On May 24, DreamWorks is releasing a sequel to 2008 Best Animated Feature contender “Kung Fu Panda,” directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson. The first film lost out at the Oscars to the Pixar pic “Wall-E.”
Also on this year’s calendar is “Puss in Boots,” a Chris Miller film that features a character from the “Shrek” series, which will be released on Nov. 4. The original entry of that four-film franchise won the first Best Animated Feature race back in 2001.
That marked the only win out of five category bids by DWA. In 2002, “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron” lost to Japanese import “Spirited Away” while in 2004, both “Shrek 2” and “Shark Tale” were defeated by Pixar’s “The Incredibles.”
In 2012, “Madagascar 3” (Eric Darnell, director) is slated to hit theaters on June 8; the first two films in the series were snubbed at the Oscars. Filling the Thanksgiving slot for DWA next year will be “Rise of the Guardians” (Peter Ramsey, director).
DWA has three films in the works for 2013: “The Croods” (Chris Sanders and Kirk DeMicco, directors) – March 1; “Turbo (David Soren, director) – June 7; and “Me and My Shadow” (Mark Dindal, director) – Nov. 8.
In 2014, look for “Mr. Peabody and Sherman” (Rob Minkoff, director) on March 21 and a sequel to recent Oscar contender “How to Train Your Dragon” (Dean DeBlois, director) on June 20.
