Synopsis

Set like a brightly colored children's television program, the "Water Fountain" video moves through a series of playful, surreal segments featuring Merrill Garbus, bandmate Nate Brenner, puppets, dancers, cartoon figures, and mock educational scenes. Live action mixes with hand-drawn and digital animation, geometric backdrops, handmade props, and deliberately artificial effects. Its cheerful, chaotic presentation mirrors the song's infectious energy while contrasting with lyrics concerned with drought, inequality, and the unequal distribution of basic resources.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was released on April 23, 2014, ahead of tUnE-yArDs' album *Nikki Nack*, which arrived on May 6, 2014.

• Merrill Garbus originally proposed the idea of presenting the song through a fictitious children's show. The concept grew from her interest in the visual world of *Pee-wee's Playhouse*, *Sesame Street*, and other television programs remembered from childhood.

• The production combines live action, puppetry, hand-drawn animation, digital animation, compositing, art-directed sets, and mock science lessons. The deliberately mixed-media approach was made possible by treating the video as a collection of short segments from an imaginary program.

• Nate Brenner's appearance as a dog-like chef came from his suggestion that he should have dog ears. The resulting segment was titled "Lunch Date with Nate."

• Some of the set pieces were built from discarded wood found at a nearby construction site and then painted for the shoot.

• The purple Cyclops puppet had already been developed by the production's head puppeteer before the video was made, making it an unexpected addition to the cast of characters.

• The shoot was completed under a tight schedule, with limited time available to design and build the sets. The production team reportedly relied on collaborators who contributed extra work to complete the elaborate handmade look.