Yesterday I attended a DreamWorks Animation 2011 preview at the DGA in Los Angeles.  With the company getting ready to release Kung Fu Panda 2 and Puss in Boots later this year, CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg took the stage and showed the assembled press the first 45 minutes of Kung Fu Panda 2, and then the first 13 minutes of Puss In Boots.   In between the footage, we got to hear Kung Fu Panda 2 director Jennifer Yuh, Jack Black, Antonio Banderas, Puss In Boots director Chris Miller, and Guillermo del Toro talk about their films.  Did you know del Toro is very involved in Puss In Boots?  He's also executive producing Rise of the Guardians for the studio and helping out on all their animated movies.  Needless to say, this is very good news.Anyway, shortly after the presentation ended, I recorded a video blog with Peter from /Film and our thoughts on the footage and what we learned are after the jump.  And if you missed my article detailing all the DreamWorks Animation movies through 2014, you can check it out here.-

Kung Fu Panda 2 will be released on May 26, 2011.  It is being directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson (Kung Fu Panda), produced by Melissa Cobb (Kung Fu Panda) and written by Jonathan Aibel & Glenn Berger (Kung Fu Panda). It stars Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Gary Oldman, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, James Hong and Michelle Yeoh. In the sequel, Po is living his dream as The Dragon Warrior, protecting the Valley of Peace alongside his friends and fellow kung fu masters, The Furious Five.  But Po’s life of awesomeness is threatened by the emergence of a formidable villain, who plans to use a secret, unstoppable weapon to conquer China and destroy kung fu.  Po must look to his past and uncover the secrets of his mysterious origins… only then will he be able to unlock the strength he needs to succeed.

Puss In Boots will be released on November 4, 2011. It is directed by Chris Miller (Shrek the Third) and produced by Joe Aguilar (Merry Madagascar) and Latifa Ouaou (Monsters vs. Aliens).  It is being written by Tom Wheeler (The Cape). Andrew Adamson (Shrek, The Chronicles of Narnia) and Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth) are serving as executive producers on the film, which stars Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Zach Galifianakis, Billy Bob Thornton and Amy Sedaris.  Way before he ever met Shrek, the legendary Puss In Boots goes on a heroic journey, teaming up with mastermind Humpty Dumpty and the street-savvy Kitty Softpaws to steal the famed Goose that lays the Golden Eggs.  It’s the adventure of nine lifetimes!

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