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Baobab Studios

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Baobab Studios
Information
Industry Animation, Virtual Reality
Founded 2015
Founder Maureen Fan, Eric Darnell, Larry Cutler
Notable Personnel Maureen Fan (CEO), Eric Darnell (Chief Creative Officer), Larry Cutler (CTO), Osnat Shurer (Co-Chief Creative Officer), Kane Lee (Chief Content Officer)
Products INVASION!, Asteroids!, Crow: The Legend, Bonfire, Baba Yaga, Namoo
Website https://www.baobabstudios.com


Baobab Studios is an American animation studio founded in 2015 by Maureen Fan, Eric Darnell and Larry Cutler.[1] It began as a virtual reality studio making animated VR shorts and interactive stories, among them INVASION! (2016), Asteroids! (2017), Crow: The Legend (2018), Bonfire (2019) and Baba Yaga (2021). HTC's Phil Chen, then chief content officer of HTC Vive, said at the time of its first funding round that the company wanted to become "the Pixar of VR".[2]

Baobab's VR work won several Daytime Emmy Awards, including the interactive media category in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021, and the first Annie Award for Best Virtual Reality Production.[3][4][5][6] Since 2021 its announcements have centered on film and television adaptations and, from 2023, on games for Roblox, while the studio still lists Crow: The Legend and Namoo among its interactive narratives.[7][8]

Reviewed 15 October 2026. Founding, funding, VR release dates and platforms, festival screenings, Emmy and Annie awards, Disney+ and Roblox projects and 2026 leadership checked against the cited sources. About review dates.

History

Founding and funding

Before founding the studio, Maureen Fan was vice president of games at Zynga, and Eric Darnell was a DreamWorks Animation director known for the Madagascar films.[2] Larry Cutler, the third co-founder and chief technology officer, had worked at DreamWorks Animation and Pixar; at DreamWorks Animation he had been the top executive for character technology.[9][10]

In December 2015 the studio, then based in Redwood City, California, announced a US$6 million Series A round led by Comcast Ventures.[11] HTC, Samsung Ventures, Advancit Capital, the Chernin Group, Freelands Ventures, Zynga co-founder Mark Pincus and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel also took part.[2] In October 2016 Baobab raised a further US$25 million in a round led by Horizons Ventures, with 20th Century Fox, Evolution Media Partners, Shanghai Media Group, Youku Global Media Fund and LDV Partners. That brought its total funding to US$31 million; GamesBeat reported that the company had 20 employees at the time.[12][13] Fan told Fortune in 2017 that the money was meant to help the company "last through the natural technological lifecycle".[9] Baobab's own press materials state that Fast Company named it one of its Most Innovative Companies of 2018.[1]

VR shorts, 2015-2017

Baobab's first project, INVASION!, appeared in December 2015 as a sneak peek on the Samsung Gear VR through Samsung's Milk VR app, as a pre-rendered stereoscopic 360-degree video.[2] The full short, just under seven minutes long and narrated by Ethan Hawke, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on 16 April 2016. Fortune reported it as free on Oculus Rift and Gear VR at the time, with HTC Vive, Google Cardboard and PlayStation VR versions to follow.[14] Darnell and Cutler co-directed it. It screened at Cannes, Annecy and the SIGGRAPH 2016 Computer Animation Festival, and came to Google Daydream in November 2016, by which time it was also available on HTC Vive.[10] In September 2016 Roth Kirschenbaum Films agreed to develop a conventional, non-VR feature film based on the short's characters.[12][9] Fortune reported that Baobab tested early versions of INVASION! on nearly 2,000 people and made changes such as speeding up the arrival of a spaceship.[12]

The follow-up, Asteroids!, was announced at Oculus Connect 3 in 2016 and premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.[15][9] It brought back the aliens Mac and Cheez from INVASION!, with Elizabeth Banks voicing Cheez; the viewer plays a floating robotic helper.[16] The full 11-minute version came out free in December 2017. Interactive real-time versions ran on Gear VR, Daydream and Windows Mixed Reality headsets, and a non-interactive 360 video version was posted on YouTube, Facebook and Baobab's own iOS and Android app.[15]

