LA, May 20: As theater curtains rose on "Shrek 2" on Wednesday, another rollout was taking place in stores and supermarkets nationwide that could be just as big and maybe even greener than the animated ogre's film sequel. The DreamWorks studio, which tapped a $455 million box- office gold mine with "Shrek," the tale of a wise-cracking green ogre who falls in love, unveiled hundreds of toys, snacks, computer games and other products meant to reap millions of dollars in movie-related product sales. The product marketing push is the largest in the 10-year-old studio's history. It comes as talk swirls in Hollywood and on Wall Street that principals Steven Spielberg, David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg are considering selling stock in the studio's animation unit through an initial public offering later this year.

Such a move would let Microsoft Corp. co-founder Paul Allen cash out his DreamWorks stake at a time he is believed to be looking for cable television acquisitions. A DreamWorks spokesman declined to comment.

"We don't know if there's going to be a definitive stock offer of the animation unit or not, yet, and it's not even clear if it will be just animation or the whole studio," said Hal Vogel, New York-based fund manager and media analyst. "A lot will depend on market conditions."

Like others, Vogel said DreamWorks animation has a big year ahead of it with another computer-animated film, "Shark Tale," and a computer-animated television show, "Father of the Pride" on NBC, both scheduled for audiences this fall.


"Shrek 2," praised by critics and audiences, should bolster the animation unit after box-office disappointments with 2002's "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron" and last year's "Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas."
Bureau Report