Everything about the Mila Kunis & Ashton Kutcher NFT Cartoon: Stoner Cats

StonerCats is an adult animated series accessed exclusively by owning a collectible Stoner Cat NFTs. This means that users can only watch the Stoner Cats NFT Series if they have the NFTs.  Created by Mila Kunis, NFT lover and famous actress, the NFT collectibles and tv series has already created a huge buzz. Mainly due to its star studded cast, including Ashton Kutcher and Jane Fonda.

The NFT sale is a crowdfunding event because proceeds will be used to fund future episodes. Some other confirmed A-listers joining the cast include Chris Rock and Ethereum Founder Vitalik Buterin. 

Stoner Cats NFT Collection

The NFT collection of 10,00 Stoner Cats sold out in 35 minutes and raised $8 Million. Each NFT was priced at $800 or 0.35 ETH. A hefty sum compared to other Collectibles. For better appreciation, the first Bored Ape sold for 0.68 ETH back in May.

Aside from the storyline, NFTs also powered the commercial side of the series. Viewers who purchased the NFTs were able to watch the first five-minute episode. Additionally, these tokens represent a digital artwork of a randomly created character from the show. Ultimately, the NFTs function as a ticket to unlock all available “Stoner Cats” episodes. 

“Stoner Cats is an adult animated short series centered on five house cats who mysteriously become sentient,” according to the website. “With their higher consciousness, they realize that their beloved owner, Ms. Stoner, needs rescue from a myriad of dangerous situations.”

The series was produced by Mila Kunis’ production company, Orchard Farm. For the tech part, Kunis partnered with NFT veterans. The NFTs were created by Big Head Club, a crypto firm run by Mack Flavelle (CryptoKitties) and Jonathan Howard (CryptoPoops). 

StonerCats’ Star-Studded Cast

After securing Hollywood A-listers, Stoner Cats NFT Series pulled in Vitalik Buterin to join its cast. The 27-year old Canadian program is the creator of Ethereum, which currently sits at a $273 Billion, Market Cap. This move definitely added some crypto star power to the animated web series.

Buterin voiced the character of Catsington, a taxidermied, monocle-sporting cat who advises the five living cats belonging to Jane Fonda’s character. Ms. Stoner is a spunky octogenarian with Alzheimer’s, whose magical strain of weed has somehow given her feline companions the ability to talk.

The series aims to promote crypto using non-crypto people that the non-tech-savvy crowd can relate to and identify with. So the team members are expected to lead by example. So the entire cast, including Buterin, were paid in Ether. Beller shared, “We had to teach Jane Fonda how to set up a MetaMask wallet.”  

Mila Kunis said, “Everybody just did the project because they thought that it was different and fun and we all wanted to do it for the right reasons. It brings ownership of content back to the artist and cuts out the middleman.”

Stoner Cats Episode 1: Stoned Awakening

In Episode 1, Ms. Stoner unwittingly receives a mysterious strain of medical marijuana. The cosmic Kush causes her to hotbox herself and her five house cats, marking the start of this “cat-astrophe.” The NFTs also provide the holders a lifetime pass to all future episodes of the show. Based on the website, there are 5 more episodes in the pipeline. 

Stoner Cats – Crypto Crowdfunding

Crypto crowdfunding is an emerging trend in entertainment NFT projects. One of the benefits of NFTs to content creators is the ability to be their own distribution channel without relying on intermediaries such as record labels and film outfits. Crypto crowdfunding is an extension of this benefit because production houses now won’t control which movies or series will be available in the market. The community has full power and control thanks to NFTs. 

Meanwhile, “Stoner Cats” turned to NFTs as a way to crowdfund production after facing difficulty getting the show cleared through traditional Hollywood routes, says Lisa Sterbakov, production director at Orchard Farm Productions. 

Moreover,  the project is pushing for a cause that a lot of NFT Collectors can identify with. The website reads, “At StonerCats, we believe that storytellers deserve an outlet where they can be valued and supported without having to bow to the machine of big media.” 

Drama During the StonerCats NFT Drop 

The “Stoner Cats” NFTs marks the premiere of the animated series. Despite the high price tag of $800 or 0.35 each, the community swept the entire supply in under 35 minutes. 

The auction was supposed to start on July 27 but the team tweeted that the “launch is delayed.  We are working on some tech issues. Please follow the discord for real-time updates!” The slight delay didn’t dampen the community’s reception as the team tweeted, “SOLD OUT in 35 meow-nutes!.” 

Furthermore, the Stoner Cats NFT Sale sent gas prices past 600 Gwei, a number the industry hasn’t seen in a while since the NFT Market has stabilized. To illustrate, the all-time high this 2021 was at 709 GWEI. According to DeFi Prime, 344.4 ETH, nearly $700,000 in value, was lost during the frenzy due to failed transactions. 

The reception is not surprising given that even the Ethereum Founder is part of the show. In addition, the project is pushing for a cause that a lot of NFT Collectors can identify with. The website reads, “At Stoner Cats, we believe that storytellers deserve an outlet where they can be valued and supported without having to bow to the machine of big media.” 

Mila Kunis shares her NFT Journey

During her guesting on Conan, Mila Kunis shared a bit of her motivation in building an NFT Project. She said, “I felt like it was a very masculine area — like everybody that I knew that knew anything about it at the time was always a man and I was like ‘this can’t be that hard,’” said Kunis. “I just deep-dived into it and surrounded myself with two incredibly smart women that know everything about it.”

The actress then shared that she met with the women behind the Facebook-backed Libra Project, now the Diem token project. After immersing herself in crypto and a decentralized marketplace, she concluded that the NFT space is really empowering. Basically, this conversation led her to produce the StonerCats NFT series.

Check out the website for more episodes and updates!