MUST WATCH: New Trailer For DWA's RISE OF THE GUARDIANS Displays Record Breaking Potential

Ok, I've seen enough and I'm calling it. This year will be a record breaker for animation movies. This summer Fox's ICE AGE: CONTINENTAL DRIFT is going to do gangbusters around the world and set a very high bar, but I believe Dreamworks Animation's RISE OF THE GUARDIANS will rival it come this November.

It will surely be Dreamworks Animation's highest grossing movie of all time and that means the highest domestic grossing animation of all time as DWA's SHREK 2 is the current domestic record holder at $441m.

I have ICE AGE 4 as my most anticipated animation of 2012, but RISE OF THE GUARDIANS makes it tempting to revise that statement. The technical proficiency that DWA has acquired over the past 2 years is staggering. They are on par now with Pixar in my books and perhaps surpassing given their recent example of BRAVE (which I loved btw). Not all movies for these studios exhibit their best work of course, but for the most part DWA is rapidly going places. Pixar continues to excel and Sony and Fox seem to always surprise me with their creations. 

Will one of these movies surpass TOY STORY 3 ($1.06b worldwide)? I don't think so. But they will push it I'm sure.

Here's the official storyline:

RISE OF THE GUARDIANS, based on the forthcoming books by William Joyce, will be released on November 21, 2012. It's directed by Peter Ramsey and co-directed by Joyce. The film is being produced by Christina Steinberg (Bee Movie, National Treasure) and Nancy Bernstein, long-time head of Production at DreamWorks Animation. Rise of the Guardians is being written by Pulitzer Prize winner David Lindsay-Abaire and executive produced by Guillermo del Toro and Michael Siegel. Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Hugh Jackman, Isla Fisher and Jude Law stars. More than a collection of the well-known childhood legends, Rise of the Guardians is an epic adventure that tells the story of a group of heroes – each with extraordinary abilities. When an evil spirit known as Pitch lays down the gauntlet to take over the world, the immortal Guardians must join forces for the first time to protect the hopes, beliefs and imagination of children all over the world.

The characters are well thought out. The worldwide appeal will be staggering and kids will demand to see it. This is such an easy slam dunk for DWA! Kudos to the development team. And I know their Head of Layout - Damon O'beirne (KFP2) and execution by Stereographer Willem Drees will deliver a top flight 3D experience for us. Look at the content! Flying creatures and free flowing sand? The screen is going to soak up the 3D for us and swallow us whole. Trust me, this thing is set to go ballistic.

Yes, I'm kinda putting my neck out there - but I know a winner when I see it and I'm not afraid of saying it. You should know that by now. Bring on the holiday season DWA! :-)

RISE OF THE GUARDIANS opens on November 21.

Here's the trailer - ENJOY!

Dreamworks Animation Doing Awesome Thank You. Michael Morris Back Pedals

Jim here. I have got to laugh sometimes - especially at anyone who doubts the power of 3D. In this case it was a financial analyst with UBS by the name of Michael Morris who panned Dreamworks Animation as topping out. LOL. This was before they had released any 3D movies by the way!

Back in June, Morris stated: "We are downgrading the DreamWorks shares to Sell from Neutral reflecting our belief that the current share price exceeds the true intrinsic value of the company," analyst Michael Morris wrote in a note to clients.

Morris believes that -- at its current level -- DreamWorks' stock implies that all future films will gross more than $200 million domestically, which is above the company's historic average.

"The success of 'Kung Fu Panda' has generated increased enthusiasm for DreamWorks, but we now view the company's risk/reward profile as unattractive," Morris wrote. "Despite its strong opening weekend, we remind investors that they are buying all future films at a 'Kung Fu Panda' level performance at this point."

LOL. And where does this lead us? Here is his retraction today: UBS analyst Michael Morris upgraded the stock from "sell" to "neutral," "primarily based on updated assumptions for future DVD profitability." He explained: "Our revised assumptions reflect data provided by management reflecting both stable demand and pricing even in the current period of macro-economic weakness."

Someone needs to educate Mr. Morris that 3D brings in additional revenue and that you can legitimately tack on points because of it. He still hasn't acknowledged it whatsoever as far as I can see. Glad to see him getting back in line after hearing about how well Dreamworks Animation has done with DVD sales.

My recommendation? If you are buying stock, buy DWA stock. How could you do any worse by me? :-) DWA stock was up 25.2% yesterday after their awesome earnings call. Yes, Morris was asking questions during the call too, but didn't try to get too fancy...

Sources: MarketWatch, THR