Bibliographic Information:
Title: Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles
Director: Robert Rodriguez, Patrick Osborne
Starring: Billie Eillish
Production Company: Disney Branded Television
Copyright Date: 2021
Run Time: 1 hr 5 min
Cast: Gustavo Dudamel, Billie Eillish, Brady Heiser, The Los Angeles Children's Chorus, The Los Angeles
Philharmonic, Romero Lubambo, and Finneas O'Connell
Age Rating: TV - 14
Genre / Format: Music, Live Performance
Awards or Honors: None as of the publication of this post.
Director Description: Robert Rodriguez is an American filmmaker best known for his films El Mariachi (1992), From Dusk til Dawn (1996), Sin City (2005), Machete (2010), and Alita: Battle Angel (2019). Robert Rodriguez also produced a Predator film, Predators, that was met with positive reviews. He shoots, edits, and produces most of his films in Mexico or Texas. He is best friends with, and frequent collaborator of, Quentin Tarantino (IMDB, n.d.).
Plot Summary: Happier Than Ever - A Love Letter to Los Angeles is a cinematic concert experience where Grammy-Award winning Billie Eillish performs her album from the famous Hollywood Bowl. This performance looks stunning, with high definition, beautiful wide shots of the orchestra onstage and colorful, dynamic lighting. The songs are broken up with short narratives by Billie Eillish, providing a little bit of insight into the making of a song. Billie also transforms into a digital version of herself and tells the story of a golden-winged angel, a companion piece to the her album Happier Than Ever. Some songs in this feature are told in a completely virtual format, with a digital video instead of a live performance; these videos, along with the songs and passionate performances, tell Billie's story.
Critical Evaluation for Books and Non-Print Items: The camera work is in synch with the energy of the songs being performed, with energetic close ups and 360 shots around Billie to amplify the "in your face" intimate performance. The short animated sequences follow a short plot of a single-golden-winged angel that fell from heaven and is finding her way through LA. The animated sequences serve as a representation of the story told in the album and are a nice way to break from the repeated angles from the live performance. While the performances are beautiful and energetic, some of the songs in the album required a different visual approach, one that would be more effectively done digitally. Overall, this live performance is an incredible, beautiful cinematic light show; fans of Billie Eillish will surely love this intimate concert.
Creative Use for a Library Program: Disney-fy Yourself! Avatars
The performance is broken up by animated shorts featuring Billie as an animated Disney character/princess. Teens will create themselves as a Disney character. The character can be featured in an existing franchise (Star Wars) or it can be completely original, such as in Billie's case. Avatars will be displayed in the art gallery.
Speed-Round Book Talk or Short Book Trailer: Come experience Billie Eillish like never before! Watch and listen as she performs her album, Happier Than Ever, in its entirety, from the stage of the famous Hollywood Bowl, JUST FOR YOU. Come celebrate this cinematic concert experience!
Potential Challenge Issues and Defense Preparation: There is some light profanity in the album, and while some of the heavier profanity is edited out, there are some words that are included. Concerned parents will be directed to IMDB's parental guide for more information on the rating of the film. They should also find comfort in the family-friendly Disney brand.
Reason for Inclusion: Robert Rodriguez has worked on many youth-friendly works, including the Spy Kids series and Alita: Battle Angel. His recent work on Alita, which is based on a popular sci-fi manga, likely introduced many young viewers to Rodriguez's work. He has also directed an episode from the Star Wars series The Mandalorian and will be the executive producer for The Mandalorian spinoff, The Book of Bobba Fett (IMDB, n.d.).
Reason for Inclusion: The world pretty much shut down in 2020 and much of 2021, with large gatherings like concerts being canceled due to them being a danger to public health. Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to LA is a live-concert experience that brings the audience to the front row. Billie performs her entire album Happier than Ever, with songs being broken up by short segments following an animated version of Ellie as she navigates LA and the entire album.
Enhancements
Official Disney+ Trailer