Move Panda, Move...

Now that Disney has announced the official release date for Star Wars: Episode VII, I think it's high time that 20th Century Fox and DreamWorks move a certain production out of the holiday season…

Kung Fu Panda 3 was initially announced as a March 2016 release, only to trade places with the tentatively-titled Mumbai Musical. Since last autumn, Kung Fu Panda 3 has been a Christmas 2015 release. The December 23rd date was locked many weeks before Disney announced the Lucasfilm acquisition.

But a year has passed and things have changed, as always in the ever-changing film world - especially in the animation world!

DreamWorks is adamant that they'll release three films every calendar year; next year we're getting Mr. Peabody & Sherman (March 7th), How To Train Your Dragon 2 (June 13th) and Home (November 26th)...

The other two films slated for release in 2015 are The Penguins of Madagascar (March 27th) and B.O.O.: Bureau of Otherworldly Operations (June 5th). The first one is good where it is, the second is crammed between Paramount Animation's Monster Trucks and Pixar's Inside Out, the latter of the two competitors could possibly hurt it. However, if Fox markets the ghostly film right and it turns out to be good, it should have no problem making a profit. Ghosts are an easier sell than done-to-death underdog stories about racer snails, anyway.

But Kung Fu Panda 3 opens five days after Episode VII. Episode VII will obviously appeal to everyone: Families, children, adults, teen moviegoers and everyone else in-between. Kung Fu Panda 3, like any good animated film, is aimed at the whole family as well along with mass audiences in general (no, not just children - contrary to stupid popular belief)… Having it open so close to such a hugely, no scratch that… Enormously anticipated film that's going to appeal to everyone is not a smart move.

DreamWorks needs to move it… But to where, is the question.

November 2015 is already loaded. Blue Sky's Peanuts, also distributed by Fox, is staying where it is (November 6th) since it may be a holiday-themed film and it is celebrating the 50th anniversary of A Charlie Brown Christmas. Pixar's The Good Dinosaur? Forget it, that's not moving, and that was delayed from a summer 2014 release!

September? Nahhh, Hotel Transylvania 2 is opening in the late spot that Sony Animation made successful for themselves.

DreamWorks also won't open a movie so close to another one of their own films, when it almost happened, it never did. Summer's too crowded as it is, and February is also taken by Paramount Animation's SpongeBob sequel… Unless they opt for another weekend, but for something like this?

If another, DreamWorks ought to be brave and try October. That's right, October.

I don't buy the whole "everything outside of May-July and November-December is the dumping ground" theory. If you release a damn good movie anytime, with the right marketing behind it, it'll do well. Just look at Gravity… The little October release that's on its way to gross $250 million domestically and possibly over $600 million worldwide.

Maybe it's time that the studios start looking into the other months. I also don't buy the "kids are in school" excuse, because Sony's animated films did well in the late September spots. Kung Fu Panda 3 can be a good-sized hit in October, because it'll have a lot of room to breathe and it'll continue to do well when Peanuts and The Good Dinosaur open, Star Wars: Episode VII on the other hand… Just… Not a good idea. Then Mission: Impossible 5 opens two days later. It's in trouble...

While the film will no doubt do well overseas, it needs to do well here. Kung Fu Panda 2 unfortunately lost a chunk of potential moviegoers because Paramount released it the same day as The Hangover Part II, which stole most of the teen and adult audience. Don't forget the lazy marketing campaign and general lack of hype. I'm hoping Fox corrects those errors for this third film; but the thing is, it's great that it is happening. Kung Fu Panda 2 managed to get sturdy legs and climbed to $165 million domestically, though logically it should've greatly increased from the original - perhaps even crack $300 million domestically.

Anyways, if DreamWorks wants the best possible success, then they should shoot for mid-October. April isn't wise, because The Avengers: Age of Ultron will annihilate it a few weeks later. May is off-limits, ditto July.

October 2015 it should be. What do you think? Do you think it's fine where it is? Or should it move? If not October, then where? Sound off below!

Figuring Fox's Animation Slate Out

In an attempt to fire back at a very confident Disney, who announced a giant upcoming animation slate that ended in fall 2018, 20th Century Fox grabbed dates for animated films from DreamWorks, Blue Sky and Fox Animation. Their slate capped off a month after Disney's...

