Watch Academy Award-Winning ‘War is Over’ Short Film, Inspired by John & Yoko Song

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The 2023 Academy Award-winning animated short film, “WAR IS OVER! Inspired By The Music of John & Yoko,” is now available to watch on the Official John Lennon Channel on YouTube, marking its global streaming debut. The film won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film in 2024. Watch it below.

“WAR IS OVER!” was co-written by Sean Ono Lennon and Dave Mullins (Up, Soul, Incredibles 2, Cars 2), directed by Mullins, produced by Brad Booker (Iron Giant, The Book of Life, Rumble), and executive produced by Sean Ono Lennon and Yoko Ono Lennon, with a score composed by 15-time Oscar®-nominee, Thomas Newman.

From the Dec. 1, 2025 announcement: The film is set in an alternate WWI reality where, as a senseless war rages on, two soldiers on opposite sides of the conflict play a game of chess. A heroic carrier pigeon delivers the soldiers’ chess moves over the battlefield as the fighting escalates, meanwhile neither soldier knows his opponent as the game and the war builds to its climatic final move. Whoever wins the game, the film powerfully illustrates that one thing is for certain: there are no winners in war.

“Being able to share this film freely with a global audience for the first time feels very meaningful to me,” said Sean Ono Lennon. “My parents always believed that art, even in its simplest form, could help change the world and move us toward love and compassion. The message of peace at the heart of this film feels more vital than ever. I’m very grateful to YouTube for partnering with us to make the film accessible to everyone. It feels especially fitting to release it now, as the holidays begin, as ‘Happy Xmas (War Is Over)’ has always been a reminder of hope and humanity at this time of year.”

Accompanying the film is a donations mechanism to support the charity War Child. Donations can be made here.

“Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” / “Listen, The Snow Is Falling” has been released on 7” evergreen vinyl via Capitol Records as a replica of the original 1971 release by John Lennon and Yoko Ono / Plastic Ono Band with the Harlem Community Choir, with Ultimate Mixes of the tracks produced by Sean Ono Lennon and mixed and engineered by Paul Hicks and Sam Gannon. It’s available in the U.S./worldwide here, in Canada here and in the U.K. here.

The WAR IS OVER! film has also been adapted into a picture book with illustrations by the film’s character designer Max Narciso. A carrier pigeon named Julia delivers messages to the battlefield, but she also has a secret mission. Even though the Red Jackets and the Great Coats are at war, Julia helps the soldiers on both sides play a special game to bring each other some joy during the holiday season. The title, via Viking Children’s Books, is available in the U.S./worldwide here, in Canada here and in the U.K. here.