This is a summarized transcript of the Vitrina LeaderSpeak podcast, edited into a concise Q&A format for quick reading. The following interview highlights the journey and innovative strategies of Baobab Studios in the evolving entertainment landscape.

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1. Vitrina: Can you provide an overview of Baobab Studios, the background of its founding team, and the core vision that drives the company?

Larry Cutler: Baobab Studios is a 10-time Emmy award-winning animation company sitting at the intersection of technology, Hollywood feature animation, and interactive games. Our leadership team includes Eric Darnell (writer/director of Madagascar), Osnat Shurer (producer of Moana), CEO Maureen Fan (formerly of Zynga), and myself, with experience from Pixar and DreamWorks. We founded the company about 10 years ago with the vision of becoming an animation studio for the next generation, birthing original IP and taking it transmedia across games, film, TV, and books.

“We always knew that from a business standpoint, the way that we could really be super successful… was by creating our own IP and then being able to sort of exploit that and take it, like birth that across many different mediums.”

2. Vitrina: How did your past experiences at major studios like Pixar and DreamWorks influence your decision to focus strictly on original IP?

Larry Cutler: My experience at Pixar was pivotal; I was there when the studio transitioned from doing commercials and service work to prioritizing sequels and original stories like Toy Story 2. We learned that sacrificing short-term revenue to solidify IP was a critically important decision for long-term value. At Baobab, we maintain a firm tenant that all our IP is either original or owned by us. We have turned down numerous “work for hire” opportunities from Hollywood to create VR experiences for existing superhero franchises because we believe that relying on others’ IP is a “race to the bottom”.

“There’s a lot you give up creatively control-wise and it’s a treadmill… it’s a race to the bottom eventually.”

3. Vitrina: Baobab is known for its “transmedia” approach. How do you balance the different creative requirements of games, television, and publishing?

Larry Cutler: We structured our team from the top down to have leaders in all those areas—film, gaming, and publishing. A key learning is that you must treat each medium differently; for example, what works in a feature film often fails in VR or on Roblox. We utilize a data-driven ranking process to analyze where a franchise will be most successful first. By starting in mediums like VR or Roblox, we can test an audience’s appetite for an IP much faster and more cheaply than investing three to five years in a film.

“Respecting the audience in whatever medium is critically important… especially in a medium where you’re forging new grounds, your instincts are actually often wrong.”

4. Vitrina: Could you share specific examples of how your IP has successfully traveled across different platforms and formats?

Larry Cutler: We have several concrete examples: Momoguro started as a digital collectible game, expanded into a Roblox game with millions of players, and is now being developed as a TV show. Another project, Baba Yaga, began as a VR film starring Jennifer Hudson and Kate Winslet; its success led to a witch anthology series deal with Disney+. We also had Invasion!, which was the first VR piece to go the other way—starting as the most-viewed VR experience and then securing a feature film deal.

“We actually want to own the IP that we’re bringing in… taking something that started out on the VR side and then turning it into turning it into hopefully, you know, a hit TV show.”

5. Vitrina: How is Baobab Studios currently structured to manage these diverse projects, and which area represents your largest investment?

Larry Cutler: We are organized into three main divisions: a TV and film division (which includes a development group), a games division focused on Gen Z platforms, and a small publishing group. We also have a cross-functional engineering team that supports all three areas. Currently, TV and film is the largest part of our business because those projects are the biggest and take the longest to create. In contrast, our Roblox games are handled by very small, nimble teams or in partnership with independent developers to remain economically efficient.

“Because our DNA is really rooted in that marriage of interactivity and narrative, it really is much easier for us to have a gaming division that is… cross-pollinating with our leads on the TV and film side and vice versa.”

6. Vitrina: Given the rise of Generative AI, how is Baobab integrating this technology into its creative workflow and storyteller platform?

Larry Cutler: We are embracing Gen AI to empower our artists, not replace them. Our Chief Creative Officer, Eric Darnell, has been at the forefront, using AI image models for development pitches and even creating an entirely AI-generated short film to test the boundaries of the technology. We are moving toward a “generalist” roots approach where AI allows a small team of two or three people to iterate rapidly on high-quality content. We also use AI to create more believable interactive characters that can converse with the audience in real-time.

“The people who are going to do the best job at creating art with AI tools are the artists… it allows us to be able to create more stories and tell more stories.”

7. Vitrina: What is Baobab’s strategy regarding YouTube and testing content for the next generation of viewers?

Larry Cutler: We are actively experimenting on YouTube, utilizing the data-driven “Zynga side” of our company to analyze audience engagement down to the second. The challenge with animation on YouTube is the high cost-per-minute, so we are focused on reducing production costs while building an audience. Hollywood is realizing they need a YouTube strategy, even if just for marketing, but we treat it as a distinct medium where the success metrics are entirely different from traditional TV.

“If you take the approach of, ‘hey, I’m just gonna take my TV show… and I’m gonna go put it on YouTube without thinking about it,’ you’ll fail.”

8. Vitrina: Looking ahead, what can the industry expect from Baobab in terms of upcoming partnerships and project releases?

Larry Cutler: We have several major projects in the pipeline, including Intercats and Witchverse with Disney+, and an unannounced comedy series with Netflix. On the publishing side, we just released the second book in our Magic Paintbrush series, which will expand into webtoons and graphic novels. We are also consistently releasing new games on Roblox and Fortnite, primarily under the Momoguro brand. Furthermore, we are seeing significant interest from tech and AI companies that want to collaborate with our creative talent to see how we use their tools to tell stories.

“We get to do this in the new medium of VR… but also technology-wise, how do we actually enable… that kind of Pixar quality animation.”

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