Rashida Jones’ reflections on growing up in California, animated by Jack Cunningham

Date
8 September 2015

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Jack Cunningham has animated the latest in the California Inspires Me series, and it’s Rashida Jones’ turn to wax lyrical on life in the golden state. It’s a great story, covering friendship with Michael Jackson, being a Grease and Saturday Night Live -obsessed nerd and wanting to be a judge; going against your creative, hippie upbringing and defying the NoCal/SoCal divide.

As you’d expect from creative polymath Rashida Jones, the story is told with expert pace and expression and Jack’s animation follows suit. The colour palette suits the 1970s setting, and the characters with their loose hair and mustard flares moonwalk through the abstracted landscape with ease. Jack has an enviable attention to detail, picking up the name of Michael Jackson’s snake, Muscles in a tongue that folds into an arm flex and re-appropriating the basic computer visuals of early technology into a teen non-romance. It’s an entertaining watch, as is the rest of the series which is a collaboration between The California Sunday Magazine and Google Play.

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Jack Cunningham: Rashida Jones – California Inspires Me

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Jack Cunningham: Rashida Jones – California Inspires Me

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Jack Cunningham: Rashida Jones – California Inspires Me

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Jack Cunningham: Rashida Jones – California Inspires Me

Above

Jack Cunningham: Rashida Jones – California Inspires Me

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Jack Cunningham: Rashida Jones – California Inspires Me

Above

Jack Cunningham: Rashida Jones – California Inspires Me

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Jack Cunningham: Rashida Jones – California Inspires Me

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About the Author

Billie Muraben

Billie studied illustration at Camberwell College of Art before completing an MA in Visual Communication at the Royal College of Art. She joined It’s Nice That as a Freelance Editorial Assistant back in January 2015 and continues to work with us on a freelance basis.

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