short’s producer Brad Booker worked closely with the core team of about ten people at L.A. indie studio ElectroLeague to realize the project. “Brad and I founded ElectroLeague so we could make projects like this. Because we’re a startup indie studio, we have to work smarter and we have to be real about the budgets. Our goal is to make feature films and series with a small footprint on the front end. We want fewer artists doing more so they have a larger creative stamp on our films.”
Mullins is quite thrilled with the involvement and response of Weta chief Peter Jackson and Sean Lennon and Yoko Ono. “Sean was invested from day one,” he says. “We have been creatively aligned every step of the way and Sean added a perspective to the film that only he possesses. His relationship to the music is far deeper than anyone else and for him to describe what the song represents and means to him was invaluable. He was an incredible partner. I would work with him again in a heartbeat.”
“Peter immediately believed in the script and had nothing but tremendous support for the film,” he adds. “He gave us the full support of Weta and let us make the film we wanted. There was a point where I had to go further with the story — this is war, it’s ugly, innocents die. And Peter supported that. We met Yoko at her home in NY. It’s almost impossible to quantify — Yoko and John gave the world this song and this message, and left an indelible gift to the world. I am so happy to be even a small part of that continuing story.”
Mullin says there’s a harmony in the look, movement and sound that holds up to a song as universal and big as “Happy Xmas.” “The very talented crew of this film hit it hard and knocked it out of the park,” he notes. “I’m so proud of the team. Everyone understood the weight of this song and John and Yoko’s message, even if you’ve heard it a thousand times. And they all brought something so fresh and new to the table to pay tribute but to also offer something new to this incredible iconic song. Our Weta crew was also relatively tight as well. Weta uses a host of different animation tools and proprietary software. Lots of Weta magic including using the power of Epic Games’ Unreal Engine to create the imagery for the film. ”
The director is also quick to praise the important contribution of Newman’s score to the project. “I still can’t believe that he agreed to work on our film,” he notes. “When we first reached out I was so nervous. I’ve listened to Tom’s scores almost every day since the ’90s. He is a genius and someone whom I greatly admire. To have him be the voice of our film elevated the story and the message is beyond my wildest hopes. The fact that he is one of the kindest and smartest people I’ve met made the experience even that much better. I can’t say enough good things about him and his team.”
When asked about the timely message of his short, Mullins responds, “With so much conflict in the world right now we feel the timing of this project couldn’t be more important. We hope audiences are left with John & Yoko’s message of peace, that at the end of the day, we’re more alike than we are different. The film offers a message of hope, even in our worst struggles, even when innocence is involved, even when things don’t make sense. Maybe that’s naive, but it’s what I believe in my heart.”
For more info, visit electroleague.com.
You can watch the trailer below:
