Abstract: Every year around Halloween, the sound of Michael Jackson’s song “Thriller” enjoys a resurgence on music streaming platforms as the occasion’s most essential theme song. Just as essential is the iconic dance routine from the Thriller short film, which this year inspired an animated feature by Illumination starring the cast of the Sing movies. Kerry Hennigan takes a look at this new take on the Jackson classic and other ways the song and short film have inspired the creativity of others for the Halloween season.
Column by Kerry Hennigan, editor of the free monthly newsletter A Candle for Michael, administrator of the fan group “Michael Jackson’s Short Film Ghosts” on Facebook, and an MJ blogger on WordPress. Kerry is a life-long student, has Certificates in the Archaeology of the Ancient World and the Archaeology of Ancient Britain from Cambridge University in the UK and is currently focused on the Viking Age and the Silk Roads.
REFERENCE AS:
Hennigan, Kerry. “MJ Studies Today CVII: Thrilling to Sing: Thriller and what it reminds us about Michael Jackson’s original masterpiece.” (14-11-2024). The Journal of Michael Jackson Academic Studies Vol 11, No. 2 (2024). https://michaeljacksonstudies.org/mj-studies-today-cvii/
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Thrilling to Sing: Thriller and what it reminds us about Michael Jackson’s original masterpiece.
By Kerry Hennigan
Photo montage © Kerry Hennigan
Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” continues to inspire one generation after the next with its timeless energy, hypnotic visuals, and lasting appeal. It’s challenging to think of a song that better encapsulates the season, and we’re excited to see how Sing: Thriller honours the King of Pop’s chart-topping hit! – Steve Seigh, JoBlo [1]
The above statement features in a short review of Illumination’s latest Sing film franchise offering, i.e. Sing: Thriller, a 10 minute animated film for the 2024 Halloween season screening on Netflix. Michael Jackson’s short film Thriller is the inspiration for the piece, and acknowledged as such in the closing credits (along with a nod to the late Rod Temperton, who wrote the iconic song). At a time when the King of Pop’s fan community are streaming the original song for a spooky season chart boost, Sing: Thriller’s version has provided a timely reminder to everyone else that there is no more appropriate track for a Halloween party than “Thriller.”
More than a song, more than a short film, more even than the birth of a piece of choreography that has been adopted by dance groups, street parades and pop-up performers the world over, Michael Jackson’s Thriller package has proven itself to be deserving of its status as a hit track from the best-selling album of all time with a short film that became the first music video in the US to be selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. [2]
The popularity of the short film when first released prompted a “making of” video released on VHS which became an instant best seller. Yes, that’s right – VHS tapes were the popular medium in the early-mid 80s when Thriller was encouraging everyone to dance like a zombie. In those days, MTV was becoming what it always should have been – not a showcase of predominantly white talent, but for the best in the business, irrespective of ethnicity. First the short films for Billie Jean, then Beat It, and finally Thriller, smashed the MTV colour bar and opened the door for so many others to follow. In 1999 MTV duly named Thriller the greatest music video of all time. [3]
“For Jackson, it was the beginning or rather, a continuation of what became his lifelong commitment to changing the course of mainstream industry oppression. He approached MTV with an opportunity to play fair and bring a diverse experience to its audience while opening the door for the artists of colour that followed.” [4]
For those who ask why it was Michael Jackson who achieved this feat (rather than some other artist), the answer is in Jackson’s undeniable talent, and his commitment to going beyond the industry norms and expectations. In his autobiography Moonwalk (1988), Michael said, “I saw kids watching and accepting boring videos because they had no alternatives. My goal is to do the best I can in every area, so why work hard on an album and then produce a terrible video?” [5]
Jackson wanted something that would glue viewers to their TV sets, not just once, but “over and over.” In what had become – and would remain – his personal standard for achievement, he believed that “The idea from the beginning was to give people quality.” [6] It was a deliberate goal of Michael’s to be a pioneer in the new medium of music videos, to “make the best short music movies we could make.” [7]
To this end, he courted, and acquired the services of movie director John Landis, most famous at the time for American Werewolf in London, and with him came makeup wizard Rick Baker, who did all the creature and zombie make up for the film. “Over the span of 13½ minutes, Thriller delivered a fun short story, dynamic dancing, and effectively gruesome effects… There was little blood and no overt gore as one would see in R-rated movies of the time. And the fantastically choreographed zombie dance moves from Jackson and Michael Peters (who also did “Beat It” and Pat Benatar’s “Love Is a Battlefield”) — along with a cadre of skilled dancers who could move fluidly and in sync with the singer—made it exciting to watch.” [8]
The choreography of Thriller is one of its principal identifiers. This is the routine that is performed by crowds of zombified dancers in the streets of major cities during Halloween festivities [9] and on stage after each Halloween performance of MJ: the Musical on Broadway, in London’s West End and on its North American tour [10] (with two more productions of the show coming in Germany and Australia).
