Baobab Studios, the 10-time Emmy-winning transmedia animation studio, today announced a strategic investment from Naver Ventures, the U.S.-based venture investment arm of NAVER Corporation, South Korea\u2019s premier tech platform and the parent company of WEBTOON Entertainment Inc.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt Baobab, we are driven by stories that build imaginative, expansive worlds which resonate deeply with audiences across multiple mediums. Collaborating with a powerhouse like Naver fuels our biggest ambitions, and this partnership represents a true convergence of East and West by fusing Naver\u2019s deep technology, content and distribution footprint across Asia with our Hollywood animation storytelling,\u201d said\u00a0Maureen Fan, CEO of Baobab Studios. \u201cKorean narrative culture has captured a passionate international fanbase, and by bridging these worlds, Baobab is able to build a magical, multi-platform universe crafted specifically for the next generation of Gen Z and Gen Alpha audiences on the page, the screen, and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yong Jung Park, General Partner at Naver Ventures, commented, \u201cWhat attracted us to Baobab is the rare combination of exceptional creative talent and a truly multi-platform approach to building IP. The most enduring entertainment franchises create value well beyond a single format, building audiences across animation, gaming, publishing, and interactive experiences. Baobab\u2019s depth of experience across these disciplines gives the company a distinctive foundation to build global franchises at scale. We\u2019re excited to partner with Maureen and the team.\u201d<\/p>\n
The flagship project launching the slate is Shine (working title), an original fantasy adventure co-created by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Erick Oh (Opera, Namoo) and acclaimed webtoon author Madeleine Rosca (Rise From Ashes). Baobab is developing the IP alongside WEBTOON as a digital webcomic series, leveraging their massive global footprint, where 75% of its monthly active readers belong to Gen Z. The digital launch will be paired with an expansive print graphic novel published by award-winning First Second Books, an imprint of Macmillan Publishers.<\/p>\n
Baobab retains film, television, streaming and gaming rights to the property as it continues to expand an international investor base that includes Horizons, Shanghai Media Group and HTC, driving the U.S.-based company\u2019s global expansion across animation, gaming and publishing.<\/p>\n
Shine logline: When the balance between the human and spirit worlds is shattered, a half-human girl must bridge the divide to save a futuristic Korea.<\/p>\n
Oh is a highly celebrated director and former Pixar animator whose independent work has earned global recognition, including a 2021 Academy Award nomination for his short film Opera. He also directed Baobab Studios\u2019 Annie Award winner, Namoo, which was shortlisted for an Oscar while securing an Annie Award win and an Emmy nomination; as well as PIG: The Dam Keeper Poems, winner of the Cristal Award for Best Television at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.<\/p>\n
Rosca is a trailblazing talent in the graphic novel and webtoon space. She created, wrote and illustrated the hit WEBTOON series Rise From Ashes, which amassed over 52 million readers across 140 episodes. Rosca made history as the first non-Japanese winner of Japan\u2019s International Manga Award \u2014 often called the \u201cNobel Prize of Manga\u201d \u2014 presented to her by the Foreign Minister of Japan. Recognized in Wired magazine\u2019s \u201cHistory of Manga in America,\u201d her publishing credits also include the Aurealis Award-winning graphic novel series Hollow Fields and Clockwork Sky.<\/p>\n
\u201cShine represents everything we strive for as artists, including unbridled creativity, deep character storytelling, and world-building without limits,\u201d said the co-creators. \u201cCombining our backgrounds in animation and comics with the global power of Baobab, WEBTOON and First Second gives us a rare opportunity to share our stories and connect directly with literally tens of millions of readers around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shine is Baobab Studios\u2019 second graphic novel with First Second Books, alongside Intercats, and reinforces the studio\u2019s cross-media reach. On screen, Baobab is in development with Disney+ on the animated Witchverse series and is developing Intercats and The Magic Paintbrush, also a multi-book series with Penguin Random House, as feature films. The studio recently created Roblox experiences for its own IP Momoguro, and acquiring exclusive rights for platform hits Natural Disaster Survival, Barry\u2019s Prison Run\u00a0and Deepwoken to develop into animated film and TV projects, among other verticals.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe exist to publish artists of Erick and Madeleine\u2019s caliber,\u201d said Mark Siegel, Editorial and Creative Director of First Second. \u201cWe\u2019ve always believed in the creative conversation between comics and animation, without ever sacrificing the heart, craft, and storytelling that make a great graphic novel. And Shine is just a joy: a gorgeous, wildly imaginative vision of a future Korea, full of nature spirits, mystery, romance and characters you can\u2019t help falling in love with.\u201d<\/p>\n
Baobab Studios executive leadership includes CEO Maureen Fan (former VP of Games at Zynga, overseeing the original FarmVille franchise), CCO Eric Darnell (writer\/director of the Madagascar franchise), Co-CCO Osnat Shurer (Academy Award-nominated producer of Moana) and CTO Larry Cutler (former Head of Character Tech at DreamWorks Animation).<\/p>\n
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