El antídoto del dragón is here!

Mar 08, 2023

 

 

 

 

The Wooly Digest Illustration
March 7, 2023
 
Dear Friends, 
 
Over 2 years ago, Nate Niederkorn and I sat down to write a rock song about a princess that accidentally drank a glass of poison. It came together relatively quickly, and we soon had a rough draft of a 13-minute rock opera.
 
We liked it a lot. No, that's not quite accurate. We ADORED it. But there was one big problem:
 
It was clearly never going to get get made.
 
The story was too big, the song was too long, and while our video production budgets are bigger now than they were back when I was asking friends to film me moping down the street in Me duele, it still was beyond anything we could reasonably afford.
 
Still, we didn't give up. I spent the early months of Covid lockdown talking with every animation studio who would even take a meeting. I'm not exaggerating when, after explaining what we wanted to make, we were laughed out of more than a few Zooms. Plus, it was a hard time to find animators for even small projects. They were all being snatched up by larger corporations in the early days of Covid since they couldn't film in person.
 
But right when I was close to giving up, I happened across two brothers in Bogotá, Colombia who didn't speak a lick of English. Andés and Sebastián Luna met with me, heard the song, and they immediately became obsessed. They understood exactly what we wanted to make, and we geeked out on a shared love of fantasy, fairy tales, and traditional 2D animation. 
 
I hired them in January, 2021.
 
For the next 26 months, Andrés, Sebastian, Juan Carlos Pinilla and I worked to bring the story to life, and today we finally release El antídoto del dragón.
 
Let me be clear. Everything about this rock opera is utterly impractical.
 
It's 13 minutes long, which is far too long for most Spanish classes. It ended up being even more expensive than we feared. Plus, it took two years to make, which is just a ridiculously long production cycle. 
 
But I know one thing: At a time when everyone was locking down, when the world seemed to be losing its mind, we buried our heads in the work and made this crazy story.
 
I know that I kind of went quiet these last couple of years. Like so many others, I also struggled with some severe anxiety, and for reasons I'll probably never fully understand, I just needed to get off of social media and disappear for awhile.
 
But you were never out of my mind. As we meticulously created the most challenging story of our careers, you were always there. We made this for you. We made this for your students. 
 
We hope you enjoy El antídoto del dragón, which we officially release today.
 
Sincerely,
Jim Wooldridge
 
Antídoto del dragón story banner
If you log into your Señor Wooly account, you will find El antídoto del dragón waiting for you! 
 
It's the story of a princess who accidentally drinks poison, and who then has to go on a perilous journey to find a cure.
 
Antítodo del dragón - image of the princess drinking poison
On her adventure, she encounters a mysterious wizard, a fire-breathing dragon, and adorable butterflies. But time is running out. Will she be able to obtain the missing ingredient for the antidote in time?
 
This is an unabashed rock song. In fact, we even go a little metal with this one. That's right: our first metal song. And you thought we didn't have it in us.
 
Antítodo del dragón - image of the volcano
El antídoto del dragón is also chock-full of some of the most accessible, repetitive and easy-to-acquire language ever put in a Wooly song. Your students will be malevolently singing "Necesitas el antídoto del dragón" and screaming "¡Dame tu sangre" at the top of their lungs. 
 
The Lesson Plans
 
We want to help you teach El antídoto del dragón!
 
As part of Wooly Week, we have released 5 days of absolutely incredibly lesson plans.
 
And remember, the more activities you do with your students, the more raffle tickets you'll earn!
 
El Antídoto del dragón 5 day lesson plans
The plans are in your accounts and available right now! To find them, navigate to the story page, and go to the resources tab.
 
Location of Antídoto lesson plans
We hope you'll go check the lesson plans out! We have written everything for you -- the plans, the rationales, and we've even leveled the resources so you can use each activity with any group of students!
 
Webinar on Antídoto Lesson Plans
 
Tonight we are offering another free webinar, conducted by Carrie Toth and Kelly Ferguson, in which we walk you step-by-step through the 5-day lesson plans.
 
For some, reading the lesson plans will be enough, but if you'd like some additional support and guidance, tonight's webinar is highly recommended.
 
DATE: Tonight, March 7
TIME: 8pm EST (7pm CST)
 
Feeling Lost about Wooly Week?
 
If you're not quite sure what to make of Wooly Week, please read this Intro to Wooly Week 2023 document.
 
It will teach you the basics, including what Wooly Week is, how to participate, the amazing prizes that are being offered, and more. 
 
Intro to Wooly Week document.
 
DID YOU MISS LAST NIGHT'S LIVE STREAM?
 
If you missed our Intro to Wooly Week live stream last night, please check it out either on Woology and on YouTube
 
Woology
 
Are you a member of the Facebook group, Woology? It's a fantastic resource for sharing ideas about how to use Wooly.
 
In addition, Woology will be ground zero for discussing the Wooly Week lesson plans. There will be a lot of people sharing ideas, making modifications, asking questions, and more. 
 
I'll be there too! Join us!