DreamWorks Animation First to Release Three CGI Films in One Year

This year is going to be huge for DreamWorks Animation. The studio is becoming the first to ever release three CGI animated films in one year!

Despite the somewhat disappointing performance of Monsters vs. Aliens, the only animated film DreamWorks released last year, stock in the company has been on the rise. The Hollywood Reporter states that this is likely due to its diversification, with their Nickelodeon TV series Penguins of Madagascar getting a product line release and Shrek the Musical being put on tour. Non-film revenue is likely to double to $200 million for the company.

The first film will be How to Train Your Dragon, based on the 2003 book and featuring the voices of Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Gerard Butler, and Craig Ferguson. The story is about an outcast Viking boy (Baruchel) who befriends the dragon he was intended to slay. Together, they try to convince the Vikings that they do not need to slay dragons. The film will be released on March 26.

The second is Shrek Forever After, the supposed conclusion to the green ogre's saga that presents the ogre is tricked by Rumpelstiltskin into creating an alternate reality where he and Donkey had never met, Fiona is a hunted ogre, Puss is basically a prissy Garfield, and Lord Farquaad was still alive - a brilliant excuse to have the great John Lithgow return, if anything! That film releases on May 21.

Finally, there's Megamind, which has also gone under the names Master Mind and Oobermind. Starring Will Ferrell, Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill (AGAIN!?), and Tina Fey, the November 3 release is about a supervillain (Ferrell) who defeats his archrival (Pitt) and finds that a life without an archrival is awful, so he creates a new one in the form of Titan (Hill). Titan turns out to be more villainous than Megamind himself, and so he sets out to stop him, earning redemption in the process.

DreamWorks Animation has been nominated for Best Animated Film Oscars before, but they have always lost, save for the first Shrek. With three films up against Pixar's sole contribution, Toy Story 3, are they hoping to finally best Pixar at next year's Oscars?