I MET THE WALRUS

Synopsis

In 1969, a 14-year-old Beatle fanatic named Jerry Levitan, armed with a reel-to-reel tape deck and a head full of questions, snuck into John Lennon's hotel room in Toronto and convinced John to do an interview. This was in the midst of Lennon's "bed-in" phase, during which John and Yoko were staying in hotel beds in an effort to promote peace. 38 years later, Jerry has produced a film about it. Using the original interview recording as the soundtrack, director Josh Raskin has woven a visual narrative which tenderly romances Lennon's every word in a cascading flood of multipronged animation. Raskin marries traditional pen sketches by James Braithwaite with digital illustration by Alex Kurina, resulting in a spell-binding vessel for Lennon's boundless wit, and timeless message. The young Jerry Levitan is portrayed in simple cell-animated pen lines as he poses his interview questions... and in contrast, Lennon's meandering replies trigger an assail of fast-moving animation, highlighting the particulars of his genius through literal visualization. This film is not just an historic recording. This film is not just an amusing anecdote, rampant with witty turns of phrase. This film is not just a kaleidoscope of masturbatory nonsense. This film is a vital reminder that the state of the world is not a given. It can be changed. In John's words... "Think peace and you'll get it. It's up to the people... If we really wanna change it, we can change it."