New Dreamworks Animation Movies In The Pipeline

Dreamworks Animation, the studio behind box office hits such as Shrek and Monsters Vs Aliens, have a number of new films scheduled for release in the next couple of years.  Some are brand new titles, while others includes sequels to popular franchises.

SCHEDULED FOR 2010:

How To Train Your Dragon (March)

Based on the 2003 book by Cressida Cowell of the same name, the film tells the story of 11-year-old Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, the son of a chieftain and leader of the Hairy Hooligans.  Hiccup and his peers must catch a dragon as part of a rites of passage ritual in order to stay part of the tribe.  Along the way they 10 youngsters must learn how to train their dragon after they discover that the How to Train Your Dragon book in the library only has one page.

Hiccup is to be voiced by Jay Baruchel, with further voice talent from Gerard Butler, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and America Ferrera (best known from Ugly Betty).  With 7 more books in the series, this could spawn several sequels if it performs well at the box office when it opens next year.

Shrek Forever After (May)

The fourth film to feature the friendly Scottish ogre sees our hero get involved with the dodgy Rumpelstiltskin (surprisingly voiced by Paul McCartney).  He enters into a pact and finds himself stuck in an alternative version of Far Far Away, where Rumpelstiltskin is King and Shrek and Fiona have never met.  He must now find a way to undo all this spell and put everything back to normal.

This film will apparently fill in some blanks about Shrek’s past and will tell how he arrived in the swamp.  It will also show Donkey’s earlier life and possible feature an ecological story line too.  The original cast, including Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz and Eddie Murphy, still feature.

Oobermind (November)

After supervillain Oobermind defeats his sworn enemy Metro Man, instead of having the time of his life, he slips into depression after his life becomes boring.  To remedy this, he creates a new arch-rival, a new superhero.  Unfortunately his plan goes wrong when the new hero decides he wants to be a supervillain too.  With the tables turned, the only person that can save the day is Oobermind!

With the voice of Robert Downey Jr (Ironman), this is a mickey-take of traditional superhero movies, and may even be a direct shot at the Disney-Pixar hit, The Incredibles.

SCHEDULED FOR 2011:

Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom of Doom (June)

The sequel to the 2008 original wil see the original cast reunited (including Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen and Lucy Liu), this time to defeat a new villain.  This emerging threat promises a weapon so powerful it “threatens the very existence of Kung Fu!”, but Po must face his past before he can protect the future.

The Guardians (release TBC)

Based on books by William Joyce, The Guardians tells the tales of the worlds most unlikely superheroes – Jack Frost, North (aka Santa), Bunnymund (the Easter Bunny), Tooth (the Tooth Fairy), and Sandy (the Sandman).  Together they must defeat Pitch, aka The Bogeyman, an ancient spirit intent on pluging the world into darkness.

SCHEDULED FOR 2012:

Puss In Boots (March)

A spin off from Shrek, this film follows Puss (voiced once again by Antonio Banderas) and his love interest, Kitty (Salma Hayek).  Described as a “swashbuckling ride through Puss’s early years”, it expands further on the ideas set out by the Shrek series, introducing characters like Humpty Dumpty and the Goose that lays Golden Eggs.

Madagascar 3 (May)

The third film sees Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Gloria the Hippo, and Melman the Giraffe still fighting to get home to the Big Apple, but this time they’re navigating Europe under the cover of a travelling circus.

The Croods (November)

This looks like Dreamworks big Christmas film for 2012, The Croods tells the story of a caveman looking after his family, taking them across the treachourous landscape to safety.  Things are made more complicated when they are joined by a rather modern caveman, with very different ideas as to how things should be.