Synopsis

After a helicopter crash leaves 2-D and the San Fernando Valley Youth Chorus stranded in the Namib Desert, the survivors pass the time performing "Dirty Harry." Their isolation is interrupted when Noodle, Murdoc, and Russel arrive in an armored Wer'wolf vehicle to rescue them. Bootie Brown suddenly rises from the sand in military fatigues to deliver his rap verse. The group escapes together, but their improvised getaway quickly breaks down, leaving the desert adventure with a typically chaotic Gorillaz punchline.

Factoids & Trivia

• Released on October 25, 2005, the video was first distributed through the Gorillaz website mailing list.

• The Namib Desert footage around Swakopmund, Namibia, marked the first Gorillaz video shot on location. The production had originally considered creating the desert entirely with computer animation, but filming in a real desert proved more practical and less expensive.

• The children's vocals featured in the song come from the San Fernando Valley Youth Chorus, whose animated counterparts appear among the crash survivors.

• Bootie Brown's guest appearance is integrated into the video with his emergence from beneath a sand dune in military clothing.

• The armored rescue vehicle is a Windhoeker Maschinenfabrik Wer'wolf MKII, a real mine-protected vehicle rather than a purely fictional Gorillaz design.

• The DVD single included both the finished video and an animatic set to the instrumental version, offering an early look at the video's development.

• "Dirty Harry" was nominated for Best Urban/Alternative Performance at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards in 2006.