So, I fell into this habit of watching WOW machinima, and I decided to preserve my favorites somehow. Sure, I could have just signed up for an account with Youtube.com but I'm lazy, you see. These movies are mostly rated according to what I find entertaining, and I hope you will like them too. Basically, the machinima that were most clever (creative and well thought out), well-edited (innovative and appealing cinematics), and exciting (either original music, or the general flow of the movie kept me watching, no matter the length)** are rated nearest to #10. This is not official or anything, I just thought it would be fun to make this kind of a list available to anyone who spends hours on Youtube.com or googlevideo trying to find the best WOW machinima. Nearly all of these are comedies. Quench your addiction here:
1. The University of Stormwind. I never thought of Darnassus as a boring school, did you? The cartoon mouths in the video are clever, and they add a little something to the funny jokes. I like the stoned teacher scene.
2. Vigilance TS Chatter 2. This is very good. The producer's "a machinima about nothing" Seinfeldesque idea is very clever. I saw the first one and it's pretty good too.
3. Beach Party 2. A spoof on a real movie that came out in the 70s. I love how Gorak, an orc, is the main character with his Durotan accent and all. Also, eventhough his friends were certainly human in the original preview, they stay in racial character throughout this spoof. Clever go steady scene and great surfer zombies!
4. World of Warcraft is a Feeling. Another funny machinima about a man who takes roleplaying in WOW too far. The song is stuck in my head as we speak. The singers in the studio make it golden.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=c5Ru0X9G7GU&search=music%20video%20leaving%20world%20of%20warcraft%20WoW
5. The Island. The continuation to this is supposed to be out this week and I'm looking forward to it. Great cinematics and Feral Instinct is a clever little song, but I think Madeleine and her rogues are my favorite. The scene where she salutes them is awesome, and the storyline looks promising. The syrupy good and the seductive evil are balanced well here, for both Horde and Alliance lovers. If you really like it, visit their website for more.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=OSocMxybdRg
6. World of Warcraft Cops (Guards). Yes, they actually used the real COPS theme song. And, the criminal situations are both believable in Azeroth and hilarious. "Good Mother of Jaina Proudmore! Are those arcanite bombs?" hehe perhaps the best quote in the movie.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=FPPjXZGm-AQ&mode=related&search=
7. The Tauren Brothers. These guys are very very funny. Though a bit modern, Blaar and Finite do stay in character as tauren. And If you didn't love tauren before, you will love them now.
"http://youtube.com/watch?v=mPjgd02qJoM"
8. Racing the Grimtotem. Brilliant tragedy. Oxhorn has lots of good movies, and it was hard to decide which to include in my list. This isn't a comedy, but the storyline, editing, and cinematics really put this movie in a league of its own.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=BBabNilhvDE
9. Billy Maclure. Great editing, great music, hilarious storyline. I've definitely been there, done that in Elwynn Forest, but not the way Jacko does.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=F_LHVoHhzAg
10. World of Warcraft-Hardware Store Music Video. Weird Al + World of Warcraft + machinima = amazing! Great use of WOW model viewer. The guild chat and spoofed WOW items scenes are brilliant. Each time I am tempted to pause and read the captions.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=P4EzSDhITh0&mode=related&search=
11*. Zinwrath the Movie and Illegal Danish Supersnacks are both very good, and I think they belong in their own category. I couldn't stand to leave them off this list however. Zinwrath is great all around, for cinematics, music, hilarity, and plot. I had to watch it a few times to understand the jokes, but the hardcore gamer will adore this WOW tribute. Illegal Danish Supersnacks is a very good sequel, and the paladin Basutei is much loved. As a Hordie, my favorite scene was Club Thrall at the end, though there are many good ones. Oh, and do watch the credits for more gratuitous Hording around.
Zinwrath: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Jit0TZtq9rM
Illegal Danish Supersnacks: http://youtube.com/watch?v=y25XCwOBSUQ
Honorable Mention: I really enjoyed this one, and it had all the qualities I described above, but I wasn't sure if it was technically machinima. Maybe you can tell from this list that I'm not really clear on what machinima is in the first place. Oh well, this is really just for fun. But, I want to include The Classes of World of Warcraft in this list because of coolness factor. Sweet cinematics. My heart stops everytime I see that paladin use his judgement.
Also see:
Shoes. "Those shoes are MINE betch!" This almost made the list, but I was sure my own bias was coming through because I LOVE this song. The plot is clever too because the male Nelf shoe fettish is completely believable! Hilarious. I researched, the producer did not write this song, but I forget the link to it. Email me and I can find it again for you.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=aKFJBPX8twY
Azerothian World News. This is very good machinima and deserves to be in the list as well, but I think the same guys who made World of Warcraft COPS also made this one (or at least Splurch was in both), and I didn't think it would be fair for me to give them two slots on the list. This movie is very creative, and I could relate to all of it, especially the server shut down. My fav was the explanation of 40 man AQs.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6027640373890340135&q=azerothian+world+news
World of Warcraft Whatever. I absolutely LOVE the song, and my heart goes out to the whateverguy. Cause this is MY online world of WHATEVAH! Poor GM Leeroy.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7200184059527404958&q=world+of+warcraft+funny
Mac Switcher Spoofs. The many Mac switcher spoofs are very good. Clever monologues, and unique. These are all I could find, though I think there's at least one more:
WOW Switch (Paladin)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=7KR73AE8uX0
WOW Atkins Switch (Mage)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=RDXq01DSxL4&mode=related&search=
WOWswitchRP (a roleplaying switch)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=m4YEbbe7n6M
She's Too Fat for Me. Why on God's green earth would anyone make a woman like that?? Well, this delightful ditty helps us cope with the princess' existence, and bless the little gnome for having a ... err heart so big.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=JT22n6x7J0g&mode=related&search=
Anythning Oxhorn. He's very talented. I'd run a search of his name and watch all the machinima he's made, if you have time. The Ballad of the Kodo is especially cute.
World of Warcraft Cantina. I think this is more of a Star Wars spoof than it is machinima, though I could be wrong. It's very clever, and as a Star Wars fan myself, I loved it.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=hI25mLMwn4A&mode=related&search=
Enjoy the shows, and I'll probably have another list (a non-rated one) in the future as I find more movies.
**Obviously, Not all the music in these videos was created by the producers. What's more important to the ratings, I think, is how the music was used.