The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore was visually modeled after the silent film actor Buster Keaton. The film drew particular inspiration from the storm scene in Keaton’s Steamboat Bill Jr. and the tornado from The Wizard of Oz. Also an inspiration was the real-life Hurricane Katrina which devastated New Orleans in 2005. With the exception of an anachronistic television, the film appears to be set in the 1920s. watch here (x)