On November 15, online viewers will have the opportunity to experience a soaring new adventure from Baobab Studios as Crow: The Legend arrives on YouTube and Facebook. Written and directed by Eric Darnell with input from Native American cultural experts and community leaders, the folklore-inspired tale arrives timed to Native American Heritage Month.
The film features an all-star voice cast including John Legend as Crow, Oprah Winfrey as The One Who Creates Everything by Thinking, Sarah Eagle Heart (Native Americans in Philanthropy CEO) as Luna; 83-year-old tribal elder and lifelong Native rights crusader Randy Edmonds as Narrator; Liza Koshy (Hulu’s Freakish) as Owl; Diego Luna (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) as Moth; Tye Sheridan (Ready Player One) as Turtle; and Constance Wu (Crazy Rich Asians, Fresh Off the Boat) as Skunk.
Synopsis: From the award-winning indie team behind the hit animated shorts Invasion! and Asteroids! comes an experience about the sacrifices we can all make to help our larger community. Inspired by the classic Native American legend about the origins of the bird, Crow: The Legend respectfully illustrates the sacrifices the bird must make. As the most beautiful animal of the forest, Crow must risk everything to save those around him. With themes of diversity and self-sacrifice for the greater community, Crow demonstrates how one single act of sacrifice can have a profound impact to our world.
As Baobab explains, the cast was assembled because of their advocacy within their own minority communities and desire to shine a light on the first animated indigenous worldview story for a very underrepresented Native American community.
According to Sarah Eagle Heart, CEO of Native Americans in Philanthropy and the voice of Luna in Crow, Indigenous worldview, as exhibited in Crow: The Legend, is focused on community rather than the western view of individual: “For Native Americans in Philanthropy, Partnering with a studio like Baobab has been an honor and a pleasure. Our advocacy work has been focused on changing the narrative and creating a cultural shift that honors Indigenous Worldview. Our stories, accurate, cultural and historical, have largely been left out of the narrative of America. For this project influencers such as John Legend and Oprah Winfrey are involved, as well as Baobab co-founder and chief creative officer Eric Darnell, a longtime animation professional who wrote and directed all of DreamWorks Animation’s Madagascar movies with this being one of his latest projects.”
John Legend and Oprah Winfrey are advocates of social good and are the perfect people to help with cultural healing. In partnership with Native Americans in Philanthropy, Longhouse Media, Vision Maker Media and Baobab Studios, the recently created #GenIndigenous Youth fellowship will help promote the value of authentic cultural storytelling further showcasing Native American stories and perspectives.
Learn more about Baobab Studios at www.baobabstudios.com.
