Directed and written by Baobab Studios co-founder Eric Darnell (Madagascar franchise, Antz) and co-directed by Mathias Chelebourg, Baba Yaga stars Oscar winner Kate Winslet (The Reader, and the upcoming film Ammonite), Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Ophelia), Oscar and three-time Grammy winner Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls, and the upcoming Aretha Franklin biopic Respect), and three-time Golden Globe winner and seven-time Oscar nominee Glenn Close (The Wife, Albert Nobbs).

The VR immersive experience is a contemporary portrayal of the Eastern European legend breathed to life with illustrative 2D pop-up animation, as well as hand-drawn and stop-motion styles, creating a modern visual language for VR inspired by classic animation. Leveraging the studio’s award-winning animation pioneers and interactive gaming veterans, Baba Yaga blends theater, cinema, interactivity, AI, and animation into a unique experience that explores themes of empowerment and environmentalism. Baba Yaga is executive produced by Jennifer Hudson, Maureen Fan, Larry Cutler, and Kane Lee.

In Baba Yaga, viewers will be invited as a main character into a haunting fairytale world completely reimagined, and their choices could determine the ending of this story of love, fortitude and magic. Sometimes a force for evil, sometimes a force for good, the enigmatic witch Baba Yaga (Winslet) uses her powers to stop the villagers whose settlement encroaches upon her enchanted Forest (Hudson). When the viewer’s mother, the Chief (Close), falls deathly ill, it is up to them and their sister Magda (Ridley) to do the unthinkable—enter the forbidden rainforest, uncover its hidden mysteries and get the cure from Baba Yaga. Ultimately, every decision the viewer makes matters … perhaps even whether humanity and nature can live in balance.

Baba Yaga will be available exclusively on Oculus Quest early 2021.

Directed/Written by: Eric Darnell
Co-directed by: Mathias Chelebourg
Cast: Kate Winslet, Daisy Ridley, Jennifer Hudson, Glenn Close
Executive Produced by: Jennifer Hudson, Maureen Fan, Larry Cutler, and Kane Lee
Produced by: Baobab Studios

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Jerry Beck

Writer, cartoon producer and author of more than 15 books on animation history. A former studio exec with Nickelodeon and Disney; currently on the faculty at both CalArts in Valencia and Woodbury University in Burbank, California.

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