There are a ton of legends about the Wu-Tang Clan. Their love of old kung-fu films apparently runs so deep, they didn't just sample from and contribute to the genre; one story follows that they actually bought the rights to a bunch of old flicks and re-released them for a whole new generation. Hip-hop, and kung fu movies, were never the same.
Can Wu-Tang do that for veggie burgers…?
Write down that phone number. You're about to find out where those questions are going.
Impossible Foods has released a plant-based burger. Apparently it's delicious. But to get people to at least try it, it has supplied a so-called Impossible Slider to White Castle, which partnered with Wu-Tang to bring the crowd home.
"Wu-Tang in Space Eating Impossible Sliders," directed by Sam Spiegel, is exactly what it sounds like. In it, GZA and Ghostface Killah embark on a space-quest to cultivate "earthly love, seek new perspectives and prime our world for the knowledge infinite," with help from a "Wu-F-O" powered by RZA9000, possibly the coolest take on conscious spacecraft since Flight of the Navigator.
We give you Episode 1 of four.
The camp of this is kind of amazing. As RZA9000 circles Earth, GZA and Ghostface field questions from folks back home to advance humanity. Subjects range from "What is my dog thinking?" ("Aks your dog what is he thinking!" Ghost snaps) to "Where do ideas come from?"
The answer features a cameo from a little girl named Jolie, teleported in to provide a trippy lecture illustrating RZA's observation that "sometimes it's best to look at the world through the heart of a child."
When does the Clan actually chow down on Impossible Sliders? During a Moon Fight, of course.
"As America's home of the original slider, we appreciate the 'out of this world' perspective the Impossible Foods team has brought to our partnership, all in a voice as distinctive as our White Castle vision 'to feed the souls of craver generations everywhere,' " says White Castle CMO Kim Bartley in what may well be the biggest understatement ever.
"The work is an invitation to open minds and test conventional boundaries—something White Castle has been doing for over 97 years now."
Fans of Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle won't be disappointed by the mind-altering theme. It's probably best to binge these episodes—and the Sliders—in a gentle state of stoned.
The choice of taking on Hey Wonderful's Spiegel for the director's chair is also a nice touch; he worked on N.A.S.A.'s debut LP and film, The Spirit of Apollo, marking his geeky space cred. He's also a Wu-Tang fan himself—he's got a cat named after the band.
Head writer Dan Curry of The Eric Andre Show also helped lay down narrative for the four-parter. "Our approach was to treat this as if we were making a legitimate piece of great content, and through that spirit we could get some of the best people in the business to work with us," explains executive creative director Sasha Markova of Impossible Foods.
The pressie claims the series reflects Impossible Foods' mission to have "an impact so great it might be seen from outer space." In an August report it released, aptly titled Mission: Earth (which includes a short space-themed film), it detailed its ambitious plan to eliminate the use of animals from food by 2035.
"We knew we wanted to set an idea in space for our partnership with White Castle," says Markova. "At Impossible, we've become obsessed with the idea that it's only when you go to space that you realize how beautiful Earth is. Then we thought, who can we send up into space? Who are the people who most embody that philosophy? And, in the midst of a crazy time on planet Earth, who are the people who might have the answers? We knew it immediately: The Wu-Tang Clan."
Future episodes will include themes like infinity, evolution and Earth vs. Mars (hope Elon is watching). While the approach is comical, the mission—to save the planet, one plant burger at a time—is something Wu-Tang is probably serious about. Like RZA spits at the end of Sunshower, a song about uniting under global strife (which will only worsen as resources dwindle):
Approachin' the final hour
Power, equality, Allah Cees everything
Let's come together under the wings
And take flight, Wu-Tang, the saga, Rzarecta
In your sector
I guess in this case that's a reference to the White Castle nearest you.
CREDITS
Client: Impossible Burger
Client: White Castle
Production Company: Hey Wonderful
Director: Sam Spiegel
Founder/Managing Director: Michael Di Girolamo
Executive Producer: Sarah McMurray
Line Producer: Vincent Terrazzino
Director of Photography: Robert Yeoman
Production Designer: Matthew Holt
Art Director: Melissa Broker
Editorial Company: RPS
Editor: Austyn Daines
Assistant Editor: Sebastian Zoto
Managing Director: Eve Kornblum
Executive Producer: Raná Martin
Head of Production: Esther Gonzalez
Producer: Sasha Grubor
VFX Studio: a52
VFX Supervisor: Andy Rafael Barrios
Lead Flame Artist: Andy Rafael Barrios
2D VFX Artists: Michael Plescia, Andy Davis, Brad Scott, Stefan Gaillot
Design Director: Hazel Baird
Designers: Ben Woodlock, June Cho
Producer: Sarah S Laborde
Executive Producers: Patrick Nugent & Kim Christensen
Managing Director: Jennifer Sofio Hall
Colorist: Paul Yacono
Color Assistants: Tanner Hladek, Corey Martinez
Color Producer: Jenny Bright
Executive Producer: Thatcher Peterson
Music/Sound Design: Squeak E Clean
Senior Producer : Amanda Patterson
Sound Design / Mix : Drew Fischer
Theme Music: Rob Barbato
Original Score: Lucas Cantor
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