Ani-vids

Written by Gerard Harris, Music Editor for Tuppence Magazine

While there were a number of animated music videos in the latter stages of the 1900s, the 21st century has seen them break out and lead the way in terms of stand-out music videos, especially with the advent of YouTube on the back of the MTV generation. Impressive visuals and quirky ideas have resulted in some very cool videos. Here’s ten videos to give you an idea of the brilliant variety that we’ve seen over the years.

1. Daft Punk, Digital Love – 2001

The flurry of great animated videos starts in 2001 and one of the most memorable releases was Daft Punk’s Digital Love. Looking a lot like the music video equivalent of the brilliant 80s cartoon adventure, Ulysses 31, it’s a space odyssey of electro romance.

It’s the third single from the album Discovery, which was the inspiration behind the French-Japanese animated adventure, Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem, that accompanied it and features in the video. The rest of the tracks on album also had videos made up from segments from the film, including one More Time and Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.

2. White Stripes, Fell In Love With A Girl – 2001

The White Stripes also got in on the animated action with the blocky brilliance of Fell In Love With A Girl. It was an MTV favourite and helped to propel Meg and Jack into the big names they went on to become. Created using stop motion animation of Lego and directed by Michel Gondry, it’s easily one of the best videos ever, let alone in the top ten of animated music videos. It went on to pick up three MTV Video Music Awards in 2002 – Breakthrough Video, Best Special Effects, and Best Editing.

3. Gorillaz, 19-2000 – 2001

2001 also saw Gorillaz release one of their coolest animated music videos, 19-2000 – continuing on from the success of Clint Eastwood earlier in the same year. With animated band members it was perfectly placed to get at least one track in our list and this is arguably the best of them all.

4. Queens of the Stone Age, Go With The Flow – 2003

Fast forward to 2003 and even rock legends are making waves with animated video genius. Queens of the Stone Age’s heavyweight, Go With The Flow, is accompanied by a very smart video that sees monochrome madness combine with a dark red sky to create a very unique effect in the video. It was also a big winner at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2003, picking up the Best Special Effects award.

5. Arcade Fire, Neighborhood #3 (Power Out) – 2004

Arcade Fire broke out in 2004 with their seminal album, Funeral, which features the excellent video for Neighborhood #3 (Power Out), along with other great tracks like Rebellion (Lies). The video is set in what looks like an animated dystopian society locked in snow and ice with some creepy little hooded dudes running around and viciously fighting back against the powerful fat cats.

6. Los Campesinos!, You, Me, Dancing! – 2007

Los Campesinos! May be a lesser-known band than some of the other names on the list, but You, Me, Dancing! is more than equal to the others as a song and an animated music video in its own right. The Cardiff-based, Welsh indie-pop rockers produced a visually impactful futuristic monster movie homage that’s as infectious as the ratchet-wound build-up in the track itself.

7. The Killers, Miss Atomic Bomb – 2012

One of the biggest names in music turned their attention to the wonderful world of animation in 2012 with their modern day operatic, Miss Atomic Bomb. Similar in cartoon style to Daft Punk’s Digital Love, it was made specifically for the song telling the story of a love triangle in the wilds of Nevada, the band’s home state. It elaborates on the twisted tale at the heart of the Mr Brightside music video from 2004.

8. Rendezvous, The Murf – 2012

Another little known gen is The Murf by Isreal-based Rendezvous, which charts the history of the Earth and the potential future of mankind all in one very cool 3 minutes and forty seconds video. It’s got a very unique style, much like a lot of the other animated videos in our list.

9. Villagers, The Waves – 2013

One of the best tracks of 2013, The Waves also came with a brilliantly psychedelic animated video, which combines live video distortion and a kaleidoscopic light show. It was the lead track from Villagers’ sublime second album, {Awayland}, which was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize in 2013.

10. Panda Bear, Boys Latin – 2015

Panda Bear, AKA Noah Benjamin Lennox of Animal Collective fame, released the colourful and mesmerising Boys Latin earlier in 2015. It’s got a mind-blowing cel shading approach and one of the craziest narratives you’ll ever see in a music video.

Honorable mentions:

If that isn’t enough animated movie mayhem for you, you can also check out Katy Perry’s California Gurls ft. Snoop Dogg and a scene that sees her eating a CGI ginger bread man. The Prodigy’s Nasty (2015), Marina and the Diamonds’ Mowgli’s Road (2012), Cate Le Bon’s Hollow Trees House Hounds (2010), BLML’s Sirens (2012), St. Spirit’s Build A Life (2013) and Daft Punk’s One More Time (2000) all deserve a mention too.