DreamWorks Animation and Digital Domain Holdings announced a partnership that will bring the famous 3D animated studio’s characters to virtual reality. Shrek and Kung Fu Panda will be the first subjects, but DreamWorks plans to create VR content for its “most iconic and legendary characters.”
DreamWorks Animation has more than two decades worth of 3D animation experience under its belt, with notable properties such as Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar and How To Train Your Dragon. Digital Domain has positioned itself as a leader in 360-degree video capture and production, visual effects and live streaming in virtual reality. The two companies will pool their knowledge and resources to create virtual reality content and experiences that revolve around DreamWorks’ most famous and notable characters.
So far, the two companies have announced the partnership and revealed that Shrek and Kung Fu Panda will be the first characters to make their VR debuts, but we don’t have any idea what form that debut might take.
We also don’t know how long the features will be. DreamWorks typically creates full-length animated films, but that sort of thing has yet to be attempted in VR. VR experiences tend to be short, so it’s possible that these DreamWorks VR projects will end up being short experiences too.