Best Animated Music Videos of the 2010s: Top Picks

The Canvas of Sound: Why the 2010s Was a Golden Era for Animated Music Videos

The 2010s will long be remembered as a transformative decade for digital media, but within the realm of music videos, it marked a quiet renaissance. Freed from the traditional constraints of television broadcast schedules and skyrocketing live-action production costs, artists and animators turned to the boundless realm of animation.

Propelled by the dominance of YouTube and Vimeo, the 2010s became a playground where electronic music producers, indie rock bands, and hip-hop icons collaborated with visionary animators. The result was a rich tapestry of visual storytelling that proved animation was not merely a medium for children, but a powerful vehicle for complex emotional narratives and social commentary.

Bridging Worlds: The Anime Aesthetic and Cross-Cultural Collaborations

One of the defining shifts of the decade was the seamless blending of Western electronic music production with high-end Japanese animation styles. Musicians recognized that animation could evoke a sense of nostalgia, scale, and emotional depth that live-action simply could not replicate.

A landmark example of this cross-cultural synergy arrived in 2016 with “Shelter” by Porter Robinson and Madeon, animated in partnership with the acclaimed Japanese studio A-1 Pictures.

• The Narrative: The short film tells the poignant story of Rin, a young girl living inside a futuristic simulation, sustained by memories of her father before a catastrophic event on Earth.
• The Impact: “Shelter” transcended its status as a simple promotional tool, functioning instead as a poignant sci-fi short film that elevated the emotional resonance of the music itself, proving that electronic music and narrative-driven anime were a match made in heaven.

Pop Culture Satire and Dystopian Dreams

Animation also offered artists a unique sandbox for political and social critique. Without the logistical nightmares of gathering hundreds of celebrities for a live-action shoot, animators could craft intricate, symbol-laden dreamscapes.

A prime illustration of this is Childish Gambino’s “Feels Like Summer” (2018), directed by Donald Glover and Ivan Dixon, with animation by Greg Sharp.

• The Concept: A melancholy, beautifully rendered stroll through an urban neighborhood where dozens of animated hip-hop and R&B icons—from Kanye West weeping in a “Make America Great Again” hat to a younger generation of artists playing basketball—interact in the background.
• The Tone: It balanced a hazy, nostalgic summer aesthetic with underlying anxieties about climate change and the state of modern culture, delivering a masterclass in visual subtext.

“Animation allows an artist to bypass literal reality and construct a world that reflects their exact emotional or political thesis, frame by frame.”

Key Milestones of 2010s Animation in Music

To understand the breadth of the decade’s animated output, it helps to look at how different genres utilized the medium:

| Track / Artist | Year | Primary Style | Key Theme / Significance |
| :— | :— | :— | :— |
| Gorillaz – Plastic Beach era | 2010 | Mixed Media / 3D | Continued the pioneering legacy of virtual bands, blending CGI environments with traditional 2D character designs. |
| Porter Robinson & Madeon – “Shelter” | 2016 | Traditional Anime (A-1 Pictures) | Emotional sci-fi storytelling paired with melodic electronic pop. |
| Childish Gambino – “Feels Like Summer” | 2018 | Indie 2D Animation | A living portrait of contemporary music culture wrapped in environmental commentary. |
| Dua Lipa – “Break My Heart” (Animated segments) | 2020 | Retro 2D / Pop Art | Highlighted the late-decade pivot toward vibrant, playful lyric videos and stylized animated shorts. |

The Legacy of the Digital Canvas

The 2010s proved that animated music videos are far more than a novelty or a backup plan when a live-action shoot falls through. They democratized high-concept storytelling, allowing independent animators to work directly with global superstars and bring surreal, beautiful, and devastating stories to millions of screens.

As we look back, the animated music videos of the 2010s stand out as timeless art pieces—proof that when sound and illustration collide, the only true limit is the imagination.