10 – Wain Stop

Number 10 on this list is a more recent entry into the PilotRedSun pantheon but it perfectly encapsulates everything that a good PilotRedSun video is. It uses bizarre, disjointed and crudely-designed animation, the plot or purpose of the video is totally unexplained to us, it is presented in a format which is at first charming but then becomes somewhat disturbing, only to truly baffle us by the end with its sudden shift of setting and tone. The ‘music’, if you could call it that, is the only thing that really lets this video down, and that’s because – there isn’t really any. The sound effects are incredible, and evocative if a little tinny, but this video doesn’t contain an example of a classic PilotRedSun tune, so we will move on.

9 – Casino Night

Another beautifully creative and potentially disturbing video from two years ago that continued the somewhat-recurrent theme in PilotRedSun videos of having a bright red dragon-like ‘fiend’ involved somehow in the ‘plot’ of certain videos, Casino Night perfectly marries casino and gambling imagery with one of PilotRedSun’s tunes, also called Casino Night, that is track 3 of his album, ‘Achievement’. The plot is simple – a young man goes into a casino to try and win some big cash. After failing to win anything on the slot machines, he tries one of the card games, despite the warnings of the green man at the table that ‘the house always wins’. I won’t spoil the sublime ending, but it doesn’t really come as much of a shock. Also, the fiend’s ‘voice’ sounds awesome.

8 – Grinch’s ultimatum

The second of two Christmas-themed PilotRedSun videos that were released on Christmas Day of their respective years, Grinch’s ultimatum demonstrates how a simple melody can perfectly harmonise with the dynamic of a video. The animation perfectly syncs its tone and plot events to the changing nature of the music, right up until the magnificent ending. The message of Grinch’s ultimatum is clear – be true to who you are. When a benevolent-looking Santa magically slides into your room, and offers you the choice between eternal sainthood and perpetual grinchdom, go with your gut and take the path that best reflects yourself. Although you may have doubts, eventually your true meaning will become clear to you.

7 – video for silverman

Simply put, video for silverman is a depiction of a battle between Vegeta and Mewtwo, created as part of a ‘compilation collab’, according to the description. Regardless, what follows is a hilarious example of how limitations in animation can create some truly outstanding results, particularly what happens to Vegeta’s head whenever he talks. The music of this video at a glance is seemingly simplistic, and yet upon closer inspection it is actually quite a complex melody, that intensifies as the video progresses leading up to the explosive conclusion.

6 – dogowner

Another example of the fantastic music used in Pilot’s videos, although unfortunately the track from this video is not on the album. This video marks another appearance of the dreaded ‘fiends’ in Pilot’s videos, although this one seems much less malevolent and certainly more animal-like than the human-sized fiends that appear in other videos. Dogowner has a simple plot – a bloke sits down to watch some Shark Tale on TV with his best pal, when an interloper attempts to invade his abode. Naturally the dog has a thing or two to say about that, since the owner sits there helplessly meaning the dog has to do all the work. I wonder if Pilot had been watching too much Wallace and Gromit.

5 – preschool bully

Definitely one of the stranger PilotRedSun videos out there, preschool bully tells a simple story about a small kid who doesn’t want his sweets taken off him. This was actually the first PilotRedSun video that I ever saw, and it seems hard to imagine now that this ridiculous animation that is only fourteen seconds long would open up a formidable can of worms. Despite seeming like a disjointed event that you would witness in a dream, preschool bully provokes a pang of sympathy for the poor child at the table – maybe it is based off a true story?

4 – Garfielf

Undeniably this is PilotRedSun’s most popular video, with over 7 million views as of January 2018. which is a shame since it is a drastic deviation from his standard video style. Rather than a short animation with a confusing premise, this video is quite long – over a minute, which is long for a Pilot video. Garfielf also has minimal animation, mostly consisting of stills that play over the voice commentary (created using a text-to-speech instead of Pilot’s usual iconic voice), and intense dis-chordal music. The video itself is hilarious, like most Pilot videos, and I suppose it proves that trying something new from time to time occasionally pays off.

