Former Disney Producer Osnat Shurer Joins Baobab Studios
Former Walt Disney Feature Animation producer Osnat Shurer will join indie animation studio Baobab Studios and serve as Co-Chief Creative Officer alongside CCO Eric Darnell.
Shurer boasts over 30 years of experience in animation, having previously simultaneously held the roles of VP of Development at Walt Disney Feature Animation and executive producer of the short films group at Pixar.
“I’m honored to join Baobab Studios,” Shurer said. “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.”
Baobab Adds More Creative Talent
Between Shurer and Darnell, Baobab Studios can now boast that it has some of the top talent in animation.
Shurer is perhaps best known for producing the Disney hits Raya and the Last Dragon and Moana, which grossed over $700 million at the box office.
Darnell meanwhile directed Antz for DreamWorks, as well as all four Madagascar films.
Shurer and Darnell will work alongside Kane Lee (Chief Content Officer), and adivsors such as Ed Catmull (Pixar Co-Founder and Former President, Disney Feature Animation) and Oscar-winning filmmaker Glen Keane.
Still Working With Disney
Among the first projects Shurer will work on at Baobab will be two shows under development with Disney+. The first, Intercats, is an animated cat workplace comedy. The second is an animated event series called The Witchverse. The latter is set to star Kate Winslet, Jennifer Hudson, Daisy Ridley, and Glenn Close.
For their part, Baobab sounded thrilled with their new hire.
“We are thrilled to welcome Osnat to Baobab,” said the company’s CEO and Co-Founder, Maureen Fan. “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.”
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