Awesome Video Essays

“And we said nay, we are but men.” Polyphonic’s April Fools’ video is only partly silly. In it, he explores the references, metaphors, and themes in Tenacious D’s seminal song Tribute. It’s a surprisingly rich dive with lots of interesting trivia. It ends with a pragmatic reflection on chasing perfection versus finding fulfillment in the act of creation itself.

Looney Tunes cartoons are known for iconic characters like Bugs Bunny, Road Runner, and Foghorn Leghorn. The animators who created these characters and their voices often are mentioned, but the artists who created the background images are rarely mentioned. The Gaze gives credit where credit is due with this video essay focused on artist Maurice Noble.

(PG-13: Language) Creative writing requires persistence and a willingness to accept failure far more than success. J. Marcelo Borromeo of 101 Things I Learned About Fiction from Film created this video essay on the challenges and rewards of writing, told using footage from the films of Wes Anderson. (Thanks, Rob!)

If you can believe it, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was the first theatrically-released animated movie to feature one of the Avengers. It was a huge gamble to create it like a live-action comic book, but that creative decision paid off. Danny Boyd from CinemaStix offers his take on why it worked so brilliantly.

Serious fans of science fiction and anime might know already about the parallels that exist between Cowboy Bebop and Blade Runner, but not all of us were aware of the connections. Kaptain Kristian digs into the aesthetic and spiritual links between the two Tech Noir franchises in another of his fantastic video essays.

The second part of Kirby Ferguson’s documentary reboot delves into memes, sequels, genres, superheroes, and more aspects of modern pop culture. Along the way, he dives deeper into why we like to copy existing ideas and modify them to make new ones.

We’ve all heard of Captain Marvel, but the character has a long and complicated history, mired in lawsuits that gave birth to oddities like the UK’s “Marvelman.” Nerdwriter explains how the long lost character was resurrected and became the forefather of today’s of dark and flawed anti-hero characters.

Did you know that Warner Bros. made an entire unaired Blazing Saddles TV series just so they could skirt a contract issue with Mel Brooks? Or that the GEICO cavemen had a sitcom? Hats Off Entertainment’s Forgotten Failures is a great series about these and other obscure sequels and reboots.

Michel Gondry’s music videos, TV shows, and films deftly combine humor, childlike whimsy, and in-camera effects to entertain our brains. In this clip from Polyphonic, essayist Noah LeFevre explains how Gondry’s background as a percussionist has influenced his work through rhythmic, repetitive, and redundant imagery.

Despite its jangly and upbeat sounds, Gorillaz’s 2005 hit Feel Good Inc. was actually a sharp criticism of the music industry and consumer culture. Polyphonic offers up a great analysis of the track and its music video, and why it’s so clever in the way it delivers its message.

These days, you can’t go more than a few hours without encountering some gadget with a human-sounding voice. The Science Elf provides a concise look at the history of machine-made speech, from early mechanical devices through modern voice assistants like Siri and Alexa.

We always assumed that the phantom vocal sounds we hear in some songs were intentionally placed there, but You Can’t Unhear This‘ explains how that’s not always the case, and how sometimes they’re simply a remnant of old school studio recording.

British comedy troupe Monty Python was groundbreaking in its mastery of absurd, self-referential humor, which, as Wisecrack points out, helped lay the groundwork for other post-modernist comedies from South Park, to Rick and Morty, to Deadpool.

We live in a time when people flinch at even the slightest giveaway of plot points. But does knowing the outcome of a story actually decrease one’s enjoyment of a story, or does it actually enhance the experience? Thomas Flight explores the science of how spoilers affect us.

From The Flintstones to Scooby Doo, the cartoons of Hanna-Barbera are as memorable for their characters as they are for their sounds. Patrick Sullivan’s video looks at how limited animation budgets and time forced the use of sound to bring scenes to life.

Illustrator Zane Whitener recounts how books like Goosebumps cartoons like Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, and and pop culture of the 1990s embraced dark and creepy imagery, and inspired him as a reader, artist, fan, and creative thinker into adulthood.

(PG-13: Language) “Because this is our condition – balancing between animals and gods.” Exurb1a presents his theory about the key to making a good story (particularly a movie). It’s a mix of feelings, pictures, and ideas.

Polyphonic summarizes the stories and the overarching tale of Green Day’s 2002 concept album American Idiot. It follows a man who lashes out at society and his family, only to realize too late that he should have taken control of his life.

(Spoilers) If you’ve never seen The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, stop what you’re doing right now and watch it. It’s one of our faves. Kyle Kallgren of Brows Held High explains why Buckaroo is so much better than most of today’s superheroes.

There was a time when cartoons were created mostly for kids, but these days, some of the best satire out there turns up in animation. Video essayist Will Schoder opines on why it’s often easier to poke fun at society’s foibles in cartoon form rather than live action.

(Gore) We’ve seen plenty of Breaking Bad tributes and video essays, but we’ve got to hand it to Filmscalpel and Larry Erens for keeping it fresh with their take, which focuses on Walter White’s de-evolution as told through his relationship with firearms and explosives.

Wisecrack is back with another deep-dive into the Rick and Morty multiverse. This time they break down the classic episode The Ricks Must Be Crazy, and how Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland’s use of good story structure makes each episode as satisfying as possible.

Video essayist Kaptain Kristian takes a look at one of our favorite animated shows ever, Matt Groening and David X. Cohen and their writers infused the show with geek culture, intricate plots, one of the best comedic ensembles ever, and a balance of cynicism and hopefulness.