Sean Ono Lennon Discusses Oscar-Winning Short Film On ‘CBS Sunday Morning’
‘WAR IS OVER!’ is inspired by John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s holiday classic ‘Happy Xmas (War Is Over).’
’Tis the season to celebrate the legacy of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s “Happy Xmas (War Is Over).” With Christmas just days away, Sean Ono Lennon appeared on network TV to discuss “WAR IS OVER!,” his Oscar-winning short film inspired by his parents’ socially conscious holiday classic.
In an interview that aired Sunday on CBS Sunday Morning, Ono Lennon talked about his role managing his father’s legacy—although, as he put it, “obviously the world is also the custodian of his legacy.” Speaking to Anthony Mason, Ono Lennon explained, “I’m just doing my best to help make sure that the younger generation doesn’t forget about the Beatles and John & Yoko.”
Part of that effort includes WAR IS OVER! which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 2024. Ono Lennon worked on the short with writer and director Dave Mullins, formerly of Pixar, in an attempt to help people hear “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” with fresh ears. He told Mason he wants to renew the public’s appreciation for his parents’ message of peace and love. “But it’s not just peace and love,” Ono Lennon said, “it’s an attitude toward activism that is done with humor and love.”
During the interview, Ono Lennon also discussed One To One, the new HBO documentary about John & Yoko’s two-night 1972 benefit show at Madison Square Garden—the only full-length concerts Lennon performed after leaving the Beatles. Ono Lennon said the doc includes audio recordings he’d never heard before, including phone calls, which felt like a chance to spend more time with his dad. A recording of the concert is included in the recent box set POWER TO THE PEOPLE, which chronicles John & Yoko’s history of social activism in early 1970s New York.
On CBS Sunday Morning Ono Lennon also discussed his upcoming album with The Claypool Lennon Delirium and a collaboration with James McCartney and Zak Starkey. Although he thinks the children of the Beatles performing together would be “ridiculous,” he was game to make a song with two of them. “The reason Zak and James and I made a song together is not because we’re trying to re-do the Beatles, it’s just because we like each other.”
