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MPLS is a video by Minneapolis released for broadcast. The single received only a limited release through the 1-800 New Funk telephone service and The New Power Generation Stores in Minneapolis and London. The accompanying music video received only minimal airplay.
MPLS is the first video release related to Prince to be treated as a cartoon, with character designs by Philip J. Felix. (The video release for Raspberry Beret included scenes from an animation video that Prince had separately commissioned).
The video starts with a character called 'Jade' emerging from the letters MPLS, with another character called 'Funky Jake' sitting on top of the letter L. 'Jade' says 'All right, stop the music, stop the music', a sample from Carmen Electra’s unreleased song Powerline, after which a group of anthropomorphic dogs called 'Homeboyz' emerges from the same letters and starts dancing.
The video cuts to a Mount Rushmore-like mounntain that features the faces of a four-piece band. The mountain crumbles as the characters (Sonny T. (also referred to as 'Sergeant Momma'), Jana Anderson (referring to herself as 'Cutie Pie'), a DJ ('Master G') and Prince/ wearing a love symbol shirt) come to life and travel to Minneapolis. The story line is rather confusing, with 'Jade' proving to be a devil woman, 'Funky Jake' a money-driven record executive and the band dancing into the fire of what looks like the apocalypse.
The video contains brief footage from The Beautiful Experience TV-special, courtesy of Paisley Park Enterprises, and Lenny Kravitz’s Are You Gonna Go My Way video, courtesy of Virgin Records America. Fish Films provided stock footage of riot police, Bill and Hillary Clinton, a mouth and an ear and dancing people from the 1950s to the early 1990s.
The video was created, developed and directed by Frank Saperstein in July and August 1994, with Philip J. Felix responsible for characters design and storyboards. The video is animated by Philippine Animation Studio, Inc. and produced by Frank Saperstein Productions.
The audio uses a different mix of the song MPLS with more samples, including an intro taken from Carmen Electra’s unreleased song Powerline.
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