In the U.S., the same six chemical companies that make pesticides (aka "The Big Six") also control 63 percent of the seed market. That's f*cked up, according to the charismatic animated organic seed who narrates this punchy and amusing short film about the virtues of organic seed over the chemically dependent alternatives.
The film, "Mr. Seed," is a production of the Clif Bar Family Foundation and was made by The Butler Bros., a brand design studio in Austin, and directed by animation company Buck. It stars a foul-mouthed organic seed who offers his bleeped-out thoughts about GMO seeds—which the client says have led to a nutrient decline of 43 crops, more than $15 billion in human health costs in 2005 alone from agricultural pesticide exposure, and an overall food system that is unsustainable.
Despite his bad language, Mr. Seed—voiced by comedian Pete Holmes—is actually a good seed, hoping to challenge the narrative from the big agrichemical companies that only they can feed the world.
"Is this what America wants to eat?" he asks. "Unlike those GMO bros, organic seeds like me can feed the world without ruining it because we keep it clean. We don't dirty ourselves with all those pesticides."
"Organic seed needed a voice that couldn't be ignored so its advantages could be shared broadly," says Adam Butler, founder and strategic chief of The Butler Bros. "Mr. Seed was born to be that voice, and now it is thanks to an ambitious script, a brave client and an epic collaboration with Buck."
The film points to SeedMatters.org for more information.
"With Mr. Seed, we hope to raise interest and awareness in organic seed and increase conversations about changing our chemically dependent food system," says Matthew Dillon, director of the Seed Matters campaign. "We want to show people that there are alternatives, that they have a choice and a role to play in the solution."
"The Butler Bros. were fantastic partners," adds Buck creative director Ryan Honey. "They conceived of the idea of Mr. Seed and brought Pete Holmes to the table, who is an amazing comic talent, but they also supported our creative vision. It was great to have a partner that saw our passion for the project and worked with us creatively to make a better film."
CREDITS
Client: Clif Bar Family Foundation
Project Title: Mr. Seed
Concept by The Butler Bros.
Creative Directors: Adam Butler, Marty Butler
Art Directors: Allie Nordstrom, Marty Butler
Copywriters: Jeremy Spencer, Ryan Honey, Erik Enberg, Adam Butler
Designers: Craig Crutchfield, Hoang Nguyen
Producers: Vincent Calderon, Bridget Liddy, Christine Lopez
Directed by Buck
Executive Creative Director: Ryan Honey
Executive Producer: Maurie Enochson
Creative Director: Joe Mullen
Head of CG: Doug Wilkinson
Producer: Emily Rickard
Production Coordinator: Kaitlyn Mahoney
Art Director: Laura Yilmaz
Character Design: Joe Mullen, Kenesha Sneed
Storyboards: Laura Yilmaz, Kendra Ryan, Craig Yamamoto
Concept Art and Matte Paintings: Laura Yilmaz, Scott Huntsman, Susan Yung
Design: Laura Yilmaz, Joe Mullen, Susan Yung, Scott Huntsman, Audrey Lee, Rasmus Bak,
Xoana Herrera, Vincent Tsui, Jenny Ko, Kenesha Sneed
CG Lead: Alex Dingfelder
Modeling: Eric Pagtaconan, Wing Sze Lee, Michele Herrera, John Niehuss, Mingoo Park, Jens
Lindgren, Eyad Hussein, Alex Dingfelder, Arvid Volz, Brice Linane, Rie Ito
Look Development Lead: Alex Dingfelder
Look Development: Wing Sze Lee, Eric Pagtaconan, Michele Herrera, Jens Lindgren, John
Niehuss, Mingoo Park
Rigging TD: Ernesto Ruiz Velasco
Character TD: Eyad Hussein, Ernesto Ruiz Velasco
Pipeline and FX TD: Albert Omoss
Additional Rigging: Lee Wolland
Animation Director: Alessandro Ceglia
3D Animation: Alessandro Ceglia, Tyler Lancaster, Dony Permedi, Adam Floeck
2D Screen Animation: Vincent Tsui, Debora Cruchon, Rafael Araujo, Nicole Stafford
Lighting Direction: Alex Dingfelder
Lighting: Wing Sze Lee, Jens Lindgren, Alex Dingfelder, Eric Pagtaconan, Michele Herrera
Compositing Lead: Alex Dingfelder
Compositing: Wing Sze Lee
Pharm Foods Commercial:
Design: Gunnar Pettersson
Animation Director: Laura Yilmaz
Animation: Laura Yilmaz, Kendra Ryan, Nick Petley, Vincent Tsui, Rafael Araujo, Debora
Cruchon, Nicole Stafford
End Credits:
Associate Creative Director: Kevin Walker
Design: Rasmus Bak
Animation: Rasmus Bak, Esteban Esquivo
Music and Sound Design: Antfood
Voice of Mr Seed: Pete Holmes