Directors Faga Melo and Gustavo Leal lead the crew at São Paulo animation studio Dirty Work into the spine-chilling world of the Brazilian women’s national football team in this CG tribute for Nike thru Wieden+Kennedy.

Rendered in a mock stop-motion style and produced for Fisia, the official Nike distributor in Brazil, as part of Nike’s “A Lenda da Canarinha” (The Legend of the Canary) campaign, the film celebrates the team’s qualification for the Copa América Femenina final highlighting players Kerolin, Angelina, and Gio.
 

“We added a touch of biting humor to the character design, which helped shape the tone into what we like to call a cheeky thriller.”

 
Faga Melo and Gustavo Leal: “For this film, we were heavily inspired by 80s and 90s horror movies, bringing in that classic suspense vibe but with a twist. We added a touch of biting humor to the character design, which helped shape the tone into what we like to call a cheeky thriller.

“‘A Lenda da Canarinha’ was built using visual and narrative elements that dial up the tension, but always with a playful wink. We wanted the film to feel exciting, eerie, and fun all at once.”
 
 

 
Client: Fisia
Team: Bruna Rodrigues, Livia Pinheiro Yanase, Natalie Brunet, Matti Jonsson, Sarah Kong, Anagha Alreja & Rafael Paes

Agency: Wieden+Kennedy Sao Paulo
GCD: José Ferrazchief & Felipe Paiva
CCD LATAM: Rodrigo Jatene
Art Director: Guilherme Pinho
Copywriter: Wagner Montanher
CD: Gabi Marcatto, Caio Muratore
Nike Brand Creative: Andrea Souza

Production: Dirty Work
Director: Faga Melo, Gustavo Leal
EP: Juliana Aterje, Ito Andery
Animation Director: Diego Fontanella, Rodolfo Roth
Lighting: Rodrigo Lima, Gabriel Sousa, João Costa
3D Animator: Camila Francisco, Guilherme Pichler, Jone Tavares Vinicius d’Amaro, Akira, Paulo Rogério, Henrique Montanari
Developer: Daniel Sian, João Costa, Rodolfo Roth
Rigger: Marcos Leite, Gabriel Nakata, Henrique Melo
Modeler: Jader, Irapoan Inaja, Alex Magno, Rodrigo Lima, Daniel Sian, Rubiano Basquera, Pedro Peluso, Alex Liki, Juliano Araujo
Concept Artist: Lucas de Barros, Stephanie Arcas, Bernardo França, Igor Pizzuto, Júlia Albertin, Lufe
Art Director: Felms
Animator: Jefferson Lima
Storyboard Artist: Felms
Coordinator: Rafael Bozzi
Head of Production: Jéssica Sales
1st AC: Andressa Paccini

Post/VFX: Dirty Work
Compositor: Caique Moretto, Ricardo La Bella, José Guilherme Delgado, Bernardo Vaz, Faga Melo, Gustavo Leal
Rendering: Rodrigo Lima, Gabriel Sousa, Diego Fontanella, Rodolfo Roth