The 5 Most Captivating Animated Music Videos of 2020

‘Snowchild’ – The Weeknd

In the latter part of July, The Weeknd arrived on the scene with his animated music video for the track, ‘Snowchild’. The video combined anime-esque visuals with some top notch story telling.

The use of colours and shading plays an important role in this video. Hues of grey and black are reserved for the daytime and the past. The nighttime awakens with faded neon colours that create a mystical, inviting glow in every nook and cranny of the cityscape.

The visuals parallel moments from The Weeknd’s past. They speak of his fears, temptations and struggles while also paying tribute to characters and creatures seen in his older music videos. ‘Snowchild’ also adopts classic anime-esque styles used prominently between 2008-2010. They can be recognized by the slightly robotics movements seen in the characters, the typical eye-glisten under sunlight and the dramatic fight scenes – among other things. Interestingly enough, the visual was created by the D’ART Shtajio studio – the first black-owned animation studio in Japan.

It looks like The Weeknd himself has a certain fondness for animated music videos. The remixed version of his track, ‘In Your Eyes’ featuring Doja Cat was treated to animated visuals and more recently, his collaborative track with Juice WRLD also received the same treatment.