All 6 franchises referenced in the new DreamWorks Animation intro

Clearly feeling the effects of Saturn’s return, as many do when approaching 30, DreamWorks Animation — first founded back in 1994 — has made the bold move of revamping its iconic intro.

Beginning with the surprisingly outstanding Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, the studio’s movies no longer feature the traditional intro starring that boy with the fishing rod chilling on the moon. Instead, DreamWorks’ new logo animation celebrates many of the biggest and most popular franchises the studio has to its name, ranging from those that helped build the company from the ground up to those that have only appeared on our screens in more recent years.

Of course, in an unsurprising development fans were initially up in arms over the change, because woe betide anything that dares to threaten the power of early-00s nostalgia, but folks have become used to this new, slightly Marvel-inspired, intro over time.

For your viewing pleasure, you can find the gussied-up intro above. Just to make a game of it, why not try and name every DreamWorks movie and/or franchise it references before scrolling down to find out the answers? No cheating now!

The Bad Guys

As you can see, the DreamWorks Animation intro now sees the fishing boy surf through space on his, er, moon surfboard. The first familiar characters he encounters are The Bad Guys, the anthropomorphic band of animal criminals from the movie of the same name. After its release in April 2022, The Bad Guys became the year’s second highest-grossing animated film, so we can presumably take their immortalization in this intro as a promise that a sequel is on its way.

How to Train Your Dragon

Next up, none other than Toothless, the last of the Night Furies, soars past. The adorable flying beastie is, of course, the star of the How to Train Your Dragon saga. Easily one of the most acclaimed franchises in DreamWorks’ library, the Dragon movie trilogy stretched from 2010 to 2019 and also comprises various spinoff series. And, sorry to have to remind you about this, but a Disney-style live-action remake remains in the works, because this is the cursed timeline.

Kung Fu Panda

The DreamWorks boy then passes a floating island that’s home to two of the studio’s other famous heroes. First up is Po, the eponymous Kung Fu Panda himself. Jack Black’s unlikely master martial artist is the star of another acclaimed trilogy, with the three films releasing between 2008 and 2016. Thankfully, a live-action remake isn’t happening for this one, as that would no doubt cause all kinds of logistical problems, but an animated Kung Fu Panda 4 is coming in DreamWorks’ 30th anniversary, 2024.

The Boss Baby

The other character depicted with Po is Ted from The Boss Baby movies. These exist on the other end of the DreamWorks spectrum as they haven’t achieved the same kind of love from critics as the Dragon and Panda franchises. Still, DreamWorks hardly cares when they’ve proven to be box office hits instead. The first chapter from 2017, featuring Alec Baldwin as a sharp-suited infant was followed up by Boss Baby: Family Business in 2021, with a third film currently in the works.

Trolls

The intro continues with the DreamWorks boy passing Princess Poppy of the Trolls franchise, who’s floating by in a bubble. While ’80s kids who remember the original ugly-faced trolls will no doubt balk at this dayglo reboot, it can’t be denied that the kids of today love it. The 2016 film starring Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake has gone on to spawn 2020’s Trolls World Tour and 2023’s Trolls Band Together. Potential titles for a fourth film include Trolls: Electric Boogaloo or Trolls: Troll Harder.

Shrek

Of course, this reprisal of DreamWorks’ greatest hits wouldn’t be complete without everyone’s favorite Scottish-accented ogre, as the Dreamworks boy’s final encounter sees him wave at Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey before returning to his place in the sky. The pop culture giant that is the Shrek franchise kicked off in 2002 but remained dormant for a full 11 years between the two Puss in Boots films.

Seeing as Shrek put DreamWorks on the map back in the day, it’s fitting its new era is kicking off with a relaunch of its very first super-successful brand.