The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore: A Publishing Pioneer

:: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore is something of a publishing miracle. What began as a book evolved into an animated short film (that won an Oscar in 2012, mind you), then morphed into a state-of-the-art app, and only then, after all that complicated technical magic, did the original concept—the book—enter the world as a physical object.    William Joyce, the author, illustrator, and director behind The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, was kind enough to sit down with me and share the incredible evolution of this powerful story about the curative powers of books. In order to make this project come to life, Joyce and a few friends established Moonbot Studios in his hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana.   The above is an excerpt of our interview laid over images and video clips, including the film trailer and the interactive app in action. The hope is you, the viewer, will get a strong sense of how this wildly innovative book/film/app trio work in tandem.