Baobab reveals more of 'Baba Yaga' ahead of Oculus debut on January 14th

Enter a dark and mysterious forest world on a magical quest in Baba Yaga - the all-new immersive experience from six-time Emmy-winning Baobab Studios (Crow: The Legend, Bonfire), which will have its exclusive preview on Oculus Quest on Thursday, January 14. To celebrate the release, Baobab has revealed more enchanting shortcuts in the animated VR adventure.

Directed and written by Baobab co-founder Eric Darnell (Madagascar franchise, Antz) and co-directed by Mathias Chelebourg, Baba Yaga plays an all-female cast: Oscar winner Kate Winslet (The reader, Ammonite), Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Ophelia), Oscar winner and three-time Grammy Jennifer Hudson (Dream girls, next biopic about Aretha Franklin Compared), and three-time Golden Globe winner and seven-time Oscar nominee Glenn Close (His wife, Albert Nobbs).

World premiere at the 2020 Venice Film Festival, this contemporary depiction of the Eastern European legend comes to life with illustrative 2D pop-up animations, as well as hand-drawn and stop-motion styles, creating a modern visual language for virtual reality inspired by classic animation. Leveraging on award-winning animation pioneers and veterans of Baobab's interactive games, Baba Yaga blends theater, cinema, interactivity, artificial intelligence and animation in a unique experience that explores the themes of empowerment and environmentalism. Virtual reality is produced by Jennifer Hudson, Maureen Fan, Larry Cutler and Kane Lee.

In Baba Yaga, you, the viewer, are invited to a completely reimagined haunting fairytale world, where your choices determine the end 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 invades her enchanted forest (Hudson). You are Sacha, the eldest and heir to the village throne, and sister of the young and stubborn Magda (Ridley). When your mother, the (neighboring) village chief, falls mortally ill, it is up to you and Magda to do the unthinkable: enter the forbidden rainforest, uncover its hidden mysteries and obtain healing from Baba Yaga. Ultimately, every Sacha decision does things… maybe even if humanity and nature can live in balance.

With multiple endings, each play-through of Baba Yaga is different from the last one. The VR experience is designed for playing with handheld Touch controllers or using Hand Tracking on Oculus Quest. This versatility offers a new level of immersive and personalized interaction throughout the story.

Additionally, due to the strong environmental issues inherent in the VR experience, Baobab Studios partnered with the United Nations on its Climate Change and Sustainability Initiative, creating a Baba Yaga UN ActNow app campaign to engage and educate users on ways to act to safeguard Earth's natural resources. To further emphasize afforestation awareness, Baobab and Conservation International are co-sponsoring a final community challenge that will be presented in the app this month, reinforced by a donation to the nonprofit's Protect an Acre initiative.

The 27 minutes Baba Yaga The VR experience will be available exclusively on Oculus Quest and> starting January 14, priced at $ 5,99.

More information on www.baobabstudios.com.