Dreamworks Animation confirmed at their Comic Con panel that a couple of successful franchises would definitely be continuing on the big screen.
Primarily focusing on the upcoming RISE OF THE GUARDIANS, Dreamworks Animation chief creative officer Bill Damaschke gave some information on where their upcoming projects lie.
MADAGASCAR According to director Tom McGrath, the MADAGASCAR franchise would continue with a spin-off titled THE PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR, which will be released in 2015. McGrath voices penguin leader Skipper who is also on the animated series, THE PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR. No word on whether a direct sequel would follow the successful third movie.
KUNG FU PANDA CCO Damaschke gave the vague answer that a third film featuring the Dragon Warrior was in development but gave no timeframe for a release. KUNG FU PANDA is currently continuing in series format with KUNG FU PANDA: LEGENDS OF AWESOMENESS on Cartoon Network.
ME AND MY SHADOW In what may be the most unique animated film of recent years to be created by a major studio, ME AND MY SHADOW, will follow what would happen if your shadow took over your everyday life. The shadow scenes will be hand drawn in traditional 2D style while the rest will be CGI. Very interesting. ME AND MY SHADOW is slated for a Spring 2014 release.
THE CROODS Next year’s animated offering from the studio will be the caveman film THE CROODS, about a caveman family who are forced from a sheltered life into the world beyond, after their cave is destroyed. Along the way, we learned they will encounter “a guy named Guy,” said Damaschke. The character, voiced by Ryan Reynolds, is “a different kind of person because he has ideas.” According to Entertainment Weekly, The footage starts out with a distinctly Brave-like feel, featuring the eldest, unnamed daughter escaping her cave to scale a sheer cliff face. Then after her family’s cave is ruined, the dusty, monochromatic world of the Croods explodes into a wildly lush and dangerous landscape filled with giant animals and vibrantly colorful plant life. The film, explained Damaschke, takes place in the fictitious Croodacious Period. “We call it evolution’s puberty.”
No word on the next HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON film, but it does look like Dreamworks has a strong slate of releases coming. In recent years, they have definitely upped the quality of their movies instead of relying on a new SHREK film to make ends meet.
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