Baba Yaga won an Emmy for Outstanding Interactive Media for a Daytime Program at the 48th Annual Emmy Awards, bringing Baobab Studios’ total Emmy awards wins to nine.
Baba Yaga also previously won two other Emmy awards — Outstanding Directing Team for Animated Program (Eric Darnell, director, and Mathias Chelebourg, co-director) and Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation for Character Design (Karl Athannossov).
“It was already such an honor and thrill for Baba Yaga to be awarded Emmys for both character design and direction,” said Baba Yaga director and writer Eric Darnell. “And now, to be honored with the award for best interactive is truly spectacular and a reflection of the team’s monumental efforts to give the audience the opportunity to be the hero of their own story.”
The immersive VR movie released in January exclusively for Oculus Quest after premiering at various film festivals in 2020, including the Venice Film Festival almost exactly a year ago. In our review at the time, we found it to be entertaining but slightly safe. It certainly wasn’t the ambitious step-up we were hoping to see from Baobab’s next offering:
This is a likable, sweet but ultimately safe adventure, highlighted by some great VR novelties but also equally limited by them. I want to see something from this studio that feels truly dynamic — like my presence has genuine impact in the stories it creates. Baobab remains one of VR’s most promising storytellers but, four years on from its debut, I feel like I’m still waiting for it to really hit its stride.
You can read our full review from last year here.
Baba Yaga is available now on Oculus Quest for $5.99.
