Elementary penguin singing Hare Krishna
June 4, 2009 7:47 PM   Subscribe

Passion Pictures has just released Pete Candeland’s gorgeous cinematic for the forthcoming game The Beatles: Rock Band.

Candeland is probably best known for his work with Jamie Hewlett, co-creator of the Gorillaz, and their collaboration on the videos:
Clint Eastwood
Feel Good, Inc.
Dirty Harry
Rock the House
El Mañana
Dare
and the BBC Sports Olympic short Monkey: Journey to the East

He also does obvious commercials.
posted by Toekneesan (59 comments total) 12 users marked this as a favorite
 
Loved it. Loved it from the first shot of Liverpool, which I recognized from Yellow Submarine. But then, I was obsessed with the Beatles as a kid and watched that movie too many times.

(But where was Moko Jono?)
posted by Countess Elena at 7:56 PM on June 4, 2009


Absolutely, I love this. Without reservations.

(And Pepsi Blue this all ye want, this is undeniably beautiful work.)
posted by grabbingsand at 7:59 PM on June 4, 2009


That was fabulous. I loved how the animation changed as they moved through their careers, and I loved all the easter eggs (Maxwell's Silver Sundries, Strawberry Fields Farm, etc.).
posted by painquale at 8:17 PM on June 4, 2009


I can't remember the last time I giggled. I mean truly giggled like my 4yr old daughter. Now for some reason, I can't stop.
This was awesome.
posted by czechmate at 8:21 PM on June 4, 2009


Yeah, I'm absurdly excited for the prospect of Rock Band Beatles considering that I don't own a console or have the money lying around to get a copy... but still... EXCITED!

A small aside... hearing Paperback Writer (my favorite Beatlesong back in my early teens) reminded me of this clip of The Beatles playing that song in Japan . Seeing that clip helped me understand how annoyed they were at playing live. That's a lot of noise that audience makes.
posted by Kattullus at 8:24 PM on June 4, 2009


Wow. I wish there was an artbook for the opening alone, so I could stare at the imagery. Or at least some desktop wallpaper. Wow.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:26 PM on June 4, 2009


I love this stuff. I can't wait for it to come out.
posted by Michael Leung at 8:31 PM on June 4, 2009


This is what, what you'll see when you first fire up the game?
posted by JaredSeth at 8:31 PM on June 4, 2009


Wow. This is going to be so fun when it comes out! Plus, that cinematic was very amazing it left me wanting for more - like a full length CG-movie a la Yellow Submarine.
posted by JibberJabber at 8:32 PM on June 4, 2009


I have no video game apparatus whatsoever but my friend is getting it and I am so fucking pumped for Beatles Rock Band.
posted by moxiedoll at 8:36 PM on June 4, 2009


The art they have for that game is very nice. It's too bad that it's not compatible with the other Rock Band software.
posted by demiurge at 8:37 PM on June 4, 2009


Okay, yeah, wow. That was pretty fabulous. Really looking forward to this coming out, and really wishing I didn't have all the instruments for RB2 already. Have you SEEN the instruments coming with the bundle for this? Gah. So neat.
posted by Stunt at 8:38 PM on June 4, 2009


i wasn't expecting much, but that was lovely.

(LSD not included)
posted by empath at 8:39 PM on June 4, 2009


Agreed. This is going to be a hell of a lot of fun, though getting three singers for the harmony...oof.
posted by RakDaddy at 8:43 PM on June 4, 2009


Not compatible how so? All the rock band instruments will work with it as far as I know. I assume you mean the way in the same way that RB1 tracks can be downloaded to the hard drive and be imported into RB2. If so, yeah, that's kind of a shame but I'm really not surprised. When I first heard rumblings of this being made by Harmonix it seemed like it wouldn't carry a Rock Band name at all (I suspect if that was originally true it was changed to market it better) and would be a totally standalone project.

After reading about what they're doing with this and seeing that cinematic though? I am less concerned about the importing thing than I previously was. Kind of feels like the whole experience will be way richer than if I could just import the tracks. I think I can manage a bit of disc swapping for the neatness.
posted by Stunt at 8:44 PM on June 4, 2009


Sold! Where do I get one!
posted by milkwood at 8:45 PM on June 4, 2009


I could watch hours and hours of that. Maybe an animated Beatles biopic?
posted by Rock Steady at 8:47 PM on June 4, 2009 [1 favorite]


Also fun is this Harmonix demo at E3, with people playing a couple of songs and a brief interview. For those (heathens) who've never played Rockband, game play video is included.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPkVNC-h_TE&fmt=22
posted by hincandenza at 8:51 PM on June 4, 2009


I'm sick and tired of Beatles worship, even really beautiful CGI Beatles worship.
posted by Scoo at 8:59 PM on June 4, 2009


Yeah, the downloadable content that everyone has for Rock Band 1 and 2 won't be available from the Beatles Rock Band and vice versa. This could be a big problem for parties, you'll get some people who love the Beatles and some people who don't and instead of putting in a couple songs, you have to spend 5 minutes changing the disc.
posted by demiurge at 9:05 PM on June 4, 2009


Have you SEEN the instruments coming with the bundle for this? Gah. So neat.

