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Pharrell Williams Gets Animated in Music Video Collaboration

By David Dunford
Published on: 02:22 PST, May 17, 2014

With a history of big hats and big hits, Pharrell Williams has plenty of room to roam the media landscape, and Williams’ latest collaborations with Takashi Murakami takes him down the path of animation. Anime, the popular Japanese style of cartoons, to be more precise. Pharrell Williams takes a spotlight role in the music video for the movie Jellyfish Eyes, which describes itself as “A big screen tale of poignant memories and wondrous dreams.”

In the music video for the song “Last Night, Good Night (Re:Dialed),” Pharrell Williams is reduced from his typical 3 dimensional self to the “superflat” style of Takashi Murakami and thrown into an imaginative world that seems like what you’d expect from a space disco. Pharrell rides alongside a blue haired animated beauty on what looks like a cross between a turntable and the Enterprise. The two dance through a psychedelic space wonderland while an animated DJ rocks space.

Rocking the vid in space is even more epic in anime.

Fun and fanciful, the video brings in other companions for Williams as well, flashing across the scene viewers are treated to dancing robots, and fluffy friends. While you may be distracted by the break from the animation into what looks like live action clips in this 7 minute wonder, sticking around will give you the treat of watching the SS Musicprise transform before your very eyes into it’s own version of Voltron.

Pharrell Williams, however sticks to dancing the entire video in his bobble-headed anime form. His appearance is more of a cameo as most of the character interaction and singing is left to the synthetic musical lead, but don’t underestimate Williams involvement in the project. When asked about the collaboration, Pharrell can be quoted saying via e-mail,

“As we have collaborated in the past, it was only natural for me to say yes when Takashi reached out. We met at his office in Tokyo and he presented the project to me. Within 15 minutes I knew what I had to do. I think it took a few more weeks for me to come up with the music.”

Pharrell Williams isn’t the only high profile star to indulge in a little Takashi either, and such past collaborations had an impact on Williams, “I’m not sure when I first saw his work but his collaboration with Louis Vuitton is when I really started to pay more attention. Takashi’s use of colors and characters really speaks to me and allows me to get lost in the many layers of his paintings.”

Photo by Louis Vuitton Takashi Murakami Collaboration

Pharrell Williams isn’t the only high-profile musician to have worked with Takashi either, having worked with Kanye West on album art. ‘Every week, Kanye has new ideas — changing, changing, changing,’ says Takashi when commenting on their work together on Graduation.

In the end, when music and art collide, everyone is in for an experience to remember. Take a few moments to enjoy the one created by Takashi Murakami and Pharrell Williams by watching Last Night, Good Night (Re:dialed):

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