Whiteboard company proves it: Weird Al was drawn that way

The array of "Weird Al" Yankovic videos that recently took over the Internet was an eight-day Al-palooza for fans of the parodist — and their devotion was rewarded when his 14th album, "Mandatory Fun," hit the top of the charts. But fans don't yet have to go into withdrawal — there's one unique video left to watch.

 

Created by TruScribe, the whiteboard animators behind Yankovic's Crosby, Stills & Nash-inspired satire on corporate speak, "Mission Statement," the new video's an audio medley of some of Yankovic's greatest parodies set to images of artists hand-drawing each of his albums, starting with his self-titled debut from 1983.

It's the perfect primer for the deprived folks in anyone's life who aren't familiar with Yankovic's oeuvre; viewers get an earful of tunes like "Fat" (parody of Michael Jackson's "Bad"), "Living With a Hernia" (parody of James Brown's "Living in America") and "White and Nerdy" (parody of "Ridin'" by Chamillionaire and Crazyie Bone), among others. 

"Weird Al" tells TODAY about making "Mandatory Fun," and why it may be his last album ever

According to TruScribe's YouTube page, the animation took two days to put together, and all of the music was used with Yankovic's permission. And for doubters who may wonder if there was some CGI sleight-of-hand used in the drawings, forget it: As the company notes in its website discussion of the making of "Mission Statement," "TruScribe videos are 100% hand-drawn, but a few cheats aren't bad."