When I first bought my Hofner bass more than 20 years ago, I used to occasionally just pop open the case to look at its beautiful lines. It's so PURTY! This keeps those clean lines (and Rickenbackers are handsome guitars, too...).
posted by ricochet biscuit at 9:16 PM on June 4, 2009


There's a somewhat longer intro cinematic on Youtube.
posted by ten pounds of inedita at 9:21 PM on June 4, 2009


And a different longer one at the Onion AV Club piece on it.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 9:25 PM on June 4, 2009


So we will be able to play Beatles songs in Rock Band before we'll be able to download them. What kind of messed up world is this?
posted by smackfu at 9:45 PM on June 4, 2009


grabbingsand> Absolutely, I love this. Without reservations.

Well, I have one reservation: they misspelled "raccoon".
posted by UrineSoakedRube at 10:27 PM on June 4, 2009


smackfu: from what I understand, it may all happen on the same day.

(I searched, and cannot find anything to back this up, but I know I read an article about Apple Records coming to agreement about online distribution.)
posted by hippybear at 11:29 PM on June 4, 2009


Wow, that was lovely!
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 11:35 PM on June 4, 2009


That elephant/rhino thing is blowing my mind. I'd like to know how this was made.
posted by Captain Cardanthian! at 11:48 PM on June 4, 2009


Oh shit! Is it okay to like the Beatles now? Or do all the Gen Xers who had it shoved down their throats have to die first? Fuckit, The rest of the world can come around later. I'm gettin' some records and having a party!


Man, how they slowly changed from being drawn in a modish-venture brothers style to the yellow submarine look, wow.And that elephant walking up right to the end, that's some gooooood visual storytelling there.

On a side note, in other awesome video game trailer news : Left 4 Dead 2: New Orleans.
posted by The Whelk at 4:02 AM on June 5, 2009


I thought it was an especially stylish (and funny and frustrating choice) choice to slip the final orchestral swell from A Day in the Life in there at the very end but leave out the big piano chord.
posted by 2or3whiskeysodas at 4:41 AM on June 5, 2009 [1 favorite]


I thought the same exact same thing 2or3whiskeysodas, but after watching it again I think it adds (in a good way) to the tension that's built up by the end of the video.
posted by Midnight Rambler at 4:58 AM on June 5, 2009 [1 favorite]


That elephant/rhino thing is blowing my mind.

"What is that thing, anyway?"
"Elephino."

I love watching the penguin-things jump on the heavy footfalls.
posted by Spatch at 5:15 AM on June 5, 2009 [1 favorite]


crossing the Atlantic where they were the center of the universe (note the arrows)

That is a reference to the set on the Ed Sullivan show where the Beatles famously appeared.
posted by Rock Steady at 6:14 AM on June 5, 2009


I watched this earlier and was so disappointed when I watched gameplay footage afterwards. Same boring venue and character design. Oh well, still excited to massacre some harmonies.
posted by sixswitch at 6:15 AM on June 5, 2009


i am in agreement with empath.

way better than expected. best part is when the english garden begins to move. triggered a tiny, but quite pleasurable acid flashback.
posted by lapolla at 6:25 AM on June 5, 2009


Yep. This video is amazing.
posted by chunking express at 7:30 AM on June 5, 2009


What is a cinematic? I clicked the link and saw an animated cartoon of the Beatles.
posted by Outlawyr at 8:00 AM on June 5, 2009


I watched this earlier and was so disappointed when I watched gameplay footage afterwards. Same boring venue and character design.

Did you watch the same footage I did? I saw a trippy underwater scene for Octopus's Garden, and a very beautiful hilltop setting for Here Comes The Sun. It looked a hell of a lot nicer than the dive bars you start out with in the current Rock Band series.
posted by Spatch at 8:32 AM on June 5, 2009


Holy crap!
posted by mazola at 9:13 AM on June 5, 2009


I myself would love some kind of 2D RPG/platformer combo set in the world of Yellow Submarine. I don't know what the game would be, exactly, but it would be gorgeous and I can just see it now.
posted by shakespeherian at 9:52 AM on June 5, 2009 [1 favorite]


Outlawyr: a cinematic is a segment of a video game which you watch rather than control. They are generally higher-quality animation than the rest of the game, and often move story forward in ways that gameplay cannot. Basically, they are mini-movies, almost always CGI content, sort of mini-Pixar moments within larger games.
posted by hippybear at 9:55 AM on June 5, 2009 [1 favorite]


This looks insanely great. Surely, a splendid time is guaranteed for all.
posted by Seekerofsplendor at 10:34 AM on June 5, 2009


I myself would love some kind of 2D RPG/platformer combo set in the world of Yellow Submarine. I don't know what the game would be, exactly, but it would be gorgeous and I can just see it now.

