BABA YAGA

Baobab’s newest VR experience, Baba Yaga, invites viewers to be a main character in a haunting fairytale world completely reimagined. Their choices 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 (Kate Winslet) uses her powers to stop the villagers whose settlement encroaches upon her enchanted Forest (Jennifer Hudson). When the viewer’s mother, the Chief (Glenn Close), falls deathly ill, it is up to them and their sister Magda (Daisy 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 is directed and written by Eric Darnell (“Madagascar” franchise, “Antz”) and co-directed by Mathias Chelebourg. The immersive narrative experience 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 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.

Multiple endings

Your choices matter. Depending on your choices, the fate of your family and power of Baba Yaga is determined. With multiple endings, each playthrough is different from the last one.

Uses hand-tracking

Baba Yaga allows you to seamlessly switch from a hand controller to hand-tracking continuously throughout the experience. With Hand-tracking you will be able to see and use each of your individual fingers to interact within the world, making the experience even more interactive. Hand-tracking should already be enabled on your Quest so you should be able to just put your controllers down and let your hands take over.

HOW TO ACCESS

Baba Yaga requires an Oculus Quest or a Quest 2. Sign up’s to request access to the pre-release app have now been closed.

VR narrative | Runtime: 23 mins | Platform: Oculus Quest | Compatible headsets: Oculus Quest / Quest 2 | Please request free access to a preview app here.

Award nominations: Best Narrative Experience and Best Animation Experience