Interactive stories, 2017-2021

At the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival Baobab showed the prologue of Rainbow Crow, an animated VR series directed by Darnell and based on a Native American myth about how crows got their black feathers.[9] The finished piece, Crow: The Legend, was shown in the Venice Virtual Reality section of the 2018 Venice International Film Festival, which listed it with a running time of 22 minutes and credited Darnell as director.[17] It was released on 15 November 2018 for Rift, Oculus Go and Gear VR as a collaboration with Oculus Studios; the viewer plays the Spirit of the Seasons and changes the weather with hand movements using Oculus Touch controllers.[18] It was free for a timed exclusivity period on Oculus headsets,[19] and a free PlayStation VR version followed on 14 February 2019.[20] The voice cast included John Legend, Oprah Winfrey and Constance Wu; Sarah Eagle Heart, chief executive of Native Americans in Philanthropy, voiced the character Luna.[18] It was made in the Unity engine.[4]

Baobab also worked with French director Mathias Chelebourg on Jack: Part One, a location-based piece that combined VR animation with live performers and premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival.[21]

Bonfire (2019) puts the viewer in the role of a scout who crash-lands on an alien planet, accompanied by an AI companion, Debbie, voiced by comedian Ali Wong.[22][23] After a showing at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival, it launched in May 2019 on Oculus Quest and Rift, and reached PlayStation VR on 22 October 2019.[22] UploadVR's Quest review listed it at US$9.99 and rated it "Recommended", calling it "brilliant but brief".[23]

With the studio 3DAR, Baobab released Paper Birds: Part 1, voiced by Archie Yates, exclusively on Oculus Quest and Quest 2 on 10 December 2020. It was the two studios' first joint production.[24] Baba Yaga, written and directed by Darnell with co-director Mathias Chelebourg, premiered at the 2020 Venice Film Festival and was released exclusively on Oculus Quest on 14 January 2021. Its cast was Kate Winslet, Daisy Ridley, Jennifer Hudson and Glenn Close. The viewer's choices lead to multiple endings, and it can be played with Touch controllers or hand tracking.[25][5] Its North American premiere was a live red-carpet event held inside VR, with guests attending as avatars.[25]

Namoo, a short by Erick Oh inspired by his grandfather's life, was made with the VR animation tool Quill and premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.[26] It was later released for Meta Quest and made the Academy Awards shortlist for Best Animated Short Film.[27]

Expansion beyond VR

In December 2021 Disney Branded Television and Baobab announced The Witchverse, an animated anthology series for Disney+ in development, with Baba Yaga as the starting point for its first episode and Darnell as executive producer.[1] In November 2022 Disney announced a second project with Baobab, the animated workplace comedy Intercats, about the cats who make viral cat videos. Darnell created the series and Pamela Ribon was named as heavily involved in its development; the show was in development for Disney+.[28]

The studio then moved into Roblox. In 2023 it announced Momoguro: Momo Quest, the first of two Roblox games in its Momoguro franchise, alongside an animated series.[7] In January 2024 Baobab and 9 Story Media Group said they would co-produce a Momoguro children's series; the Roblox game had passed 21 million visits.[29] In March 2026 Baobab acquired exclusive film and television rights to three Roblox games, Natural Disaster Survival, Barry's Prison Run and Deepwoken, to develop as animated films or series. Mogura VR News described Baobab as backed by Disney and Comcast and noted that Baobab had also made its own Roblox games, including Snap Together and Ninja Parkour.[30]

As of 2026, Maureen Fan, Eric Darnell and Larry Cutler remain chief executive, chief creative officer and chief technology officer. Osnat Shurer, producer of Disney's Moana, is co-chief creative officer, and Kane Lee is chief content officer. The studio describes its output as features, series, games, graphic novels and content for Roblox and YouTube.[31]

Products

Title Year Format Platforms and notes
INVASION! 2016 Animated VR short Tribeca premiere 16 April 2016; Oculus Rift and Gear VR, then HTC Vive and Google Daydream; narrated by Ethan Hawke[14][10]
Asteroids! 2017 Interactive animated VR short Sundance 2017 premiere; full release December 2017 on Gear VR, Daydream and Windows Mixed Reality, plus 360 video[9][15]
Jack: Part One 2018 Location-based VR with live performers With director Mathias Chelebourg; Tribeca 2018 premiere[21]
Crow: The Legend 2018 Interactive animated VR story Venice 2018; Oculus Rift, Oculus Go and Gear VR (15 November 2018); PlayStation VR (14 February 2019)[17][18][20]
Bonfire 2019 Interactive VR story Tribeca 2019; Oculus Quest and Rift (May 2019); PlayStation VR (22 October 2019)[22]
Paper Birds: Part 1 2020 Animated VR experience Co-production with 3DAR; Oculus Quest exclusive, 10 December 2020[24]
Baba Yaga 2021 Interactive animated VR story Venice 2020 premiere; Oculus Quest exclusive, 14 January 2021[25][5]
Namoo 2021 Animated VR short Sundance 2021 premiere; made in Quill; Meta Quest[26][27]
Momoguro: Momo Quest 2023 Roblox game First Roblox game in the Momoguro franchise[7]

