I wasn’t sure I was going to resurrect my Beautiful Sunday series, but when this crossed my desk this morning, I realized I had to. There’s just too much beauty in the crossover between art and nature to let this go.

This gorgeous animated film (linked below) is designed to teach students about the biology of flowers — life in the soil, pollinators, the spread of seeds through the air and the glorious eruption of buds and blooms. It was written by artist Azuma Makoto and produced by animator James Paulley and illustrator Katie Scott.  (Don’t click those links yet. You’ll never come back!)

Take a look at these screen captures to see how much careful detail has gone into the botanical artwork here. Add to that the elegant animation and musical score, and well, the result is stunning.

 

 

 

Watch the whole film here, full screen with sound on for the full effect.