Why doesn’t the game look as good as the cut scenes? It’s always the case, right? Here’s the trailer for the upcoming video game The Beatles: Rock Band. The cut scenes were directed by Pete Candeland from Passion Pictures. Candeland had already produced animation for the competition – did you see his Guitar Hero II work? I suspect some of the same crew joined this effort.

Damon Albarn’s virtual band Gorillaz wasn’t the first virtual band to emerge (Alvin and the Chipmunks was), but it was perhaps the best animated (we love Metalocalypse too). And thanks to the design wizardry of Jamie Hewlett and the world-class animation by Passion Pictures, Gorillaz took the music world by storm in 2001, and sold over 7 million albums of their debut release. A third album is reportedly on the way, but so is a DVD, titled Bananaz, that features six years of behind-the-scenes footage and interviews. Hoping some of that covers the animation itself. The film will premiere on the web on April 20th and then it will release on DVD. Here’s a trailer:

Following up his ad Nicola for Action For Children, director Dan Sumich created this 50-second spot focusing on Dan, who suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome, a form of autism. Sumich, who works out of Passion Pictures, used a mixed-media approach on the ad, titled Dan’s Story, which was overseen by Baby Creative.

Axe grooming products (or Lynx, as they’re called in the UK – due to a legal snafu), can apparently take the “cave” out of the caveman inside us all. Passion Pictures director Mike Mort directed this stop-motion spot, titled Leather, for agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty and Axe/Lynx.

Love that song – it’s Look Good In Leather from Cody ChesnuTT.

UK-based auto insurance brokerage Comparethemarket.com has enlisted a Russian meerkat to help peddle their cheaper car insurance. They’ve also enlisted Passion Pictures to bring their fury friend Aleksandr to life, with Darren Walsh in the director chair. VCCP’s Creative directors Darren Bailes and Steve Vranakis oversaw the production of the spot, titled Aleks.

The folks at 1st Ave Machine and Passion Pictures are ringing in the new year with Unboxed, an imaginative commercial for the Audi Q5. Not your typical car advertisement, the spot effortlessly combines traditional and 3D animation.

The two co-directors, Aaron Duffy (1st Ave Machine) and Russell Brooke (Passion Pictures), divided their roles on the project. Brooke for the 2D character animation, and Duffy took responsibility for the overall vision for the spot and the transformation of the car.

The trailer for Pixar’s newest film Up is up!  The visuals in this new assembly are rich and beautiful, but it’s not very clear what the movie is about (IMDB says it’s a “coming of old age” story with a seventysomething hero, alongside his clueless wilderness ranger sidekick). Pixar has taken many gambles in the past that have paid off well and having a 70 year old star in this next CGI yarn seems like their latest risk.  But Up, which is directed by Pete Doctor (Monsters, Inc), will probably be like every other Pixar film – and that’s GREAT!  As we await the Summer 2009 release, we’ll be watching closely for more trailers and sneak peeks – so keep your eyes aimed at Lineboil.