Since DreamWorks Animation got snapped up by Universal, it seems several films have been cancelled.

So what’s actually happening?

The plot was different.

The characters were different.

The medium was different.

The title was different Crood AwakeningtoThe Croods.

But the titular misspelling was the same.

Along the way, several Dreamworks projects have been cancelled outright.

Others… they limp on.

And some have undergone drastic rewiring.

And what previously-announced pictures will never see the light of day?

you could see the cover for one above.

The films premise was a kind of aMonsters Inc.for ghosts, with trainee spectres being taught how to scare.

Perhaps it was the familiarity of this notion that gave Jeffrey Katzenberg and co. cold feet?

Seth Rogen was going to star, and Melissa McCarthy had a key role too.

Whether Bill Murray actually recorded the cameo Dreamworks had wanted him for was never clear.

What we do know is that the release was pulled, fairly late in the day.

The line was that it was going back into development.

Again, I wouldnt hold my breath.

Why wasThe Croods 2ditched?

Maybe thats what happened here.

And then, suddenly, he wasnt.

A foundation for rotoscoping?

An idiosyncratic way to block and stage his scenes?

I guess well never know what Minchin was planning.

But I think I can guess whyLarrikinswas nixed.

And by simple, I think I probably mean petty.

Here are someearly character designsby Peter de Seve.

None of this would have been cheap, nor entered into lightly.

But then, without explanation, the film vanished from the schedule.

Lima, we understand, was off the project as far back as 2014.

We also carried the news that Edgar Wright and David Walliams were working on a new Dreamworks animation calledShadows.

Technically speaking,Shadowsis notMe And My Shadow.

Except is sort of is, in the way thatFrozenisThe Snow QueenandThe CroodsisCrood Awakening.

Wright and Walliams were given carte blanche, and Alessandro Carlonis original film was designated dead.

Because these are two Dreamworks Animations hinging on the same, basic, pre-story concept: shadows have autonomy.

Everest

Little is known aboutEverest, the most recently announced Dreamworks Animation original.

Theres a release date, for late 2019, but not a lot else.

As the first commission of the Universal era, be very surprised if this one goes away.

Another Shrek

Work is also afoot on anotherShrekmovie.

Of most note, perhaps, is the role that Chris Meledandri had in pushing this forward.

Meledandri is the top dog at Illumination, Universals other and lately, better animation studio.

Puss In Boots 2

Dead.

But that leaves eight lives remaining, so you never know…

This film sounded like some kind of cats-and-dogs version ofThe Godfather, with elements ofThe Godfather 2.

Andy Garcia was playing some kind of gangster dog, if I recall.

Why was it yanked from the schedule?

But still they fall.

Here, though, are some films we actually will get to see.

Unfortunately,Dragon 2didnt do quite as well at the box-office as Dreamworks might have expected.

On the plus side, it was a better film than the original.

Trolls 2

A sequel to last yearsTrollshas been officially announced for 2020.

The originalTrollsmovie started out tied-into Dreamworks adaptation of Terry PratchettsTruckers.

Indeed, Id be pretty sure that the opening for a DreamworksTruckersmovie has now closed.

The Boss Baby and Captain Underpants

Both are out this year.

Its too late to turn back now.

I mean, were only a little bit pastB.O.O.-oclock withCaptain Underpants, but… nah.

The axe might swing a lot at Dreamworks but we shouldnt get paranoid.

In limbo…

This is one I think we might actually see.

All-in-all, the future of Dreamworks is quite hard to forecast right now.

Its massive-scale risk aversion, and a slap in the face of artistic endeavour.

And then, on the upside… well, Im looking forward toHow To Train Your Dragon 3andShadows.