Nickelodeon and DreamWorks Animation have teamed to develop weekly animated series based on the 2005 DreamWorks release Madagascar and the upcoming CG feature Kung Fu Panda, according to Daily Variety. DreamWorks Animation previously ventured into CG-animated television with the expensive and short-lived series Father of the Pride, which was abruptly shelved in November of 2004. This time, Nickelodeon will reportedly handle most of the production duties.
The Madagascar-based series will actually be a spin-off focused on the penguin characters, which were the stars of their own holiday-themed DreamWorks short film. Paul Rugg (Freakazoid!) is scripting the pilot. Meanwhile, Nickelodeon will apparently wait to see what happens with the May 2008 debut of Kung Fu Panda before it makes a series order. Tom Martin, who has written for The Simpsons, has been hired to write the pilot.
Set in ancient China, Kung Fu Panda centers on Po the Panda (voiced by Jack Black), a lowly waiter in a noodle restaurant who gets a chance to take his martial arts fanaticism to a whole new level when a prophesy names him the “Chosen One” to protect his land from powerful enemies. Angelina Jolie will play Tigress, one of the martial arts masters who undertake the seemingly impossible task of transforming the slacker into a lethal weapon. The voice cast also includes Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu, Dustin Hoffman and Ian McShane. John Stevenson and Mark Osborne (Father of the Pride) are directing and Melissa Cobb is producing the feature.
DreamWorks principal Jeffrey Katzenberg tells the trade that the team at Nick Studios has been working closely with the talent involved with the two films but will be given the freedom to make the properties their own for television.
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