At today’s DreamWorks Animation panel at San Diego Comic-Con, the only real animation company to stand up to Disney and Pixar had come big news to drop.
First up, Madagascar 4 has now been officially announced and will be released in 2015. It will be called The Penguins of Madagascar.
It was also confirmed that they will be producing a third Kung Fu Panda, but there was no news on when it would be released.
Thankfully, Dreamworks is doing more than just extending their existing brands. They announced that they are working on a new film called Me and My Shadow. The film will combine traditional, hand drawn animation with CGI.
Here is what the Dreamworks animation team told the panel about why they are going in this new direction:
“anything can be done in live-action now [thanks to CGI], films are becoming like meals. How do you want it to taste? Will this taste better animated?” In the case of Me and My Shadow, a character’s shadow takes on a life of its own. That part will be hand-animated while the rest of the film will be in CGI.
Also at the panel, the animation team revealed the first footage of The Croods, as well as explaining the inspiration for the upcoming Rise of The Guardians.
According to the panel:
It was inspired by the daughter of William Joyce, the man who wrote the book that served as the source material. Joyce loves the holidays. (Damaschke quipped that he even throws Arbor Day parties.) IN such an environment, Joyce’s daughter asked if the Easter bunny knows Santa Claus. Joyce responded, “Not only do they know each other, they work together” and effectively launched the book and subsequent movie.