DreamWorks Goes Down Under

Better than going down or under, right? The studio is doing well quite actually thanks to latest feature, The Croods. That fun prehistoric-set romp may end up hitting the $600 million mark at the worldwide box office which makes for a real rebound from the very good but risky money-losing Rise of the Guardians from last autumn. Now it looks like DreamWorks Animation will take us to the land Down Under, as confirmed by Herald Online today, in an animated musical featuring a wild cast of Outback critters. (Imagine them teaming up with a certain steakhouse to promote the film!)

The project, titled Larrikins, is based on an original idea by Supernova creator Larry Cripps (who also directed an Australian animated feature called The Magic Pudding) and Rise of the Guardians producer Christina Steinberg will produce. The title is an Australian slang for “mischievous youth”, as pointed out by the article.

The story? They got the details…

Larrikins tells the story of an uptight bilby (a desert-dwelling marsupial), who has lived a sheltered life in the safety of his family burrow.  When he ventures out and becomes privy to a dangerous secret, he finds himself launched on a musical adventure across the mystical and untamed Australian outback.  The film will be managed by DreamWorks Animation Head of Development Gregg Taylor and Development Executive Amie Karp.

Sounds exciting, though the whole “sheltered child” backstory has been done before (most recently in the Croods) but the rest sounds very intriguing. It’s also interesting that DreamWorks is starting to gravitate towards musicals, with their Mumbai Musical (coming March 18, 2016), Trolls (coming November 4, 2016) and now this! Who will direct it? Will it be a first timer? Or someone who has already directed a film for DreamWorks?

The music will be handled by Australian comedian-actor-singer-songwriter Tim Minchin, who is best known for Matilda the Musical. The project certainly sounds fresh and different, and it shows that DreamWorks has been branching out as of late in addition to telling good stories.

What are your thoughts on this upcoming musical? Are you excited about? Do you think DreamWorks will score a nice round of musicals in the future? When do you think it’ll end up coming out? Sound off below!