In a striking twist, David Fincher transformed the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ 2003 Slane Castle show into a six-minute puppet spectacle. The band rocks out as computer-made string puppets in . Fincher was the executive producer with creator Tim Miller. The episode has voice appearances from Mr. Beast, Kevin Hart, Dan Stevens, and more.
At Slane Castle, 80,000 puppet fans watched as Anthony Kiedis, Flea, Chad Smith, and John Frusciante took the stage.
“A perfectly reasonable inquiry,” said Fincher to the . “First and foremost, I’ll say I’ve always wanted a Flea bobblehead — it started with that. But really, you know, sometimes there’s just stuff you want to see.”
The artists caught each twist and turn through motion capture, and then brought the puppets to life. Yet making wooden figures move like rock stars proved tricky. The team worked hard to keep the strings visible while making them feel real.
The band just hit it big with “Californication,” selling eight times platinum. Their song “Can’t Stop” from By the Way was all over the radio.
The cartoon keeps true to the real show but adds magic touches. Puppet fans wave lighters in the dark, and Kiedis snaps a quick photo with someone’s phone. The band’s wild stage moves shine through in their wooden forms.
Flea, who talked with Fincher before work started, said: “I feel like Finch got the spirit of me. I used to dive and do a somersault while playing bass. Now I’m scared to do it. Finch went, ‘Well, Puppet Flea can do it.’”
The team at Blur stuck to classic methods with no AI in sight. They put in the hours to make those puppet moves and crowd scenes perfect by hand.
