Got a chance to see the Oscar-nominated animated shorts tonight, and there were some impressive clips nominated, including a cute Pixar short. But all pale in comparison to “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore,” above, which on a purely animation level is on a whole ‘nother level. But what’s even more fascinating is that the clip is also available as an iPad app in interactive story form, which is pretty frickin’ fascinating and a great publishing model for short films. (Ironically, the film is about how great the printed book is.) Is MoonBot Studios the next Pixar? Maybe it’s too soon to ask that (though it has a former Pixar staffer at the helm), but you certainly feel like they’re onto something.

EDIT: Changed it to a non-private video.