Dreamworks Upcoming

There's a very famous deleted scene from Pulp Fiction where Uma Thurman asks John Travolta if he's a fan of Elvis or the Beatles. She then goes on to explain that while you can enjoy the music of both, at the end of the day, you can only be a fan of one them.

It's very much the same with computer animated films. You can enjoy Pixar and Dreamworks, but at the end of the day, you can only be a fan of one of those studios. I'm a fan of Pixar. However, Dreamworks is always worth a look.

And they've just announced what they have coming out between now and 2012. Let's take a look shall we?

How to Train Your Dragon - March 26, 2010
Based on the best-selling children's novel, about a young Viking and his pet dragon. Could be interesting.

Shrek Forever After - May 21, 2010
Oh, goodie. Shrek 4. Once again, I thoroughly enjoy the first Shrek. But the second one is a horrendous piece of film, and I still regard it as the worst animated film ever made. And the third one...is just there. This franchise really needs to end. It was originally rumored to be a prequel, explaining how Shrek first set up his home in the swamp. Now, apparently, it's going to be the nine-billionth spoof of It's a Wonderful Life where Shrek gets to see what his life would be like, well, if he never went though the first three films.

Oobermind - November 5, 2010.
The supervillain Oobermind finally manages to destroy his arch-enemy, the superhero Metro Man. However, this gives Oobermind something akin to a midlife crisis, and he doesn't know what to do next. So he sets out to find a new arch-enemy. Robert Downey Jr voices Oobermind, and Tina Fey also contributes a voice. Written and produced by Ben Stiller.

I'm actually somewhat fascinated by this one. Like a lot of nerds, I think the superhero genre is just made for animation. So more superheroes is good. And Ben Stiller, when he stays behind the camera, can be a pretty solid talent. I'm cautiously optimistic.

Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom of Doom - June 3, 2011
So Po, the titular kung fu panda, is forced to confront a villain from his past. All the stars are back.

The one thing that I hate the most about Dreamworks is they really invented the concept of animated film franchises, with the countless Shrek and Madagascar sequels. However, I keep reading surprisingly positive reviews for Kung Fu Panda. Even my fellow Pixar junkies said, "WOW, it's good!" I'm going to have to finally sit down and rent it one of these weekends. I'll reserve judgement until I see #1.

The Guardians - November 4, 2011
Based on the forthcoming book by William Joyce. Another of his books became Disney's Meet the Robinsons. This features Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, and the Sandman all joining forces to defeat the Bogeyman. A very interesting premise.

Puss in Boots - March 30, 2012
Ever since he was introduced in Shrek 2, plans were immediately launched to give Puss in Boots his own film. Antonio Banderas returns to voice Puss, Selma Hayek voices his beloved Kitty, and they embark on the ultimate heist: stealing the goose that laid the golden egg.

See my above comments on the Shrek franchise. Just copy and paste them down here.

Madagascar 3 - May 12, 2012
Those wacky animals finally make it back to New York.

Why?

And lastly, for November 2, 2012, they currently have three movies in pre-production. It'll be whichever one gets finished first. So, it'll either be:

The Croods - A caveman inventor feels threatened when his tribe is joined by an ultra-modern caveman with fancy inventions like fire and the wheel. This was originally going to be stop-motion animation by the folks at Aardman Animation, but Dreamworks kept it for themselves when they severed ties with Aardman. Based on an idea by John Cleese.

Truckers - Based on Terry Pratchett's Bromeliad Trilogy.

Untitled Super-Secret Ghost Project - All we know about this one is, it's about ghosts.

There's some good in there, some bad, and two too many Shrek movies. However, as I said, I'm fascinated by Oobermind, so I'll probably trek to the theatre for that one.