The Academy Award-winning animated short War Is Over!, a film in which an emotional game of correspondence chess becomes a lifeline between two soldiers on opposite sides of a battlefield, was released on YouTube today.
Last year, War Is Over! became the second chess-themed winner of the Academy Awards for Best Animated Short, following Pixar’s Geri’s Game in 1998. Previously, the drama/thriller Dangerous Moves (1985) also earned an award for Best Foreign Film, with a Cold War story around a World Chess Championship match.
Today’s release serves as a fundraiser for the charity War Child, helping children in war zones, and marks the first time the public can watch the short outside of festivals and award screenings.
You can watch the full film here:
The 11-minute short is inspired by the anti-war anthem Happy Xmas (War Is Over!) by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and tells the story of two soldiers, Winston and Abel, who are on opposite sides during an alternate World War I reality.
Chess is a key element in the film. Though separated by trenches and gunfire, the pair play a joyful game of correspondence chess, with each move delivered by a heroic messenger pigeon named Icarus.
The production brought in renowned chess historian Edward Winter as a consultant. One key moment in the film features a reversed-color version of Efim Bogoljubov vs. A.H. Trott, Southsea 1950, illustrating the unusual motif of answering check with an immediate checkmate.
Yoko Ono, now 92 years old, has long been known as a chess fan, playing chess with her late husband in the 1972 music video Don’t Count The Waves. She is credited as the executive producer of the film, while Sean Ono Lennon co-wrote it together with Dave Mullins.
Ono’s son has previously spoken about his own interest in chess, calling it “a universal language.” He said the team wanted to make the film freely available to support the charity War Child during the holiday season. “We would be honored if you would help us spread the word about the film and John & Yoko’s timeless message—that ‘War is over if you want it.’”
War Child UK CEO Helen Pattinson called the short “an incredibly moving piece of art” that highlights not just the tragedy of war but the human cost borne by millions of children today.
“As temperatures drop in places like Gaza, Afghanistan, and Ukraine, families are struggling to stay warm and keep their children safe,” Pattinson said. “Every donation helps us to deliver lifesaving support… This winter, it is not the thought that counts, but action.”
