DreamWorks Sign With Netflix

DreamWorks Animation, home of Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon and many more great and popular films, have just finalised a deal with the Internet movie-streaming giant, Netflix.

The deal replaces DreamWorks' current one with HBO, marking the first time that a major Hollywood studio has walked away from a paid TV deal (as DreamWorks had with HBO) in favour of a web-streaming deal. It's easy to see why DreamWorks have jumped on board the web streaming  bandwagon, as, according to The Hollywood Reporter, the deal is worth $30 million, per film, to DreamWorks - an already wealthy company.

The deal comes into effect in 2013 - one year early, with DreamWorks being let out of their HBO contract early by the network -, a year which will see DreamWorks release The Croods, Turbo and Peabody and Sherman, and the deal will include the streaming of films from DreamWorks' extensive canon of films: including Madagascar, Antz, Shark Tale and more.

The deal promises to be a particularly good one for both Netflix and DreamWorks!

DreamWorks Animation - Highlight Reel

A couple of days ago DreamWorks Animation uploaded a new video (above) onto their YouTube account; a highlight reel of some of their best and most recognisable films.

The video showcases some of the studio's finest moments, really adding a sense of accomplishment and amazement to the famed studio.

However, I am somewhat confused by the exclusion of most of the DreamWorks canon, the video focuses only on the Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon and Madagascar films, omitting recent films such as Megamind and Monsters Vs. Aliens as well as some of their older films such as Antz or Shark Tale. I suppose DreamWorks could just be showcasing their highest points (although Madagascar has never particularly been a critical hit), it just seems weird.

Nonetheless, the video really does capture the studio's claim to being one of the best animation studios in the world.

Brad Lewis Moving

It was announced today that Brad Lewis, the co-director of Cars 2, is leaving Pixar and joining Tradition Studios, the recently opened animation department of Digital Domain.

Digital Domain, partly owned by Transformers director, Michael Bay, is a visual effects company that recently handled effects on Disney's Tron: Legacy. The company set up an animation subsidiary in Florida back in 2009 and is currently awaiting the completion of a 115,00 square-foot campus, scheduled to open in December.

The producer of Pixar's 2007 Academy Award winning feature, Ratatouille, has been at Pixar for ten years now, after spending over eleven years at PDI and DreamWorks Animation, where he produced Antz.

Lewis, who is set to be a director at Tradition Studios, said to The Hollywood Reporter:

“I am excited to join a company with Digital Domain's talent and expertise and to have an opportunity to be a part of its team in creating family-friendly stories and adventures.”

Lewis will surely be missed at Pixar and will be a huge asset to Digital Domain.