Overview

• The Legend of Ochi, released nationwide on April 25, 2025, features a teenage girl’s journey to return an injured baby ochi to its pack, exploring themes of empathy and challenging prejudice.
• The film’s standout feature is its animatronic baby ochi, brought to life by a team of puppeteers and inspired by real primates like snub-nosed monkeys and tarsiers.
• Director Isaiah Saxon emphasized a no-AI, minimal-CGI approach, opting for handcrafted effects, animatronics, and matte paintings to evoke a classic 1980s-1990s fantasy aesthetic.
• Filmed in the Carpathian Mountains of Romania on a $10 million budget, the movie highlights A24’s commitment to reviving practical filmmaking techniques.
• The baby ochi’s lifelike design and charm have sparked widespread social media buzz, with audiences praising the film’s nostalgic craftsmanship and heartfelt storytelling.