Poking around on various sites indicates that David Stainton was closely involved with the infamous Disney direct-to-video sequels, Circle 7, and the Disney features Home On the Range and Chicken Little (plus Meet the Robinsons before John Lasseter “fixed” it). Also, there is speculation that Paramount’s formation of an animation division is a negotiating tactic as DreamWorks Animation considers its distribution options given the soon-to-expire agreement with Paramount.
How will the Paramount/DreamWorks distribution thing work out? It’s a mystery!
Is Paramount Animation working on any interesting features? It’s a mystery!
Any thoughts from folks here about what Paramount animated features might come about under David Stainton? It’s a mystery…
…but some likely candidates might be a CG-animated SpongeBob movie and maybe Dora the Explorer or The Fairly OddParents, courtesy of Paramount’s Nickelodeon connection.
Here’s one vote for an update of slightly-less-than-Famous hex symbol Honey Halfwitch:
What’s going on with the supposed new Paramount Animation unit? With SpongeBob as the inaugural film due in 2014, there could be minimal investment in new employees and office space at Paramount…just increased effort at Nickelodeon and, one assumes, Rough Draft Korea.
[Edited to add] Here at least is an indication that the SpongeBob operation is physically moving from one location to another:
…but it seems like a tentative way to build a future animation pipeline beyond one proven, established property that might be waning in popularity.
Further mystery arises as Paramount seems to shrink at the box office. So far in 2012, Lionsgate (with the success of The Hunger Games) has done more business than Paramount, which lags well beyond the other major studios:
Paramount could overtake Lionsgate by the release of Rise of the Guardians, but then RotG could be the last DreamWorks Animation film released through Paramount.
Anyway, it’s hard to see how Paramount enjoys increasing success without DreamWorks Animation if the distribution deal isn’t renewed. But here’s hoping they find their way forward.
In July 2011, in the wake of critical and box office success of the animated feature, Rango, and the departure of DreamWorks Animation upon completion of their distribution contract in 2012, Paramount announced the formation of a new division, devoted to the creation of animated productions.
So Paramount’s distribution deal with DreamWorks ends with Rise of the Guardians, which has drawn industry speculation about a slow start and possible low eventual box-office take (we’ll see). And as 2012 draws to a close, Paramount’s domestic business will likely be just a bit more than that of Lions Gate…less if you add in Summit Entertainment, which Lions Gate owns.
Paramount’s stated approach is to be selective about the films it develops, just with less actual films released. Paramount Animation’s stated approach is to be a production company that develops Nickelodeon content and maybe other non-Nickelodeon projects:
What’s not clear is which studio(s) will perform the actual animation on projects (like The New Kid) not based on existing Nickelodeon shows. It’s a mystery, and apparently that’s the way Paramount likes it. For reference, here’s a list of the Paramount/Nickelodeon animation-studio partners since the late 90s:
The Rugrats Movie, 1998 (Klasky-Csupo)
Rugrats In Paris: The Movie, 2000 (Klasky-Csupo)
Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, 2001 (DNA Productions, now defunct, and Omation)
Hey, Arnold! The Movie, 2002 (Snee-Oosh, Inc., now defunct)
The Wild Thornberrys Movie, 2002 (Klasky-Csupo)
Rugrats Go Wild, 2003 (Klasky-Csupo)
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, 2004 (Nickelodeon Animation Studio)
Barnyard, 2006 (Omation)
Rango, 2011 (ILM, acquired by Disney)