Awards

Year Award Category Work
2017 Daytime Emmy Award Outstanding Interactive Media, Original Daytime Program or Series INVASION![3][32]
2018 Daytime Emmy Award Outstanding Interactive Media, Original Daytime Program or Series Asteroids![3][16]
2019 46th Annie Awards Best Virtual Reality Production (first year of the category) Crow: The Legend[6]
2019 46th Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Interactive Media for a Daytime Program; Outstanding Directing for an Animated Program (Eric Darnell); two individual achievement in animation awards (character design, production design) Crow: The Legend[4]
2020 47th Annie Awards Best VR Production Bonfire[33]
2021 Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Interactive Media for a Daytime Program; Outstanding Directing Team for an Animated Program (Eric Darnell, Mathias Chelebourg); Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation, character design Baba Yaga[5]
2022 49th Annie Awards Best Special Production Namoo[34]

AWN reported that the 2021 interactive media award for Baba Yaga was the studio's ninth Emmy.[5] Baobab's website in 2026 describes the studio as a "10x" Emmy winner and also as honored with "more than ten Emmys", without listing the later awards.[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Disney Branded Television and Baobab Studios Begin Development on Animated Anthology Series 'The Witchverse,' Based on Emmy Award-Winning VR Short Film 'Baba Yaga,' for Disney+". Disney Branded Television press site. The Walt Disney Company. 2021-12-15. https://www.detpress.com/disneybrandedtelevision/pressrelease/disney-branded-television-and-baobab-studios-begin-development-on-animated-anthology-series-the-witchverse-based-on-emmy-award-winning-vr-short-film-baba-yaga-for. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Ben Lang (2015-12-03). "Comcast, Samsung, and HTC Join $6 Million Investment in VR Animation Studio 'Baobab'". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/baobab-studios-6-million-series-a-investment-vr-animation-comcast-samsung-htc/. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Todd Deery (2018-09-17). "FIEA Alumnus Wins Emmy For VR Story". University of Central Florida News. https://www.ucf.edu/news/fiea-alumnus-wins-emmy-for-vr-story. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Boabab Studios' 'Crow: The Legend' Scores Four Daytime Emmys". Animation World Network. 2019-05-06. https://www.awn.com/news/boabab-studios-crow-legend-scores-four-daytime-emmys. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 "Baobab Studios' 'Baba Yaga' Wins Daytime Emmy for Interactive Media". Animation World Network. 2021-09-09. https://www.awn.com/news/baobab-studios-baba-yaga-wins-daytime-emmy-interactive-media. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse' Wins Best Animated Feature at 46th Annie Awards". Animation World Network. 2019-02-02. https://www.awn.com/news/spider-man-spider-verse-wins-best-animated-feature-46th-annie-awards. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Jamie Lang (2023-05-24). "Why Studios, Distributors, And Indie Creators Are Focusing On Roblox". Cartoon Brew. https://www.cartoonbrew.com/videogames/roblox-momoguro-baobab-fan-lichten-229128.html. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Baobab Studios". Baobab Studios. https://www.baobabstudios.com/. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 Tom Huddleston Jr. (2017-04-25). "This Startup Wants to Make Virtual Reality's First Blockbuster Movie". Fortune. https://fortune.com/2017/04/25/baobab-studios-virtual-reality-tribeca-rainbow-crow/. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 "Baobab Studios Launches 'INVASION!' on Google Daydream". Animation World Network. 2016-11-10. https://www.awn.com/news/baobab-studios-launches-invasion-google-daydream. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
  11. ↑ John Gaudiosi (2015-12-03). "Investing in VR: Baobab Studios". Fortune. https://fortune.com/2015/12/03/investing-in-vr-baobab/. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Jonathan Vanian (2016-10-18). "Virtual Reality Startup Baobab Studios Lands $25 Million Funding Round". Fortune. https://fortune.com/2016/10/18/20th-century-fox-baobab-studios-funding/. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
