NFT Collection Woodies Premieres New Animated Short Film, ‘Woodies Origin’

In the Tradition of Pixar, Innovative Web3 Entertainment Brand Brings Beloved Characters to Life with a Family Friendly Storyline

CHICAGO, IL — September 8, 2022 — The Web3 entertainment brand Woodies has announced the premier of its first animated short film, Woodies Origin. Based on the popular Woodies Generative NFT collection, the new film debuts on the Woodies YouTube channel on September 19th. In the meantime a small teaser can be seen below:

Woodies launched in September 2021 with the availability of 9,739 Ethereum-based NFTs which are available on the leading marketplace OpenSea. Brought to life by the art team, consisting of concepts by Des Lucrece, base designs by Jae-838, and rich stylization by fine artist Gossamer Rozen, every Woodie was randomly generated from a mix of over 900 traits, making each one a uniquely appealing 1–1 design.

Woodies’ successful launch sold out in 30 minutes, allowing the project to fulfil its first goal: plant 1,000,000 trees with nonprofit Trees for the Future. The project’s donation of 73.824 ETH (worth $217,000 at the time) then stood as one of the top 10 charitable donations by an NFT.

The Woodies global community has grown quickly, an inspired force of collectors and contributors with a shared mission of experiencing and preserving the outdoors. They share in the vision of Woodies’ developer UltraDAO, a decentralized collective created by artists for artists. Together, they identified the need for a Web3 brand to begin with its story and world-building fully developed, followed by more entertainment content that drives additional value for the project’s unfolding story arc.

Expanding Web3 Storytelling

The company’s family-friendly NFTs have come to life with Woodies Origin, a 3:00 minute journey revealing the Woodies’ unique and mystical origin story. Audiences are introduced to Arden, the last tree left in a grove after a logger chops down all of Arden’s tree friends. Aided by a magical protective Earth spirit, Merkle the Mother Tree, Arden becomes a Woodie, mobile and free to set off on a search-and-rescue mission to find his friends and stop the logger.

Placing storytelling at Woodies’ core has proven an intuitive and efficient way to attract highly engaged communities. “The story flows through everything that we do,” says Richard Powazynski, Co-Founder of Woodies. “Storytelling is one of the oldest forms of communication. As a purpose-led project with an environmental focus, it made sense that Woodies would have a strong story.”

“That has played a big part in building interest in Woodies’ values and mission, because people feel deeply connected through their digital ownership of a Woodies NFT and fundamentally what it represents,” he continues. “Now the animated short film Woodies Origin is helping us to tell our story in a new and exciting way by bringing our beloved characters to life while also allowing a wider audience to be a part of the Woodies world.”

The “Pixar of Web3”: Expanding Web3 Content Possibilities

In making Woodies Origin, the company is staking its position as a Web3 storyteller, but in the tradition of Hollywood’s Pixar or Disney. The new film represents how NFT artistry can be transformed into films that delight and captivate in classic Tinseltown style.

Further, working in strategic partnership with visual storytellers Woodblock to produce the Hollywood-style animation, UltraDAO was assured of outstanding imagery while helping Woodblock to expand into the Web3 production world. Woodies Origin is the first in a planned series of short animated films bringing the story of Arden and his friends to life.

The award-winning composer Gareth Coker wrote and recorded the score with a full orchestra, adding a cinematic dimension courtesy of his deep experience in film, gaming, and metaverse soundtracks. Executing on Gossamer Rozen’s (Dr. Martens, Squarespace, Patagonia) art direction and Crystal Schrader’s story lead, a talented team of digital artists, animators, 3D specialists, Web3 developers, and more produced Woodies Origin.

As Web3 accelerates its search for the next Pixar, Woodies is emerging as the model. It is creating an emotional connection with its audience, progressing from NFTs to films and the Metaverse, while building value for all involved. “With storytelling at our core, we can continuously create new content,” Powazynski says. “As we expand the Woodies universe, our community grows along with it.”