Disney's slate consisted of four (wisely) untitled Walt Disney Animation Studios project. Two of which will hit theaters in spring and autumn 2016 respectively, the next two will be released in spring and autumn 2018 respectively. The other four films on Disney's animation slate were untitled Pixar films; one slated for summer 2016, another for summer 2017, one for fall 2017 and the last one for summer 2018. All of the projects were "untitled".

DreamWorks' animation slate, at the time, concluded in November 2016 with Trolls. Nothing was set in stone for 2017 or 2018 just yet, though Blue Sky Studios shocked some by announcing a spring 2017 release date for their upcoming Ferdinand. At the same time, they unveiled that their 2016 release would be Fox Animation's long-gestating Anubis. The film is now a co-production between Blue Sky and Fox Animation. Fox Animation is basically the revived animation wing that 20th Century Fox shut down in 2000 after Don Bluth's Titan A.E. bombed at the box office, now they're doing various projects. Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox was one of them...

Shortly after Disney announced their full upcoming animation slate, Fox then announced theirs... The following dates were...

March 10, 2017

June 16, 2017

July 21, 2017

November 3, 2017

December 20, 2017

March 23, 2018

June 29, 2018

July 20, 2018

November 2, 2018

December 21, 2018

Next to each was "Untitled Fox/DWA/Blue Sky"...

Also notice that there's 5 releases set for 2017 and 2018...

DreamWorks releases three films a year maximum, and they'll begin doing that regularly starting next year. Their plan is to lower the budgets on their films, especially after how badly Rise and the Guardians and Turbo both did at the box office. I honestly can't see DreamWorks releasing four films in a calendar year; too much workload, it could affect quality and also... It almost happened, but didn't.

So that leaves Blue Sky and Fox Animation, assuming that "Untitled Fox" means " Untitled Fox Animation Studios Film", and they've got a few projects on the docket.

Fox Animation is currently working on The Book of Life with Reel FX Creative Studios, that'll be released next October. After that, they'll collaborate with Blue Sky to bring Anubis to the screen in 2016. Three other animated films are in the works there: Welcome to the Jungle, Mr. Men and King Kong...

It's possible that one of these three untitled projects will be co-productions with either Blue Sky or Reel FX. If things go well with The Book of Life, then Reel FX and Fox Animation may collaborate again.

Also, we have no idea whether Fox is including films like Alvin and the Chipmunks sequels on this slate or not, the day the slate was unveiled, they did announce that the fourth film in that series (ugh) was slated for a December 2015 release. Do they consider those films animated films? Or hybrids at least? Or not? If they do, then the December 2017 or December 2018 release could be another Chipmunks film, as much as we don't want it to be.

That being said, since there's 5 slots, Blue Sky may have to ramp up their schedule a bit. Two films a year could very well be their game plan. I will admit, I do give them props for taking their time on films, as they release one film almost every calendar year. (Averted in 2010.) But that may change...

But as I learned over the last couple of months, nothing really is seemingly set in stone. Dates constantly change, and sometimes unthinkable release dates are picked for animated films. Who would've thought that Disney would pick the now-lucrative March spot for a Walt Disney Animation Studios film after years of usually picking summer or pre-Thanksgiving November? They haven't touched the spring spots since 2004! DreamWorks shuffles films on their slate constantly, so we may see a big change with the 2015-2016 section in the coming months.

Who knows... But one thing's for certain, Blue Sky might have to get two films out a year. Either that, or Fox Animation will have to really step up and make more films than they usually do...

Either way, it's big doins' for Fox, animation and all of the studios that make the films for them to distribute...

Staying Afloat

The boy on the moon has been having some trouble lately...

2013 hasn't been a stellar year for animation in general - regardless of the breakout performance of Illumination's Despicable Me 2 and some other notable happenings - it's actually a rather dour one, from layoffs to the VFX industry problems to DreamWorks' reaction to a certain film's box office performance...

In February, DreamWorks announced that up to 350 people were going to be let go and that a film on their upcoming slate was sent to the back burner. DreamWorks had plans to release three animated films this year, much like 2010 when they did so for the first time to enough success. In 2010, How To Train Your Dragon was a sleeper hit and then some. Shrek Forever After did good here, but became the biggest installment in the series in foreign markets partially thanks to 3D. Megamind on the other hand was viewed as something of an underperformer, but nothing too disappointing.

2011 and 2012 saw DreamWorks sticking to the usual two-a-year routine, this year was going to see three films from the studio: The Croods, Turbo and Mr. Peabody & Sherman (which was slated to open on November 1st). What happened?

Rise of the Guardians, the second 2012 release, was a box office dud.

