Monkey Olympics short

Although this is Olympics-related, it deserves a thread all its own.

Jamie Hewlett and Damon Albarn of Gorillaz fame created a special animated title sequence for the BBC’s televised coverage of the 2008 Olympics. It features the lead character from the opera Monkey: Journey to the West, another of the duo’s projects.

Watch the promo here:

Meet Monkey at BBC Sport

You can also view slideshows of the animation process and download character masks.

Cartoon Brew posted something about that UK ad about a week ago, and I found it pretty interesting. I love the Gorillaz, they’re my favorite band but I’m not die-hard, but naturaly, I love this ad. I want to see more new stuff from Jaime Hewlett and Damon Albarn.

I know, and I’m surprised nobody had posted about this here because it is marvelous work! It makes me wish for a feature film of the same caliber.

I have been a big fan of Gorillaz and of Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett since, well, forever. And the second I saw that ad, I got SO excited- it’s instantly recognisable as Hewlett’s style (just look at those eyes)- and I’ve seen it at least ten times since.

I’m so pleased that Hewlett’s getting big coverage for his work, as he deserves it.

Oh oh oh! I remember that! That was awesome… it has some great bass in there (of course, its got the Gorillaz guy)