Katy Perry and Snoop Dog (and some very sweet back up singer/dancers) do Candyland like it has never been done before! Throughout the recently released California Gurls video, a provocative Katy Perry travels through a Candyland of candy cane, ice cream and peppermint trees. She lounges naked in a cloud of pink cotton candy and plays amidst other tasty performers, all sporting candy colored hair and bikini costumes representing various candy creations, from cupcakes and doughnuts to ice cream scoops.
In the lighthearted spirit of the video Katy Perry also comes across a gang of rude gummy bears and takes part in eating a gingerbread man, who doesn’t seem at all happy at first but is content after the first few bites, and remains so until he is a pile of crumbs. Hmm, could that be a metaphor? Katy climbs candy cane snakes to clouds of candy floss and finishes on a sugar beach littered with gummy bears.
At the end of the video Katy Perry guns down Snoop Dog with canisters of whipped cream shot from interesting point blank range. In Katy’s own words, “After jumping on marshmallows, eating gingerbread men, going through candy forests, climbing a peppermint stick, popping a girl out of a bubble, unwrapping some caramel (also a girl), making a girl come out of jello and hanging out with Snoop Dog, it’s a wrap!”
The video is undoubtedly based upon the traditional American Candy Land game in which kids move around a Candy Land board. In fact the opening scene shows an opening board game (called “Candyfornia”) just as the song begins and Snoop Dog puts a Katy Perry play piece on the board. Katy Perry then moves along gingerbread paths, crosses twizzle bridge and the dice are repeatedly rolled.
This fun and frivolous video through Candyland is a sweet treat and a welcome respite from artists without a sense of showmanship, who often take themselves way too seriously.