Baobab Studios, creator of acclaimed VR animations Asteroids!, Invasion! and Bonfire, has offered up a first shadowy teaser for its next ambitious experience, Baba Yaga. The trailer walks us into the foreboding woods, conjuring a perfectly suspenseful spell ahead of Halloween.
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, upcoming film Ammonite), Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Ophelia), Oscar and three-time Grammy winner Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls, 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 brought 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.
Baobab Studios will release Baba Yaga on Oculus Quest in early 2021.
