Gorillaz Is Turning Its Iconic Animation Into a Movie

By Evan Valentine

The Gorillaz are a unique band in the stratosphere of music, not just with their songs that take the opportunity to blend different genres, but also with the fact that their members rarely appear as themselves on stage or in music videos, but instead, are portrayed as animated avatars. The characters of 2-D, Murdok, Russel, and Noodle first hit the scene in 1998 and have released several albums that have garnered them many awards and it seems as though the band is set to get an upcoming animated film at Netflix. 

The actual members that are a part of the band are musicians Damon Albarn, Jamie Hewlett, and Remi Kabaka Jr, who decided that they would appear through their animated avatars when the group first formed. While it might not be apparent, the fictional members of the band have quite the history with several storylines and lore surrounding each of them, which would arguably make for some good storytelling with an animated film. While Netflix hasn't released any details about the upcoming movie, the streaming service certainly hasn't been shy about diving into the world of animation and anime in its past as it attempts to corner the market on the mediums.

Twitter Outlet Damon Albarn Unofficial shared a recent interview wherein the Gorillaz band member, Damon Albarn, shared the news that not only has Netflix greenlit a "full-length Gorillaz film," but that the band is currently in the process of writing the film for the streaming service:

In recent years, the Gorillaz made the news thanks in part to an unexpected crossover, wherein one of the new animated members that was added to the band originated from the Cartoon Network series, Powerpuff Girls. The leader of the nefarious Gangreen Gang from the animated series became a full-blown member of the Gorillaz in the sixth album for the band, with the musicians themselves being friends with the creator of The Powerpuff Girls, Craig McCracken, and getting the go-ahead from Cartoon Network itself. While Ace is no longer a member of the band, with the background in the lore being that he was the replacement for Murdoc while he was imprisoned, he is still referenced from time to time.

Are you excited about a Gorillaz animated movie? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of the animated band. 

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