Regardless of what happened, whether it was poor marketing or poor timing, Rise of the Guardians turned out to be a bump in the road for the studio. If one film could lead to such layoffs and the cancellation of a project (Me and My Shadow) that was less than 2 years away and already in production, then I think DreamWorks should rethink their business model a bit...

Rise of the Guardians would also be the last DreamWorks Animation film released under the Paramount distribution deal, and Paramount tripped up the marketing on a lot of their films: Guardians' marketing campaign was their biggest disaster, selling the whimsical, often dark fairy tale-esque story as an action-packed Avengers wannabe for little kids. The already-bland title didn't help, either. Why wasn't the film called The Guardians of Childhood? What goes on in these title-changing people's heads? (I'm looking at you too, Disney and Warner Bros.)

So you'd think that under 20th Century Fox, things would look up, right? The Croods was one hell of a rebound, making a lot here (the press immediately wrote it off as a disappointment when it opened with $43 million, short of the $50 million expectations) and a whole lot more worldwide, and it was backed by an overall effective marketing campaign. Not a great one that ensured a Kung Fu Panda-sized opening (when will DreamWorks ever score a non-sequel $55 million+ opening?), but one that certainly paid off. Having all of late March, April and even May to itself was a real advantage.

Unfortunately, the hope train slowed down to a snail's pace. Literally.

Turbo, I will admit, was at least backed by an aggressive marketing campaign that did get the word out. The problem is, the film just didn't appeal to adults or anyone else. The concept seemed too ridiculous for anyone over the age of 10 to take seriously, and worst of all, Despicable Me 2's momentum couldn't be stopped. It was unwise to open the movie at the time, DreamWorks should've opted for a late August release or perhaps an autumn release. Opening with a weak total, Turbo won't reach $90 million at the domestic box office and it may fail to double that sizable $135 million budget worldwide (it's not out in every other country yet). More layoffs ensued.

Next year gives us Mr. Peabody & Sherman, How To Train Your Dragon 2 and Home. We know which one will be the hit. Peabody is guaranteed to do okay given the source material and how much more marketable it sounds (it doesn't sound generic like Turbo), Home is a gamble with a terrible title.

2015? The Penguins of Madagascar, B.O.O. and Kung Fu Panda 3. The sequels/franchise films will do well, B.O.O. can do okay but it's being sandwiched between Paramount Animation's Monster Trucks and Pixar's Inside Out. It has to be more than just average in order to do well amidst that summer's animation tsunami. If Turbo was some great film, it would've done well despite being crammed between Despicable Me 2, The Smurfs 2 and Planes. If anything, DreamWorks should release this in August.

2016 has Mumbai Musical, which is going to go head to head with whatever Disney Animation has ready for the March 2016 slot (it's probably going to be Zootopia given how far along it's gotten), How To Train Your Dragon 3 will make bank, obviously. Trolls? Easy sell, so it should do well enough. Maybe. Are people willing to show up for a musical based on the Good Luck Troll dolls?

But it seems like DreamWorks wants to do this 3 films a year thing every year starting with 2014, now that Mr. Peabody & Sherman was moved from this autumn to the spring.

So what keeps DreamWorks above water?

It's the films, because the films are what they've really got.

Regardless of what one might think of the quality of the DreamWorks films, it must be acknowledged that DreamWorks is pretty gutsy for an independent studio that's not backed by a big safety net. If you look at the other studios, like Sony Animation and Blue Sky and Illumination, they're backed by known distributors but they don't spend much more than $100 million on their films because they know what the ramifications will be if one of them were to underperform. I commend them for that, actually. Look at Blue Sky. Epic didn't do so hot, but thank goodness they didn't spend more than $93 million on it.

On the other hand, DreamWorks spends more than $130 million on each film of theirs. Not a very smart move each time out, considering that they aren't owned by Disney or a mega-empire like that. Disney can handle a flop, which is probably why they let their animation studio and Pixar spend over $150 million (Pixar goes big with roughly $200 million) on their films, because there's still that aforementioned safety net that'll catch the two studios if they were to fall, not to mention lots of merchandise. Disney's marketing department also tries to make sure that these films do well, and their marketing machine is probably much bigger than that of the other studios'. (Though I question what they are doing.)

DreamWorks justifies their budgets, as their films do look great for the most part. They have top talent there, too. But... Is this overspending good for the company? Not quite...

