Crow: The Legend | Interactive Narrative

“Crow: The Legend brings storytelling and music together in a way no one else has yet in virtual reality. It’s an incredible medium for inspiring a journey of self-discovery and finding your way in times to darkness,” explains John Legend. “In light of what’s going on in today’s world, it’s a message of deep meaning that people from all walks of life can embrace.” — John Legend

Did you know that ants have the highest brain-to-body ratio of any animal?  If so, it should come as no surprise that this tiny purple bug that lives in a jar and exercises on a treadmill, thought up the entire universe in a palace made up of her own thoughts. And it should be no surprise that this powerful being is voiced by the one and only, Oprah.

Baobab admired Constance Wu as the first Asian American woman to star in a primetime sitcom (Fresh off the Boat), yet we still anticipated that her combination of vulnerability and comedy were being underutilized by Hollywood, so we cast her first and were confident her profile as an actress would catapult a year and a half later with the release of Crazy Rich Asians.

Diego Luna, the lead actor in work ranging from Alfonso Cuaron’s Y Tu Mama Tambien to Gareth Edwards’ Rogue One: A Star Wars Story to Narcos: Mexico, is an amazing artist who brings his considerable talents to everything he does. Luna manages to bring his literally small character to life in such a big way. Because of Moth’s tiny scale and the fact that he only exists in wide shots for most of the film, Luna’s vocal performance was challenged to step up and do much of the heavy dramatic lifting.

It was important to Luna that — in a piece whose themes are centered on self-respect and respect for our differences — he celebrated not just his Mexico City accent, but his Spanish mother tongue. Luna achieves this with the confidence and finesse that makes his performance far from caricature and come across as authentic and unique.

Sarah EagleHeart, CEO of Native Americans in Philanthropy, and member of the Oglala Lakota Nation, won the 2017 American Express NGen Leadership Award honoring "next-gen" leaders whose work and advocacy had a transformational impact on a critical societal need. She is a powerful storyteller whose deep perspective on healing trauma is rooted in her life story and experiences as a teen activist raised on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. She is a well known speaker focused on education and advocacy on behalf of the Indigenous Peoples.

Ms. Eagle Heart was also a producer of the project, "Crow is one of the first and one of the only high profile animations to authentically include Indigenous worldviews, which have been long suppressed in our nation's history.”

With one of the most kid-appealing designs we wanted the light-hearted nurturing leader of the animals to be a talented comedian actress who connects with today's youth — Liza Koshy, one of the top female digital media stars in the world, one of the most avid supporters of cultural storytelling, and winner of many Kids and Teens Choice Awards was the inspired top choice for the role.

Baobab are fans of Tye Sheridan’s incredible talents in films that inspire our studio including Jeff Nichols' Mud and Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life but we also believed Tye's comedic chops had much potential — this paid off as his character arc reveal when Crow brings back the gift of fire has consistently drawn the most laughter out of any other moment in the film.

An 84-year-old Kiowa/Caddo elder and Native rights crusader.  Brought to California by the 1950’s relocation acts in Oklahoma, he founded the National Urban Indian Council.  It was critical to Baobab that the story be narrated orally in honor of the age-old tradition from which it was inspired, and perhaps the most famed master of ceremonies — for his deep, resonant voice.