Shrek Movie

If you've seen the poster art for DreamWorks' latest animated feature, "Shrek," you probably thought, "That's an odd title" and "What an ugly-looking green character with funny ears." And that is the moral of the story: Looks are only skin-deep.

DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc.announced plans to build a studio in Shanghai in what the Glendale company billed as a landmark agreement with two state-owned Chinese media companies. The creator of the "Shrek" movies said Friday that it was forming Oriental DreamWorks, a joint venture with China Media Capital and Shanghai Media Group, in concert with Shanghai Alliance Investment - an investment arm of the Shanghai municipal government - to establish a family entertainment company in China.

Galvanized by the success of "Shrek the Third," Jeffrey Katzenberg says the tale of the green ogre who married a princess will continue. "More Shreks are coming!" said producer Katzenberg, flanked by "Shrek" stars Cameron Diaz, Mike Myers and Justin Timberlake at a news conference Friday in Berlin, where the computer-animated film opens June 21. Katzenberg said there will be a half-hour animated TV special, "Shrek the Halls," featuring the Shrek characters' versions of holiday traditions.

DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc., the studio run by Jeffrey Katzenberg, is planning a fifth and final chapter of its "Shrek" films. The company plans to produce the last movie of the series about a grumpy green ogre after the fourth "Shrek" film is released in 2010, Katzenberg said at the Allen & Co. media conference in Sun Valley, Idaho. But DreamWorks Animation so far has committed only to a fourth film, spokesman Rich Sullivan said in an interview.

The PDI/DreamWorks loose adaptation of New Yorker cartoonist William Steig's children's book "Shrek" is "Beauty and the Beast" recast as a "Fractured Fairy Tale"--with multiple fractures.

Like most animated films, the exact cost of DreamWorks' "Shrek" is difficult to calculate. That's true even for the studio producing it because animation studios often work on more than one project at a time. DreamWorks officially acknowledges "Shrek's" cost to be $48 million to $50 million. That doesn't include the cost of a couple of false starts on the film with other computer animation techniques, as well as carrying costs for a years-long gestation period.

By this weekend, DreamWorks' computer-animated "Shrek" is expected to surpass "The Mummy Returns" as the highest-grossing movie of 2001. There may be another film released this summer that takes in more money than "Shrek," which just passed $180 million in box office and is likely to end up taking in somewhere between $240 million and $250 million in the U.S., but there's little chance that one will be more profitable.

As emcee of the 29th Annual Annie Awards, voice actor Billy West set the tone Saturday night for the animation Oscars. It's going to be wild and crazy, West promised: "We're going to open envelopes without fear." In fact, the annual gala seems to have mellowed over the years, and the once notoriously scruffy animation crowd to have spruced up. Yes, sneakers continue to be the footwear of choice--new black-and-white sneakers to go with the tux.

If I advised you to see "Bully," the new film about a group of casually homicidal teenagers with beautiful bodies and withered souls, and if I further advised you that "Bully" is actually purer in spirit than a cheerful crowd-pleaser such as "Shrek," you would have ample reason to temporarily revoke my critic's license, pending a thorough investigation of my fitness to dispense cultural commentary.

DreamWorks' "Shrek" out-roared "The Lion King's" non-holiday, three-day record for animated movies with an estimated $42.1-million debut in 3,587 theaters this weekend. Not only was that better than "Lion King's" $40.9-million debut, but it also occurred before the official beginning of summer ("Lion King" opened in June), when audiences are more readily available. Among animated films, only Disney/Pixar's "Toy Story 2" has ever done better: $57.

"Shrek" the musical, in development for a 2008 Broadway opening, is looking "Far Far Away" for actors to play headliners Shrek and Donkey. Namely, here. Auditions in Los Angeles for a new show's original Broadway cast don't happen every day, the TV reality show "Grease: You're the One That I Want" notwithstanding.

Galvanized by the success of "Shrek the Third," Jeffrey Katzenberg says the tale of the green ogre who married a princess will continue. "More Shreks are coming!" said producer Katzenberg, flanked by "Shrek" stars Cameron Diaz, Mike Myers and Justin Timberlake at a news conference Friday in Berlin, where the computer-animated film opens June 21. Katzenberg said there will be a half-hour animated TV special, "Shrek the Halls," featuring the Shrek characters' versions of holiday traditions.

As emcee of the 29th Annual Annie Awards, voice actor Billy West set the tone Saturday night for the animation Oscars. It's going to be wild and crazy, West promised: "We're going to open envelopes without fear." In fact, the annual gala seems to have mellowed over the years, and the once notoriously scruffy animation crowd to have spruced up. Yes, sneakers continue to be the footwear of choice--new black-and-white sneakers to go with the tux.

DreamWorks' animated feature "Shrek" sold more than 7 million VHS and DVD units in just three days of release over the weekend. More than 2.5 million DVDs were sold, making "Shrek" the fastest-selling feature in the digital format's history. In the three days, "Shrek" generated a total $110 million in retail revenue.

If I advised you to see "Bully," the new film about a group of casually homicidal teenagers with beautiful bodies and withered souls, and if I further advised you that "Bully" is actually purer in spirit than a cheerful crowd-pleaser such as "Shrek," you would have ample reason to temporarily revoke my critic's license, pending a thorough investigation of my fitness to dispense cultural commentary.

By this weekend, DreamWorks' computer-animated "Shrek" is expected to surpass "The Mummy Returns" as the highest-grossing movie of 2001. There may be another film released this summer that takes in more money than "Shrek," which just passed $180 million in box office and is likely to end up taking in somewhere between $240 million and $250 million in the U.S., but there's little chance that one will be more profitable.

DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc., the studio run by Jeffrey Katzenberg, is planning a fifth and final chapter of its "Shrek" films. The company plans to produce the last movie of the series about a grumpy green ogre after the fourth "Shrek" film is released in 2010, Katzenberg said at the Allen & Co. media conference in Sun Valley, Idaho. But DreamWorks Animation so far has committed only to a fourth film, spokesman Rich Sullivan said in an interview.

"Shrek" the musical, in development for a 2008 Broadway opening, is looking "Far Far Away" for actors to play headliners Shrek and Donkey. Namely, here. Auditions in Los Angeles for a new show's original Broadway cast don't happen every day, the TV reality show "Grease: You're the One That I Want" notwithstanding.

The PDI/DreamWorks loose adaptation of New Yorker cartoonist William Steig's children's book "Shrek" is "Beauty and the Beast" recast as a "Fractured Fairy Tale"--with multiple fractures.

Like most animated films, the exact cost of DreamWorks' "Shrek" is difficult to calculate. That's true even for the studio producing it because animation studios often work on more than one project at a time. DreamWorks officially acknowledges "Shrek's" cost to be $48 million to $50 million. That doesn't include the cost of a couple of false starts on the film with other computer animation techniques, as well as carrying costs for a years-long gestation period.