  13. ↑ Dean Takahashi (2016-10-18). "Baobab Studios raises $25 million to make VR animated entertainment". GamesBeat. https://gamesbeat.com/baobab-studios-raises-25-million-to-make-vr-animated-entertainment/. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 John Gaudiosi (2016-04-16). "Take a Look At New York's Virtual Reality 'Invasion!'". Fortune. https://fortune.com/2016/04/16/virtual-reality-movies-tribeca/. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Dominic Brennan (2017-12-14). "VR Short Film 'Asteroids!' from Baobab Studios Now Available". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/vr-short-film-asteroids-baobab-studios-now-available/. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Asteroids!". Baobab Studios. https://www.baobabstudios.com/projects/astroids. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "Crow: The Legend". La Biennale di Venezia. 2018. https://www.labiennale.org/en/node/3165. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 "Bringing 'Crow: The Legend' to Life on Oculus". Oculus Blog. Meta. 2018-11-15. https://www.meta.com/blog/bringing-crow-the-legend-to-life-on-oculus/. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
  19. ↑ Ian Hamilton (2018-11-15). "Crow: The Legend Review: An Essential Native American Story About The Seasons". UploadVR. https://uploadvr.com/crow-the-legend-review/. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 "【PSVR】ハリウッド俳優が多数声優出演、高評価のVRアニメ「Crow: The Legend」が無料配信". MoguLive. 2019-02-15. https://www.moguravr.com/?p=93182. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Bryan Reesman (2018-06-04). "Stepping Into the Story: VR at Tribeca Film Festival". PLSN. https://plsn.com/?p=289206. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 Harry Baker (2019-10-15). "Baobab's Bonfire Is Coming To PSVR". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/bonfire-psvr/. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Jamie Feltham (2019-05-24). "Bonfire Review: Baobab's Latest Charms To No End". UploadVR. https://uploadvr.com/bonfire-review/. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Harry Baker (2020-12-08). "3DAR, Baobab Studios To Release Paper Birds: Part 1 On December 10 For Oculus Quest". UploadVR. https://uploadvr.com/paper-birds-release-date/. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 "Baobab Studios' 'Baba Yaga' Now Available on Oculus Quest". Animation World Network. 2021-01-14. https://www.awn.com/news/baobab-studios-baba-yaga-now-available-oculus-quest. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Harry Baker (2021-01-29). "Baobab Studios' Next Project Is Namoo, Premiering At Sundance". UploadVR. https://uploadvr.com/baobab-studios-namoo-sundance/. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Tomislav Bezmalinovic (2022-01-25). "VR movie Namoo: Watch the Oscar contender with Quest (2)". MIXED. https://mixed-news.com/en/vr-movie-namoo-watch-the-oscar-contender-with-quest-2/. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
  28. ↑ Laughing Place Disney Newsdesk (2022-11-30). "Disney Branded Television Developing Animated Workplace Sitcom "Intercats" for Disney+". Laughing Place. https://www.laughingplace.com/w/news/2022/11/30/intercats-animated-sitcom-in-development-for-disney-plus/. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
  29. ↑ "Baobab Studios Announces 'Momoguro' TV Series". Animation World Network. 2024-01-31. https://awn.com/news/baobab-studios-announces-momoguro-tv-series. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
  30. ↑ "累計数百億回プレイのRoblox人気ゲームが映像化へ Baobab Studiosがアニメ・実写向け独占権取得". Mogura VR News. 2026-03-30. https://www.moguravr.com/baobab-studios-roblox-animation-rights/. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
  31. ↑ "About - Baobab Studios". Baobab Studios. https://www.baobabstudios.com/about. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
  32. ↑ "INVASION!". Baobab Studios. https://www.baobabstudios.com/projects/invasion. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
  33. ↑ "The 47th Annie Awards - Winners". Skwigly. 2020-01-27. https://www.skwigly.co.uk/the-47th-annie-awards-winners/. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
  34. ↑ "2022 Annie Awards". File 770. 2022-03-12. https://file770.com/2022-annie-awards/. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
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