It's surprising that they've had two money-losers recently, after a string of highly successful films. Everything released from Shrek The Third (mid-2007) to Madagascar 3 (last summer) has done well or made a profit. Sequels are essential because they need them, but luckily in this day and age, DreamWorks is beginning to put actual effort into their sequels. Jeffrey Katzenberg also jumped all over 3D, and went about it the right way (one thing I can actually praise about him) until 3D itself saw a collapse. Sad thing is, DreamWorks put their all into the 3D for their films. It was also a smart move due to 3D's success in foreign markets... But the domestic market does matter too. A good $200 million overseas gross couldn't save Rise of the Guardians and it won't save Turbo either, as the films needed to take in more than what they made here.

Reality has sunk in for them, now that two films of theirs have lost money. Now what do they do? They have three solutions to their little problem...

DreamWorks purchased Classic Media for a paltry $155 million last year, acquiring many beloved properties that they can distribute on home media and make some profits. They're also going to mine the different franchises for new ones, as they are planning to make a film based on Lassie. Classic Media also owns the likes of the UPA filmography (please DreamWorks, release it all on a collector's Blu-ray set!), Jay Ward cartoons, Filmation cartoons and several other things. Good investment for them.

DreamWorks also plans on expanding on their theme park plans as well as launching a family-oriented television channel. I admire these decisions, because with that and the live shows, DreamWorks could build up some sort of a safety net. I'm not saying that Katzenberg is aiming to make DreamWorks a Disney-sized empire, but expansion is nice. Fox's upcoming Malaysian theme park could also help, though they seem more interested in their own properties (i.e. the Alien franchise, Night at the Museum, Life of Pi) and Blue Sky Studios. Should DreamWorks opt for a theme park here in the states? Europe, maybe? It could happen, and it could be pulled off. But what else could DreamWorks do to justify spending so much on their movies each time out?

DreamWorks Oriental isn't just making animated films, they're actually making live action China-friendly films. Remember that project I talked about? The Tibet Code? Much to my surprise (how that slipped past me, I don't know), that's actually a live action film! Anyways, given how big China's market is and how big DreamWorks' films are there (The Croods actually had to pulled from theaters to let other Chinese animated films get some spotlight at the box office!), revenue from these kinds of films can keep them afloat. Other markets could also boost these films too, given 3D and whatnot. While I may not admire Katzenberg for his animation sense, I do admire his shrewd ways of running a business.

Now... Aside from possible safety nets and things to fall back on, what can they do about their films?

Well, if they are gung-ho about releasing three in a calendar year for the next 3-4 years (or possibly for a very long time), well they better crack down on both the quality of the films and the quality of the marketing.

Did Turbo really need to be a 96-minute long, $135 million movie for theaters? If anything, that could've made for a more inventive and even bizarre short film (given that concept) or a television series. Oh wait, a TV series is coming. Maybe that might help the film in the long run...

Maybe if DreamWorks made that snail tale a decidedly lighter film (with a smaller budget), it could've been a profitable gap filler for them so that they could move on to bigger things with ease. Maybe they should scale back on some films, go small scale and actually do what the other big studios (even Disney and Pixar) aren't doing. It would allow them to experiment more. Maybe DreamWorks should give hand-drawn another go (they almost partially did so with Me and My Shadow, but they had to indefinitely postpone it), but something with a smaller budget than their usual endeavors. The hopeful optimist in me suggests that someone will make a successful hand-drawn film, spurring Disney executives to invest in the medium.

DreamWorks very much wants to be more than just a studio, with the theme parks, live events, TV shows based on their hit films and the plans to create a channel (great idea). I think Katzenberg and the brass know that relying on big budgeted animated films is a strategy that could cause more harm than good, so these new routes are probably going to be taken. If anything, DreamWorks should strategically pursue building their company, making them more than just an animation house. They're the only ones who are really in that position, so there are opportunities there.

As for the channel... How about original programming? Instead of relying on feature films to kick off new shows, why not create an all-new show? Disney opted for that in the mid-1980s (partially for the wrong reasons) and look what happened? Disney proved with shows like Adventures of the Gummi Bears and Darkwing Duck that you can come up with original characters for successful shows, while relying on others that were based on pre-existing Disney characters (i.e. TaleSpin's Jungle Book cast) or other properties. DreamWorks could possibly reboot Classic Media properties for new cartoons, either for their channel or another network. What about actually giving those properties' early incarnations re-runs on their channel or another one?

It's all right there for them.

