The California Raisins are a fantastic group of singing and dancing raisins that initially inspired us to make a healthy eating band for Applied Animation. We were drawn to them for their very obvious upbeat, cheesy, and cheerful personalities and the ways in which they went about setting the mood and atmosphere to an instantly uplifting one. We really loved the technique of using stop motion animation to make the band move and bring life to them. I felt that personally, a completely 2D animated band or hand-drawn wouldn't have been as effective as seeing a miniature stage with a band made out of real materials with that signature aesthetic really plays with your mind and allows you think it's more believable.
The creator of the raisins is a man named Will Vinton. He created them with the intent to entertain and he certainly managed to achieve that as the group received one Emmy award and one nomination! The original idea of the raisins was to be used for a 1980's commercial which of course became incredibly popular, thus giving it the fame and fortune to create a whole series of songs for the band. Such songs as "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" usually are a play on words and are incredibly comical to watch. The music genre features mainly around Motown and classic rock which seems obvious really as the band have that 'funky' look to them with all the accessories such as sunglasses and guitars. Even the black and white jazz shoes give it away!
In 1988, CBS aired 'Meet the Raisins', a mockumentary which of course featured the band. Their growing popularity meant that they're probably (at a guess) one of the most well-known fruit bands out there and I'm sure there are a few thanks to all the inspiration they've given us.
There have been such brilliant ratings with the TV shows that eventually merchandise such as 3D glasses, lunchboxes, and even shirts was released. I've never known a fruity band to be that well-loved!
What we really took from these music videos though on a more serious and academic note is that we really were inspired by the way the creators could manage to make the band look a certain way to be representative of a music genre. Our aim was 80's cheesy pop, and for that to happen we needed a cheesy-looking, cheap and cheerful set with groovy-looking characters using all the correct instruments. We needed to learn about the ways bands were made up and what roles were used etc. Our group wanted to be as successful as the California Raisins for a completely different purpose: to inform and instate healthy eating in teens.
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