It isn’t even Thanksgiving and the Christmas ads have already started running. But if there’s one you watch today, make it this gorgeous, animated short film by UK department store John Lewis.
The film, set to a haunting, sparse cover of Keane’s Somewhere Only We Know by UK songstress Lily Allen, looks like an old school Disney animated feature. That’s because the animation team did all the art by hand, and included Aaron Blaise, the lead animator on such Disney classic as The Lion King and Pocahontas.
Although it isn’t as well known here in the US, John Lewis Christmas ads are somewhat legendary in the UK, and this year, the retailer broke its own social media records with the release of The Bear and The Hare, an animated short film that tells the story of two woodland animals who find a way to celebrate Christmas even though one of them has to hibernate. The video had nearly 15,000 tweets 24 hours after it debuted, and it racked up over 4 million views on YouTube three days later.