3 – IPAlien

‘An Alien walks into a bar’ might sound like the opening to a terrible joke, but in this video it opens a ridiculous chain of events that end up with Earth being conquered by alien forces. Why? Well, its over a beer – a space beer to be precise. An interesting ‘Easter Egg’ is actually visible in this video, just as the bartender is about to slide the Alien his cold one, if one looks to the far wall next to the ‘office’ a painting of a fiend is visible on the wall – clearly the owners of this odd establishment (which also has a billboard on the roof that says ‘Waste Time, And Money’) have interesting taste in pin-ups. Another interesting detail that never fails to make me laugh is the fact that the Alien’s ship is clearly marked ‘Unidentified Flying UFO’, just in case you were confused (but then again, when watching these videos, who isn’t?)

2 – quaker’s oats

The most interesting thing about PilotRedSun’s videos is their tone. Through the use of music, sound effects and voices Pilot is able to make his seemingly inane and totally off-the-wall videos take on tones of extreme malevolence, or, in this case, cheerfulness and warmth. The music used is a section of the tune Bodybuilder from ‘Achievement’, that is played over Mr. Quaker’s calm and composed morning advertisement for his exquisite oats. The overall message of this video is unclear, except, perhaps, to go and eat more Quaker’s Oats?

Honourable Mentions

nesquik rabbit

One of the shortest and earliest PilotRedSun videos, this was another of the ones that I was first shown when being introduced to his channel. What is truly a miracle is that I actually carried on watching videos after this one, as it seems to exist to be little more than an animation test for a gif, but who knows. Again, the tone of this video is odd – it isn’t exactly benign, but its not exactly malevolent either, but I certainly wouldn’t trust this bunny around the children he claims to ‘deliver the goods’ for…

christmas story (scroge duck)

This would have been a lot higher on the list were it not for the second Christmas Special, Grinch’s ultimatum, totally blowing it out of the water – but christmas story (scroge duck) stands in its own right as a classic PilotRedSun video – from the jarring animation, the awkward sound effects, the iconic voice and of course the fantastic music. The tune at the end of this video is Snow Day from ‘Achievement’, although unfortunately it only plays the first thirteen notes before the video ends.

Rocko’s Gaming Tragedy

One of the few PilotRedSun videos to actually use capital letters in its title, Rocko’s Gaming Tragedy takes the form of a ‘lost episode’ of the popular cartoon show ‘Rocko’s Modern Life’ that ran on Nickelodeon between 1993 and 1996. I have never actually seen a real episode of this show, although from what I hear from people who have seen both the original show and this video, the two are barely distinguishable from one another. Nobody quite knows how PilotRedSun was able to so perfectly capture the distinct animation style of Rocko’s Modern Life, nor how he managed to get his hands on the script for the lost episode, but undoubtedly Nickelodeon paid him to carry on the legacy of one of their flagship shows.

And finally, number one is…

1 – Pringle Advert

Another of PilotRedSun’s most popular videos, with over 1,170,000 views, is pringle advert, which continues another loose ‘theme’ of PilotRedSun’s videos whereby he will use the image of a popular brand mascot but give it an unexpected and sometimes malevolent twist. While the Pringle Man isn’t quite as horrifying as the Hamburger Helper mascot seen in another Pilot video, the malevolence of the Pringle Man is much more subtle, which is many ways makes it very creepy. The music and general look of this guy is bad enough, but after a calm introduction the video takes a turn when Pringle Man realises that nobody actually likes Pringles. Give the video a watch, you will not regret it.

And that’s my list of Top Ten PilotRedSun videos! Leave a like if you enjoyed, comment to say whether or not you’d ever seen any Pilot (and, indeed, if you are planning on watching any more now or if you want to run as far away as possible) and remember, for some cool tunes, check out PilotRedSun’s album, ‘Achievement’,

and there are compilations of his music online, like this fanmade album.
Also, check out PilotRedSun’s tumblr for updates on his art and music.