Margie Cohn, president of DreamWorks Animation, talks about saving “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” and the future of Shrek

As of 2019 DreamWorks Animation has a new captain in charge. Margie Cohn went from running the television division of the lovable fisherman on the moon studio to overseeing both small-screen projects and the films that would hit theaters. Who would have told him that in his first years at the helm of the studio, the very future of cinemas would be called into question by a global pandemic?. However, her films managed to weather the storm and were some of the favorite options for family audiences to return to the big screen after giving birth. ‘The Croods: A New Era’ was the 10th highest grossing film worldwide in damn 2020, being the most successful animated family film of the year (because there is ‘Nightwatch’ as ​​a big milestone of the pandemic) . And ‘The Bad Guys’ surpassed $250 million at the box office this year.

Universal Pictures wanted to save one of the movie calendar’s most treasured slots, Christmas, for DreamWorks Animation’s next release. But it’s not just any premiere. This is the return of Antonio Banderas’ Puss in Boots himself. We last saw him in 2011, with the ‘Shrek’ franchise pretty sold out. However, it didn’t do all that badly, with over $550 million worldwide. At that time it was already rumored that the swordsman cat would have a sequel. But we had to wait eleven years to see it.

‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’ intends to continue to be the representation of “A New Era” at DreamWorks Animation. An era in which they will bet on greater creative freedom and to demonstrate that animation does not have to look cloned. That’s why Banderas’ character’s new adventure has a new visual style, and that’s why the film will deal with dark themes such as death itself. To better understand the keys to this new stage in the studio, we had the opportunity to speak with its president, who tells us what’s in the oven and if the return of Puss in Boots is a prelude to the return of the charismatic green ogre from the swamp

eCartelera: A while ago you announced that the studio was entering a new phase with you as president. What are the goals you set yourself for this DreamWorks 2.0?

Margie Cohn: With so much competition, the pandemic, and people reluctant to go back to theaters, I think it’s crucial to be as exciting and different as possible and deliver things that feel fresh and new. We are trying this in various ways. We don’t have a “home style”. We can release one movie that looks like ‘Bad Guys’ and release another that looks like ‘Puss in Boots’ and another that looks like ‘Trolls’. You can also see it in the tone of our films. “Trolls”, for example, is all glitter, glitter, psychedelia and music, and then there is “Puss in Boots” in which death is a character. But you keep laughing and you keep having fun. We are working on another film that has an air more like ‘How to train your dragon’, a good adventure with high expectations. We want to continue to be different and challenge ourselves to improve and innovate.

EC: ‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’ has come a rather long and complex path. It was announced shortly after the first installment, but took 11 years to reach theaters. It was one of the projects you saved when you came in as studio president. Why did you think he deserved a second chance?

MC: After Jeffrey (Katzenberg) left, there was a brief stint with someone else at the helm and they were already teaming with Chris Meledandri (President of Illumination Entertainment) on “Puss in Boots.” When I arrived there was already a script. Chris and I discussed our goals for the film and found the perfect creative team. The problem with previous versions was that the story didn’t hold up. It did not fulfill such a great premise. We found a team that had a vision and a big ambition for what they wanted the story to be and that was very exciting. We are as good as our directors. We select them very carefully. And this team nailed it.

EC: The first film with you, ‘The Bad Guys’, was a box office success. I have the impression that computer animation wants to break down the barriers it has set itself due to the limitations of the technology itself. Now that technology can do anything, it seems filmmakers are betting on more creativity and innovation. This is the case of ‘Puss in Boots’ and its change of aesthetics. How do you see the near future of animation?

MC: I think artists are moving towards more artistic expressions because of all the CGI in live-action movies.. If you look at any Marvel movie or “Jurassic World,” they’re pretty much CGI movies. Artists can create worlds that do not exist in real life and not imitate life, but create a satisfying impression and ambiance on another level. And this naturally comes from the artists themselves. They are the ones who want to do it, to fully express themselves. In a lot of the propositions that they’re bringing us, when they start talking about the art style everything is very innovative and different and I really think it’s related to the special effects and live action.

EC: With ‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’ a much loved franchise returns to the cinemas. Do Shrek and the others have a place in DreamWorks’ future?

MC: Of course. We’re definitely thinking about where Shrek might be heading in the future. And there is absolutely nothing to announce today. But he’s stronger than ever, it’s crazy. I don’t know if you saw that someone found out that Al Pacino had a Shrek phone case and the memes were crazy. It went viral.

EC: Yes! Shrek has also been discovered by a new generation of viewers during the pandemic thanks to streaming. What do you think of this new phase of Shrek as a pop icon?

MC: I thought we should take advantage of it. That’s what I thought.

EC: One of your goals is to release one original film and one established franchise film every year. Can any franchises or sagas return or do you consider any closed?

MC: I think, one way or another, perhaps streaming movies could be ideal for those characters who haven’t reached the stellar level of Po or the penguins of ‘Madagascar’. If not everyone loves them, a specific part of the public does.

“We’d love to do something with ‘Back to the Future'”

eC: Another of your hits is ‘Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous’. Was there ever a bigger project on the table, like an animated “Jurassic World” movie? Or sink your teeth into yet another Amblin intellectual property?

MC: As for “Jurassic,” I think we’ll wait and see where the movies go next.. They are the most important part of the franchise. Then we will press the pause button until we see where they go. And of course there are a lot of Amblin films we’d like to sink our teeth into, as do a lot of people. We have a great relationship with Amblin as they are part of Universal and are distributed by Universal, so we like to think we would take precedence, but there are currently no plans. For example, I was going to say that we’d love to do something with “Back to the Future,” but that’s the same opinion across Universal.

eC: What do you think of traditional animation? Do you think his return would be possible in this new era?

MC: I think it all depends on the artists and their proposals. I won’t say no to anythingand it’s a very cute style. And we still do a lot of 2D animation on TV, some are CG with cell shading and some are hand drawn. “Voltron,” for example, was hand-drawn and semi-anime in style, and it was beautiful. I think it would be up to us to find something exciting.. But I’m sure it’s on the horizon.

EC: Long before the ‘Lightyear’ kiss, at DreamWorks you introduced one of the first LGBTQ+ characters we saw in an animated film: Gobber, from ‘How to Train Your Dragon’. What plans do you have for DreamWorks in regards to representation and diversity?

MC: Like I said, we tend to follow the creatives. In that regard, we’ve done a lot in television, relying on storytelling and what felt right in each moment. It always looks better when it’s authentic and not inserted into the story, or in the background while everything else is going on.. We’re also making a lot of animals right now and treating them like humans, but they’re not necessarily human. We are not closed to anything and have already made successful progress in television, where the creators have created concrete storylines. We also have groups of employees helping us, like one called Out and it’s made up of LGTBIQA+ employees, we have another one made up of black employees, another one made up of Asian and Pacific area people, another one made up of young employees, veterans.. We have about ten groups. We often call them on to help us shape the characters to look like real, contemporary characters and reflect modern opinion instead of just making them a chore. It’s a long answer to tell you that we will be happy to cross the bridge when the opportunity arises, but we want to do it in an authentic way..

‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’ premieres in theaters December 21.