I can't believe no one has come out with a game that uses the guitar controller in a non-Guitar Hero-esque way. Maybe some kind of FPS on rails, using the colored fret buttons to target and the strum bar to fire? I think maybe Brütal Legend is doing this in some way, but since I only have a Wii and I am a HUGE Tim Schafer fan, I'm sticking my fingers in my ears and going "La la la" when it comes to that game.
posted by Rock Steady at 10:47 AM on June 5, 2009


Looks awesome. But I am reserving excitement until they do a Beach Boys/Brian Wilson's Smile version.
posted by nushustu at 11:20 AM on June 5, 2009


Thanks Hippybear.
posted by Outlawyr at 11:22 AM on June 5, 2009


Wow. I both wish that I could play this game and am quite glad that this is happening over John Lennon's dead body.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 1:27 PM on June 5, 2009


Oh, PS: I can't play video games because I have a faulty brain, not because I don't own a console, which, oddly, I do.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 1:28 PM on June 5, 2009


Beautiful animation.
The animated Beatles in the game look a bit goofy, though.
Won't stop me from getting this, however.

wishing I didn't have all the instruments for RB2 already. Have you SEEN the instruments coming with the bundle for this?
I hear you. How can I not buy that Gretsch? That's my Duojet!
posted by chococat at 2:02 PM on June 5, 2009


Really looking forward to this coming out, and really wishing I didn't have all the instruments for RB2 already.

Ah-ha! My technique of being a serial procrastinator pays off! I never did get around to buying the full Rock Band 2 Bundle that I intended to. May as well pick up the Beatles pack instead...

.
..
...

How Much!?!
posted by Nice Guy Mike at 5:32 PM on June 5, 2009


Beautiful animation. The details are amazing, I've watched it half a dozen times. I'd love to see a movie done in this style, Beatles or not.
posted by beowulf573 at 9:08 PM on June 5, 2009


I still love the Beatles' music 40 years later, been loving it since I was a kid. I don't see anything interesting in this video display, no matter how well done, or a game about pretending to play their music and pretending to be them. I don't see how it could improve on or actually even touche singing the song yourself or picking up the instrument and learning to play some of their songs for real. I'm just squinching up my eyes, because I don't get it. "Amusing ourselves to death" is what comes to mind. Irrelevant. All style and no substance.
posted by Listener at 11:43 AM on June 6, 2009


Well, damn. I wish you didn't feel that way, because since you are in fact the arbiter of taste for all people on the face of the earth, now nobody can enjoy playing it. I mean, if *you* don't see anything interesting in it, surely anybody who did would be a drooling, degenerate philistine so much worse than Hitler that it would make baby Pol Pot cry.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 12:20 PM on June 6, 2009


One might ask listener the same thing. In general, "what you do for fun sucks and you're bad for doing that instead of what I do" is a pretty churlish thing to tell people.

Nobody is going to take away his guitar, so what the fuck does he care about how inferior a video game that really boils down to Missile Command sychronized to music is to his pastimes?
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 1:12 PM on June 6, 2009


I don't see how it could improve on or actually even touche singing the song yourself or picking up the instrument and learning to play some of their songs for real.

Stop having fun!
posted by Midnight Rambler at 2:19 PM on June 6, 2009


I don't see how it could improve on or actually even touche singing the song yourself or picking up the instrument and learning to play some of their songs for real

Ya, it's not really about that. You should try Rockband. It's a fun game. You can't approach it with the attitude that you're really playing the songs. I play guitar and the first time I played it I was all confused, "but you don't play it like that!" It's more about timing and coordination, like very elaborate game of Simon or something. With different instruments. And this is just a bonus to be able to play it with Beatles tunes.
posted by chococat at 3:34 PM on June 6, 2009


It's missile command. You have five buttons to launch your missiles and a sixth to detonate them, and you have to hit the incoming missiles at a specific altitude.

Now that I think about it that way, I gots to get the "Two Minutes to Midnight" level next week.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 3:37 PM on June 6, 2009


Wait, one of the controllers is going to be a giant trackball?

Now I'm confused.
posted by hippybear at 11:35 AM on June 7, 2009


Nobody is going to take away his guitar, so what the fuck does he care about how inferior a video game that really boils down to Missile Command sychronized to music is to his pastimes?

This is the generation that thought they would be cool forever.
posted by smackfu at 12:11 PM on June 7, 2009


Wow, I actually didn't say anything about anyone else's experience of it. I said my experience. Sheesh.
posted by Listener at 9:38 PM on June 10, 2009


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