Guillermo del Toromay have won his first Oscar(s) forThe Shape of Water, but I’m of the opinion that his best work still lies ahead of him, and it might just be in the medium of animation. One studio that’s betting big on this prediction is DreamWorks Animation, a production house that’s been in the GDT businesssince at least 2010when their partnership included development of feature films and TV series. The deal lead to del Toro acting as creative consultant forKung Fu Panda 2andMegamindwith executive producer credits onRise of the Guardians,Puss in Boots,andKung Fu Panda 3.More recently, and on the DreamWorks TV side of things, del Toro is the creator and executive producer of the fantastic Netflix series,Trollhunters, which has two spin-off series set to debut soon. But that’s just the beginning.
AsTHRreports, “del Toro has signed a multi-year exclusive deal with DreamWorks Animation to write, produce and direct animated family films for the studio.” This contractual move also has del Toro literally moving into the studio’s Glendale campus where he’ll occupy some office space, though it’s not as if he’s been a stranger there. Announced earlier today, DreamWorks Animation clarified that del Toro’s involvement with the film division is also expected to include working with presidentChris deFariaand the studio’s many artists and technologists “on some of the company’s innovative pilot programs that are developing groundbreaking techniques for advancing storytelling on multiple content platforms," in addition to developing movie projects.
Here’s what del Toro had to say:
“Animation is an art form that has influenced my work greatly since childhood. To me, it’s the perfect medium to bring to life any and all ideas, no matter how outlandish or wild. I am eager to work with Chris and the talented artists at DreamWorks – some of the most talented people in the business – to make these images a reality. I have worked with DreamWorks for about a decade and the horizon just keeps getting wider.”
Earlier this month, del Toro also signedan overall deal with Fox Searchlight, it ofThe Shape of Waterfame, to write, produce and direct live-action feature projects. In other words, one of the world’s busiest creatives has no plans to slow down now.
