On Ice is the latest Google Spotlight story

Google is positioning itself as something of the micro-Pixar for the 360-degree video market. Their Spotlight stories seek to enchant, awe, and woo their audiences through the use of fully immersive animated experiences. What’s great about them is that often you can find lots of easter eggs and surprises by keeping an eye on things that are going on outside of the main action, which greatly increases rewatchability. Their newest addition to the series? On Ice.

On Ice is a deliberately over-the-top space opera that obviously pays its dues to such features as Star Wars and Flash Gordon. The protagonist of the ice-skating production is suddenly confronted with an unexpected competitor for the audience’s affection: a bear.

The short was directed and developed by Shannon Tindle in collaboration with Evil Eye Pictures. You can count on it being chock full of surprises and references (keep an eye out for a reference to Freddie Mercury), and although you can view it clumsily in flat 360-degree video, it’s much nicer with a VR headset like Google Cardboard.

Check out the promo over on Youtube if you’re still hesitant, but you’ll need to be on your mobile device to take full advantage of this creative little production. Once you give it a watch head back over to our comments section and let us know what you thought!