I mean, what are they going to do if another film of theirs doesn't recoup its costs? What if Peabody and Home struggle next year? Today's box office climate requires your film to either do well on opening weekend or to make a very good amount of money domestically. It's time that DreamWorks prepares themselves, they need to thrive. Their slate is both ambitious and risky in many ways.

A New Big Franchise?

Back in August, Oriental DreamWorks had been founded as an animation unit to produce Chinese-themed animated films given the fact that China has become a bigger market for American films nowadays, what with the influx of 3D films and such. Seeing many opportunities in front of them, the DreamWorks heads made a very smart business decision. The company's first production will be co-produced with the main unit on the West Coast. The production, in question, is Kung Fu Panda 3. (Which is currently slated for a December 23, 2015 release.)

Now they have another production in development, an animated film based on the best-selling Chinese book series The Tibet Code, a series written by He Ma.

The Hollywood Reporter reported on this earlier today, since CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg (who is currently touring China to promote The Croods) was at a press event in Beijing earlier today. The very successful series is about a master expert on the Tibetan Mastiff breed who searches for ancient Buddhist treasures with the help of his mentor, which lead to some rather epic adventures. The lead protagonist has also been described as a "Chinese Indiana Jones" of sorts. The books have also been compared to the Harry Potter series and The Da Vinci Code (hence the title). Well for one thing, there is a lot of potential in this. A big adventure series like this would be perfect for DreamWorks, and it would allow them to branch out even more. There's quite a few books in the series, too. If this were to go over well, DreamWorks' could have a very big series on their hand.

DreamWorks' longest running theatrical series to date (not counting spin-offs) is the Shrek series, with four films in total. Madagascar probably won't get another sequel though that's up in the air since the third one made the most money out of the three. Kung Fu Panda, at one point, was meant to be a 6-part (!) series. If Kung Fu Panda 3 performs well and does relatively better than Kung Fu Panda 2 did, then a second trilogy is guaranteed. If DreamWorks goes through with a whole series, they could have the longest running theatrical animated film series of all time. I'm actually hoping that this adaptation of the books is put on the schedule soon, I'm actually interested in seeing DreamWorks take on something like this.

What's your take on this? Do you DreamWorks is up for the challenge? Do you think doing an animated film series based on this will work out? Or do you think it's too risky for the studio? Sound off below!

Switching Gears

I had a feeling that this was going to happen to DreamWorks' current slate sooner or later, especially after the temporary shelving of Me and My Shadow, a film originally aimed for a spring 2014 release. It looks like two films have traded places: The tentatively titled Mumbai Musical and Kung Fu Panda 3. It appears that the next installment in the colorful martial arts adventure series is bowing in theaters first, with the risky and potentially great Bollywood-style musical following.

Kung Fu Panda 3 is now opening on December 23, 2015. Like the original planned release date (March 18, 2016), it's certainly unusual since the first two films were summer releases. The date, however, is good. It's almost a month away from Pixar's Finding Dory (if that film stays in the November 25, 2015 spot) and will have no trouble doing well over the holidays. It's possible that the film may have a lot of snowy mountain settings to go along with the season it's being released in. The cast for the film has also been expanded: Bryan Cranston, Mads Mikkelsen and Rebel Wilson will now star in this DreamWorks sequel.

I say bring it on! Kung Fu Panda marked the beginning of a better era for the studio. Kung Fu Panda 2 expanded upon the first film's already decent storyline and added heart, emotions and even darkness. Plus, that sequel ended with a nice hook so a third one has to happen.

As for Mumbai Musical, I've been curious and excited about it since it was announced a while back. I'm happy to see that it at least has a release date pegged, but hopefully the production doesn't run into problems like Me and My Shadow did. It's possible that DreamWorks may announce the new date for that film too, because to my understanding, it's just on the back burner for now. Will Mumbai Musical get its title soon? Who knows. I actually kind of liked the working title: Monkeys of Mumbai. Hopefully this musical is done right and is another nice addition to DreamWorks' current slate.

Are you looking forward to these films? Do you think the change of release dates was for the better? Or not?

Sound off below!

DreamWorks' Full Upcoming Slate

Today, The Hollywood Reporter revealed DreamWorks' full upcoming slate from now until the summer of 2016. This answers quite a few questions I've had over the years. Of course we know that The Croods and Turbo already had their release dates set for a good while, while Mr. Peabody & Sherman was moved up to November 1st. This way, it has a little room to breathe before competition.

