The Mountain
Gorillaz
An eight-minute short film alongside two trailers, accompany Gorillaz’s ninth studio album The Mountain. Hand drawn by The Line as an homage to classic animation, explores a different mood: a 70s horror inspired trailer with unsettling tension, an 80s VHS nostalgia trailer celebrating warmth and human creativity, and a spiritual short film following Noodle, 2-D, Murdoc, and Russel on a journey of rebirth.A 70s horror inspired trailer for The Mountain, The Moon Cave and The Sad God, a short film heralding the launch of the new Gorillaz album, The Mountain. The film, animated by The Line and entirely hand drawn as an homage to classic animation, called for a trailer that captured the unsettling tone of 1970s horror while honoring the tactile, human crafted nature of the artwork and building intrigue around its mythic world.
Sound design and music enhance each tone: atmospheric 70s horror cues with retro mastering for the first trailer, soft fairytale inspired melodies contrasting VHS textures for the second, and subtle effects and granular audio tying visuals to the feature song for the short film. Together, the audio complements the hand-crafted animation, evokes nostalgia, and guides viewers through mythic and emotional worlds.An atmospheric score recreated the classic 70s ambience, with a repetitive jingle each time we see the title leaned into the clichés of the era. Sound effects paid homage to classic horror films, and the mastering was approached with old equipment and the media limitations of the 1970s in mind, enhancing the nostalgic tone of the trailer.
