DreamWorks Animation will release "Me and My Shadow" in March 2013, the studio announced on Friday.
The 3D project will be DWA's first film to seamlessly combine both CG and traditional, hand-drawn animation. The company's "Kung Fu Panda" previously employed the unique technique for one memorable sequence.
Mark Dindal ("Chicken Little") will direct "Shadow," which is being produced by Teresa Cheng ("Shrek Forever After") and Fox Animation veteran Melissa Cobb (DWA's "Kung Fu Panda").
The story follows Shadow Stan, an extremely frustrated shadow who years for a more exciting life but happens to be stuck with Stanley Grubb, the world's most boring human. Pushed to the brink, Shadow Stan breaks the most important rule of the Shadow World -- "They lead, we follow" -- and takes control of Stanley.
Shadow Stan and everything in the Shadow World will be hand-drawn, while the human characters and their world will be CG.
Tom Astle and Matt Ember ("Get Smart") are currently revising the original screenplay written by Steve Bencich and Ron Friedman ("Chicken Little").
Credit DWA for thinking outside the box for this ambitious project, as I was beginning to get sick of talking aliens and animals. Shadows, on the other hand, are inherently fascinating, as the characters are intrinsically linked to their owners yet they have personalities of their own and can act independently. "Shadow's" premise offers plenty of potential, and I look forward to seeing the cast DWA assembles for the movie, which is already in production.
DWA's last hand-drawn animated film was 2002's "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron," which was also produced by Cheng.
