Parade Honoring Moonbot Studios Rolls Monday

You’ve heard about it…seen it on the front page…and now they’ve won an Academy Award!  Join the City of Shreveport, Parish of Caddo, and tons of fans for an Oscar worthy celebration on  Monday, March 5, 2012 at 12:00 Noon honoring the Oscar winning Directors of “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore” – William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg – and Moonbot Studios with a Confetti Parade in Downtown Shreveport.

The Parade will start at Noon Monday in front of the Caddo Parish Courthouse at the corner of Texas and Marshall Streets.  Food vendors will be situated at the Courthouse and along the parade route with the 500-700 blocks of Texas Street to begin closing at 11:30 to prepare for the Noon parade.  The C.E. Byrd Marching Band (Bill Joyce’s Alma Mater) will lead the parade toward Common Street, spanning the 500, 600, and 700 blocks of Texas Street.  The Academy Award winners will be showered with cheers and confetti.  The public is encouraged to bring confetti and streamers to throw.  The parade will include the Mardi Gras Moonbot Float with Moonbot-ters tossing Moonbot Moonpies to the public. 

Mayor Cedric Glover shares, “This is the first Academy Award ever received by a Shreveport artist and a strong affirmation of the role of the Arts in bringing international recognition, employment and a culturally generated economy to Shreveport.  The parade is an exciting opportunity for SRAC and other community organizations to show their appreciation for the way that Bill, Brandon and Moonbot give back to this community.” Read more about the economic development of Moonbot Studios in Louisiana at http://www.louisianaeconomicdevelopment.com. 

Pam Atchison, SRAC Executive Director, shares, “It is through the vision of Bill and Brandon, that artspace has been able to bring unique and innovative arts exhibitions, like Fantastic Mr. Fox, Cakeland, Graffiti, and Art of the Road, to our community.”  Academy Award winning William Joyce serves as the Artistic Director for artspace and Brandon Oldenburg serves on the artspace Advisory Board.  artspace is a project of the Shreveport Regional Arts Council. 

Judy Williams, Williams Creative Group President, “It is amazing that Bill was able to stay in his hometown and live out his dream by creating Moonbot Studios right here.  He, Brandon and Lampton have proved that it is possible to achieve international success from Shreveport."

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore is the Academy Award winning short film created by MOONBOT Studios, an initiative of William Joyce, Lampton Enochs and Brandon Oldenburg.  Inspired, in equal measures, by Hurricane Katrina, Buster Keaton, The Wizard of Oz, and a love for books, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore is a poignant, humorous allegory about the curative powers of story.  Brandon Oldenburg shares, “Everyone’s life is a story and we have moments when a storm can come along and wipe it out requiring us to start over.  Morris takes us his journey to start over.”  Using a variety of techniques (miniatures, computer animation, 2-D animation), award winning author, illustrator, and filmmaker, William Joyce and Co-director Brandon Oldenburg present a hybrid style of animation that harkens back to silent films and MGM Technicolor musicals.  The film is old fashioned and cutting edge at the same time. 

Parade sponsors and participants include the City of Shreveport, Parish of Caddo, SPAR, SRAC, DDA, S-B Film Office, S-B Convention & Tourism Bureau, Robinson Film Center, and BioSphere/BioMed.