Dreamworks has a long, colorful history of animated films. Yesterday, the company unveiled their new way of celebrating it in a brand new animated logo. The logo can be viewed below.
This new logo will make its silver screen debut with the studio’s next theatrical release,Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. The logo features the company’s mascot, an unnamed silhouette of a child on the moon, flying around a galaxy of the studio’s most well known franchises. We are greeted by The Bad Guys, Toothless fromHow to Train Your Dragon, Po fromKung Fu Panda, The Boss Baby, Poppy fromTrolls, and Shrek, Fionna and Donkey from theShrekseries.
Since the release, fans have taken to Twitter to discuss either their approval, or criticism of the logo. Many have pointed out that the logo is missing quite a few well known characters, such as all of the 2D animated stars such as Sinbad, Spirit, and Moses. But considering these characters represent projects that either have new shows or movies coming out, or are currently in the works, it makes sense that they get highlights. Let’s take a look at what’s coming up.
What to Expect from the Dreamworks Universe
Starting off withThe Bad Guys, the 2022 film was a surprise hit for audiences and critics alike. Praised for its fluid, expressive animation and sharp script, Dreamworks would be fools to not have more plans for this film. Good thing they do! Earlier in November,Netflix announced that an all-new project is in the works, featuring everybody’s favorite villains are coming back for an all new adventure. The project is set to take place before the events of the first film, and will be a Christmas themed heist! The special will be directed and executive produced by Bret Haaland (Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness). Joining him as executive producer will be Katherina Nolfi (Abominable and the Invisible City). The Bad Guys debuted on Netflix on November 1st and quickly demolished Netflix’s Top 10 of that week.
Next is Toothless, fromHow to Train Your Dragon. While his story ended withHow to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, Dreamworks isn’t done with dragons yet! In 2021, Dreamworks debuted an all new chapter in theDragonsuniverse titledDreamworks Dragons: The Nine Realms. The show follows a group of children, who are brought to a strange fissure that mysteriously opened after a comet crashed into earth. One by one, the kids discover that the fissure is the entrance to the mysterious hidden world of dragons. One child in particular, Tom, bonds with a very familiar looking dragon that he names Thunder. The show released its fourth season mid-November, ending with a cliffhanger finale promising more to come.
Po from Kung Fu Panda shows up next, with more promises and speculation. The trilogy of movies was widely acclaimed for its unique blend of humor and action. The franchise’s most recent addition was Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight, which premiered on Netflix this past July.Later in August, it was confirmed by Universal that there is a fourth film in the works. This isn’t the last we’ve seen of the Dragon Warrior!
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Sharing a cloud with Po isThe Boss Baby, the two movies were surprising hits with audiences. Two Netflix original shows premiered that were spinoffs of both movies, with the second,Back in the Crib, premiering earlier this year. Currently there is another holiday special,The Boss Baby Christmas Bonus, set to premiere in December on Netflix.
After flying byThe Boss Babywe see Poppy fromTrolls, another franchise with no end in sight. The two movies were praised for their colorful worlds and high-quality musical covers. The franchise has also had their fair share of shows. Earlier this year, the final season of Trolls: TrollsTopia released to Hulu and Peacock. But that’s not the end of Poppy and her friends.It was recently announced that the third Trolls movie is on its way, and will be exclusively released to theaters for the 2023 holiday season.
Finally there’s Shrek, alongside Fionna and Donkey. Considered the granddaddy of Dreamworks’ iconic 3D animated library, audiences thought that film number four (2010’sShrek Forever After) would be the last we would see of the iconic green ogre. But recently we’ve learned that is not the case. While Puss in Boots has been keeping the land of Far Far Away in our minds, with both the 2011Puss in Bootsand its upcoming sequelPuss in Boots: The Last Wish, the ogre family has been waiting for their big return. When NBC Universal purchased Dreamworks in 2016, there were alreadyrumors of a fifth Shrek film in the works. The status of the film has dipped and bobbed over the last few years, but has never been confirmed as done. Currently,the latest update to the Shrek comeback is thatPuss in Boots: The Last Wishexecutive producer, Chris Meladandri, will be in charge. Meladandri has confirmed that his team is walking a fine line of the next film in the series, with dedication to the franchise and what makes it so special.
And there you have it, a rundown on all the familiar faces of the new Dreamworks Logo and why they’re getting a bit of spotlight. Dreamworks may be a big company, but a big job of the logo is to keep audiences interested in anything new and upcoming. While it’s a shame that some faces are absent from this little galaxy, the ones that are there are a sign of big things in store.