Happy Smekday! also finally got a release date: November 26th. Usually DreamWorks aims for the first week of November, but I guess they secured that date in order to get there before Disney gets it. Disney usually schedules their newer films for a late November release, so it'll be interesting to see where Disney's 2014 animated release will end up. Maybe it'll be a summer release, who knows. Me and My Shadow and How to Train Your Dragon are still hitting theaters on March 14th and June 20th respectively.

The Penguins of Madagascar opens March 17, 2015. This was announced at the San Diego Comic-Con, but I assumed it would get a May/June release like the first and third Madagascar films. I'm not particularly looking forward to this one, but it's obviously going to keep the franchise going. I just hope they don't go ahead and make a fourth Madagascar.

Trolls comes out on June 5, 2015. Two years ago, DreamWorks announced that they were going to do a film based on the Good Luck Troll dolls. But then again, this could be Trollhunters, a Guillermo del Toro project. Who knows, Cartoon Brew states that it's a working title. Jason Schwartzman and Chloe Moretz are attached to the cast.

B.O.O.: Bureau of Otherworldly Operations, I'm guessing, is a reworking of Boo U. Seth Rogen will provide the voice of the lead. This will open on November 6, 2015. I have a feeling that date will change.

The untitled Mumbai musical is set to be released on December 19, 2015, which will probably end up being called Monkeys of Mumbai. Out of all the upcoming projects, I always felt that this has a lot of potential. The music will be provided by none other than Stephen Schwartz (The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Prince of Egypt) and A.R. Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire).

That'll be four films in one year. A bit ridiculous if you ask me. I was fine with DreamWorks three-a-year plan, but they're really dead-set on churning out movies. I have a feeling this one is going to move. Kung Fu Panda 3 opens on March 18, 2016 and How to Train Your Dragon 2 opens on June 18, 2016. I have a feeling one of the 2015 films will be moved back to 2016, but who knows.

So there you have it, DreamWorks' full upcoming slate. I must say, they really are ramping things up here. What do you think? Which of these films are you looking forward to? Which ones are you not looking forward to?

DreamWorks' New Partner

After a six-year partnership with Paramount, DreamWorks Animation SKG has now entered a five-year distribution deal with 20th Century Fox, of all studios. Now for a long time, us animation fans wondered who would start distributing the moon boy productions after the deal with Paramount would end. I always thought it would be Warner Bros., since they have never had a big animation studio making hit after hit for them. Every other studio is taken, but that didn't stop them from turning to Fox.

It'll be interesting to see what their schedules will be like in the coming years, since DreamWorks is now adapting the "three films a year" routine. Like Paramount, Fox will get 8% of the box office and home media sales revenue, but DreamWorks will have the rights to air their films on television. Even more shocking news is Jeffrey Katzenberg's plans of launching a DreamWorks channel. What? Does he think DreamWorks will grow into big Disney-sized empire one day? Who knows...

Anyways, this will be interesting to keep an eye on. Blue Sky will most likely change the release dates of their films over the next few years, and next year's Epic won't have to move since DreamWorks' summer release that year (Turbo) will be released in July. I have a feeling that Fox's logo won't appear before the films, much like how Paramount's didn't. How Fox will handle the marketing, we don't know. They've done well enough with advertising Blue Sky's films, so we'll see if their marketing beats that of Paramount's lazy advertising that plagued the last couple of DreamWorks films.

What do you think? Do you DreamWorks made the right choice? Or do you think they should've went with someone else? Sound off!

Po Returns

DreamWorks recently announced that Kung Fu Panda 3, which was already in development for quite some time, will be a co-production with the newly established Oriental DreamWorks. The plan is to have it ready by around 2016 or 2017. In addition to that, the third How to Train Your Dragon film is planned for 2016.

Personally, I'm looking forward to Kung Fu Panda 3, despite my initial disapproval of DreamWorks' knack for making more sequels than Pixar or anyone else, though other studios are starting to jump on this bandwagon as well. Fox has another Rio coming in 2014, and they'll probably have another Ice Age film after that. Sony has a Smurfs trilogy planned, plus a Cloudy with a Chance with Meatballs sequel, and so on...

Why would I be excited for this, though? Simple. Kung Fu Panda 2 was surprisingly good and arguably superior to its impressive predecessor, plus the ending was a slight sequel hook. If it's a quality film and it brings in the bucks for the company, then I'm content with that, seeing how it will support the more original projects in the pipeline. With all this expansion (DreamWorks acquiring Classic Media recently), we can only imagine how big their upcoming slate will be...