Back in early 2009, DreamWorks acquired the rights to Chris Gall’s book series Dinotrux. The studio also has the rights to a lot of other properties, but actual movies based on these properties (such as Maintenance and Pig Scrolls) haven’t been dated. We haven’t heard too many announcements on the developments of these projects, as other projects that were announced more recently have been moving ahead of them (such as Boss Baby, Larrikins and Everest). Now, Dinotrux is moving forward, but it won’t be made into a feature film.
Instead, the books about dinosaur/truck-hybrid monsters will be adapted into a TV series for Netflix. So far, DreamWorks has been doing well with the online streaming service. Turbo F.A.S.T., based on their 2013 underperformer Turbo, is currently doing well. More shows are on the way, such as King Julien and a Puss in Boots series, among others. Their new movies are also being released on Netflix, months after they have hit home media formats. Back when the deal when struck, DreamWorks announced that they’d prepare 300 hours of programming for them.
The announcement of this series raises some questions: Will it be a flash-animated series like Turbo F.A.S.T. was? Will it be traditionally animated? CGI? Will the series eventually lead to a feature film? The show is set to launch in spring 2015, and three seasons have been ordered. DreamWorks probably expects a good-sized franchise to come out of this series, and maybe if it does take off, we will get a feature film one day. Maybe DreamWorks will use Netflix as a launchpad for other properties like that as well; test the waters with a TV show first and then make a feature film if the show is a hit.
Do you think adapting this book series into a series is a good idea? Do you think DreamWorks will eventually make a feature film based on this series? What other properties (i.e. Pig Scrolls, Maintenance, Lidsville, etc.) do you think DreamWorks will turn into Netflix shows? Sound off below!
(via Animation Magazine)
