(14 January 2008 5:25 pm)

BANGALORE: Thomson announced that it's Technicolor services division has formed a strategic alliance with Dreamworks Animation SKG, Inc. (Dreamworks) to develop animation capabilities in Bangalore.

This will be Dreamworks' third studio – the first outside the US. Dreamworks' other two studios are located on the American West coast.

The alliance leverages Thomson's recent acquisition of a controlling stake in Bangalore-based Paprikaas Animation Studios (Paprikaas). As part of the alliance, Dreamworks will assist Technicolor in recruitment, training and development of top-tier animation talent to the Paprikaas facility in India.

Paprikaas plans to recruit about 250 people over the next twelve to eighteen months. At present, Paprikaas has about 250 employees.

Dreamworks looked at twelve countries in Asia, including Japan and Korea, before picking India as a place for its third studio, informed Dreamworks' Joe Aguilar while speaking with indiantelevision.com. This year, Dreamworks plans to release Kung Fu Panda and Madagascar 2. In March 2009, it plans to release a 3D animation film – Monster versus Aliens; the second release for 2009 is How to train a Dragon. 2010 will see Shrek 4 and Mastermind (an animated film on a superhero) from the sudio. In 2011, Puss in Boots will be released by Dreamworks, along with another project.