Osnat Shurer, the Oscar nominated producer of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Moana and Raya And The Last Dragon, has joined Baobab Studios as co-chief creative officer, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
What’s Happening:
- Formerly of Walt Disney Animation Studios, Osnat Shurer, the Academy Award nominated producer behind Moana and Raya And The Last Dragon, has joined Baobab Studios as their co-chief creative officer.
- She will be joining company founder and CCO Eric Darnell (Madagascar) at the interactive animation studio, chief content officer Kane Lee and advisors and investors such as Pixar co-founders Ed Catmull and Alvy Ray Smith, and Disney legend Glen Keane.
- Prior to this Shurer served at Walt Disney Animation Studios, where she produced Moana, Raya and the Last Dragon, the VP of development at the studio, and the executive producer at the short films group at Pixar Animation Studios. There, she produced the shorts Boundin’, One Man Band, and Jack-Jack Attack, and executive produced Lifted.
- Founded in 2015, nine-time Emmy award-winning Baobab Studios is a world leader in independent interactive animation. The studio is creatively led by writer/director Eric Darnell (Antz and all four Madagascar films). In addition to Namoo (2021), Baobab has released: INVASION! (2016), ASTEROIDS! (2017), Jack (2018), Crow: The Legend (2018), Bonfire (2019) and Baba Yaga (2021). The studio also executive produced Paper Birds (Part I: 2020, Part II: 2021). Baobab Studios projects have starred Oprah, John Legend, Ali Wong, Kate Winslet, Daisy Ridley, Glenn Close, Lupita Nyong'o, Jennifer Hudson, Edward Norton, Diego Luna, Ethan Hawke, and many others. Its slate of original projects is currently being adapted into books, comics, films, games, series, and more.
- Business Insider once said of the 3 time Annie Award winning studio, ““Think of Baobab as the Pixar of VR.”
- Ahead of the home release of Raya and the Last Dragon, we had the opportunity of speaking with Shurer and others about the film, which you can see below.
What They’re Saying:
- Osnat Shurer: “Throughout my career, I’ve been at the forefront of shaping stories with fresh, nuanced, powerful female protagonists. You can imagine why I was immediately drawn to Baobab and this fantastic group of mavericks and the opportunity to explore the very cutting-edge of technology and games in service of telling great stories.”
- Maureen Fan, CEO and co-founder of Baobab Studios: “We are thrilled to welcome Osnat to Baobab. She has a gift for launching franchises with beloved characters that resonate across ages and cultures. Osnat’s extensive background brings invaluable expertise to our growing story franchises across film, television, games and books.” Baobab CCO Eric Darnell: “I’m excited to partner with Osnat to build out our slate and shepherd new projects into production.”