Now it forms the centrepiece for Sing: Thriller, having previously received similar treatment from Pixar for the Shrek six minute short Thriller Night (2011) and provided the basis for the storyline of the animated television special Michael Jackson’s Halloween (2017). Thriller has earned so many accolades they are too numerous to keep track of, but one of its premier achievements is surely that it continues to inspire creativity in others, ensuring that the artistry of Michael Jackson “will always be synonymous with Halloween.” [11]
Kerry Hennigan
14 November 2024
Sources:
[1] Seigh, Steve. “Sing: Thriller reimagines Michael Jackson’s spooky classic for a Halloween event that’s gonna save you from the beast about to strike.” 16 Oct 2024. https://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/news/sing-thriller-reimagines-michael-jackson-s-spooky-classic-for-a-halloween-event-that-s-gonna-save-you-from-the-beast-about-to-strike/ar-AA1sjWe3
[2] Reuters. “Jackson “Thriller” film picked for U.S. registry.” 31 Dec 2009. https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5BT43W20091230/
[3] RockOnTheNet.com. “MTV: ‘100 Greatest Music Videos Ever Made.” http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/1999/mtv100.htm
[4] Supporters of Michael Jackson Legacy on EuroWeb. “Michael Jackson’s MTV Impact Breaking Racial Barriers and Opening Doors for Artists of Color.” 22 Aug 2019. https://eurweb.com/2019/michael-jacksons-mtv-impact-breaking-racial-barriers-and-opening-doors-for-artists-of-color/
[5] Jackson, Michael. Moonwalk. Arrow paperback edition 2010, page 200.
[6] Ibid
[7] Ibid
[8] American Songwriter “How Thriller became the most influential music video ever.” 6 Feb 2024 https://americansongwriter.com/how-thriller-became-the-most-influential-music-video-ever/
[9] Y! Entertainment. Storyful Team. “‘Thriller’ flash mob dances down Sixth Avenue at NYC Halloween Parade.” 2 Nov 2024. https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/thriller-flash-mob-dances-down-162222876.html
[10] MJ: the Musical on Facebook. 8 November 2024. https://fb.watch/vQ4Tu667jQ/
[11] CBS News. “’Michael Jackson Loved Halloween’: John Branca On CBS Animated Special.” 25 Oct 2017. https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/michael-jackson-loved-halloween-john-branca-on-cbs-animated-special/
Additional reading:
Hennigan, Kerry. “MJ Studies Today LXXXIV: ‘One of the most triumphant, game-changing moments in show business history.’ Revisiting the book Michael Jackson: the Making of Thriller by Douglas Kirkland and Nancy Griffin in celebration of 40 years of the Thriller album.” (14-12-2022). The Journal of Michael Jackson Academic Studies Vol 9, No. 2 (2022). https://michaeljacksonstudies.org/mj-studies-today-lxxxiv/
Hennigan, Kerry. “MJ Studies Today XLVIII ‘Ghosts, ghouls and zombies: Michael Jackson’s indelible Halloween legacy in the wake of a year of controversy.’” (14-12-2019). The Journal of Michael Jackson Academic Studies Vol 6, No. 2 (2019). https://michaeljacksonstudies.org/mj-studies-today-xlviii/