Dreamworks animation round-up

 larrikins plot, hot stuff movie, Puss in boot 2 and HTTYD 2 clip

Larrikins plot revelated

The Australian Outback is the setting of the next full-length feature from DreamWorks Animation, and they are bringing along award-winning composer, comedian, actor and writer Tim Minchin along for the walkabout. Minchin, who will be adding his considerable talents to the project, which DreamWorks Animation calls an “all-animal musical comedy,” is joining writer Harry Cripps (Supernova) and producer Christina Steinberg (Rise of the Guardians, National Treasure) on the newly unveiled project.

The new film, titled Larrikins, which is Australian for “mischievous youth,” is the story of an uptight bilby, a desert-dwelling marsupial, who longs to escape the shelter of his family burrow and see the vast world outside. Once free of the burrow, the bilby discovers a dangerous secret and he finds himself on a grand adventure across the great Australian Outback.

“Our whole team is excited about this project,” DWA Chief Creative Officer Bill Damaschke said. “We’ve been looking to work with the immensely talented Tim Minchin on a project for a while, and there is no doubt that this project is a perfect fit.”

Minchin is expected to take on the duties of writing the lyrics and music for Larrikins, as well as other creative roles within the production. He is currently nominated for 12 Tony Awards, including Best Musical Score for Matilda: The Musical.

“I was lucky enough to grow up in western Australia and know that the Australian Outback is vast and spell-binding and heart-stoppingly beautiful,” Minchin said.

“And the characters that inhabit it are unique and hilarious and tough and cheeky. I am hugely excited to be working with Harry and the DreamWorks Animation team in their mission to capture some of this unique aesthetic and quirky, iconoclastic culture on film. It’s going to be bloody good fun.

DreamWorks Fires Up a ‘Hot Stuff’ Movie

 DreamWorks Animation is now developing a feature film based on Hot Stuff the Little Devil.

Hot Stuff the Little Devil is a Harvey Comics character who first appeared in 1957. DreamWorks purchased Classic Media in 2012, the company that owned the rights to the character and all other Harvey Comics characters/properties such as Casper the Friendly Ghost, Mutt & Jeff, Herman & Katnip, Baby Huey and Richie Rich.

The Hot Stuff film, which is set to be penned by Bob’s Burgers scribes Wendy and Lizzy Molyneux, will be the second film from the studio that will be based on a Classic Media property. That is, if it arrives beforethe Lassie film (also a Classic Media property) that was announced last summer.

In the comics, the titular demon child is usually troublesome, but at other times he does good things, though the other devils certainly don’t approve of that. The Hollywood Reporter notes that some sources are suggesting that the film will be a live-action/computer animation hybrid. If true, that’ll be a first for DreamWorks.

When will it possibly come out? Who knows, DreamWorks’ complete slate currently ends at November 4, 2016. (Trolls is set to open on that date.) 2017 and 2018 dates have been locked by their distributor, Fox, and it seems like Captain Underpants, Flawed Dogs and the Croods sequel will be the 2017 releases (DreamWorks intends to release three films every calendar year) since they have directors attached and seem to be moving forward. The earliest this will open is probably 2018, and no director has been named yet, so we’ll have to wait and see.

Antonio Banderas says Puss in Boots 2 has begun in production

While chatting with Collider about his upcoming action sequel The Expendables 3, Antonio Banderas let it drop that he has begun recording dialogue for a Puss in Boots sequel. “We started the new one four days ago,” he said of the first Shrek spin-off.  “It did incredibly well with audiences and critics, all around the world, and the character is going to keep going.” He didn’t reveal any details about the plot, other than to say that Puss will go to “a completely different land which is very exotic,” and that they are trying to do “an adventure movie” as opposed to the spaghetti western tone of the last film. No release date has been set.

Check out this awesome Dragons 2 clip featuring the dragon racing