Joel the Lump of Coal

Music video

The song and video for "Joel the Lump of Coal" first appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on December 1, 2014. Its look is a digital collage that mimics the stop-motion style of the 1964 classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and other Rankin/Bass holiday specials. The story follows Joel, a piece of coal at the North Pole. He gets excited when Santa picks him to be a gift, but his hopes fall when he learns he is destined for a naughty child.

Though disappointed, Joel goes along with it. He then understands that he is the perfect present to help that boy become better. In the end, Joel turns himself into a diamond, a selfless act that makes the boy happy. The track was written by Jimmy Kimmel, Jonathan Bines, and the Killers, with extra material from Tony Barbieri.

Jonathan Kimmel directed the video, Jennifer Sharron produced it, and Jason Bielski edited it. The animators were Sean Michael Solomon, Julian Petschek, Jonathan Kimmel, Jesse Griffith, and Patrick Campbell. Bernd Reinhardt served as Director of Photography, with Jim Alario on camera. The sound mix was done at Henson Studios, and Brian Angely and Todd JeanPierre handled field sound recording.