The people behind A-Ha's 'Take On Me' video created Paula Abdul's cartoon cat for 'Opposites Attract'
Mar 9th, 2021
Marty Rosenbaum, Radio.com
A-Ha’s hit song “Take On Me” is undoubtedly one of the coolest music videos of all time. Released in 1985, the video was incredibly forward thinking and it would not look out of place if it were released today.
“Take On Me” gave A-Ha numerous wins at the 1986 MTV VMAs as it took home six total awards including Best New Artist in a Video, Best Concept Video, Most Experimental Video, Best Direction, Best Special Effects, and Viewer’s Choice.
The video utilized a technology known as rotoscaping, the ability to blend pencil-sketch animation with live action footage. Husband and wife Michael Patterson and Candace Reckinger were the animators behind the “Take On Me” video, an experience that helped set up the couple for future success.
A few years after the “Take On Me” video, the couple once again put their innovative stamp on another iconic music video.
Paula Abdul’s 1989 hit “Opposites Attract” featured a memorable music video that seamlessly blended animation with live action. In the video, viewers are introduced to MC Skat Kat, the animated rapping cat that would go on to dance and have a duet with Abdul.
In a new interview with Yahoo Entertainment, Abdul went inside the making of the video and how it was almost never made. She had the idea for the video as a tribute to Gene Kelly, the actor who danced alongside Jerry Mouse from Tom and Jerry in the 1945 film Anchors Aweigh.
“Back then, there was no motion-capture; everything was painstaking, artists painting cell by cell. … It was epic, extensive work to put this character together,” Abdul said. MC Skat Kat’s movements were provided by dancer Michael “Boogaloo Shrimp” Chambers, who stood against a blue screen. Animators then drew over Chambers’ dance movies to give MC Skat Kat his movements.
The video was directed by, you guessed it, Candace Reckinger and Michael Patterson. The couple once again took home well-deserved accolades with the video as it won Best Short Form Music Video at the 1991 GRAMMY Awards.
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Filed under: Forever Your Girl