The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore just won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film.  I did a little searching on this film short and happened to find the full film on YouTube.  While I was watching the film, I started reflecting on the storyline and what made this film special enough to win an Oscar.  Then I thought, what a great classroom discussion.  You could use one of the following essential questions:

Why did this film win an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film?  - I could envision students researching the criteria for an animated short film and how it is evaluated.  They might also research reviews and critiques over the film to help support their response.

What is the main theme of this film?  Students would need to discuss and evaluate what the story is about and what the main theme should be.  You could turn it into a bit of a debate if you had differing theme ideas.  Students would need to support their argument with examples from the film.

What specific elements of the film support the following statement, "This story is inspired, in equal measures, by Hurricane Katrina, Buster Keaton, The Wizard of Oz and a lover for books."

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore is also available as an interactive eBook app on iTunes created by Moonbot Studios.  Also available from Moonbot Studios is Numberly, a story about the origin of the alphabet.