Synergy!!

In case you missed it, this morning's Daily Variety tells of a new alliance between DreamWorks Animation and Nickelodeon, turning some of DreamWorks's theatrical hits -- both current and prospective -- into what all parties hope will be small-screen gold...

This kind of thing has gone on like forever. Disney, of course, has transformed the Winnie-the-Pooh featurettes from the sixties into long-running television shows, also "The Little Mermaid," "Aladdin," and currently "The Emperor's New Groove." And it has a fine cottage-industry making DVD sequels to its theatrical library.*

Klasky-Csupo -- a half-dozen years ago -- went in the other direction, turning animated television shows into animated theatrical features. (Disney had less success with this particular wrinkle.) And then there is "Scooby Doo," who lives on in DVD features, theatrical live-action features and endless numbers of t.v. half-hours.

(On the live-action side, theatrical features turning into boffo television series has been much more hit-and-miss. There have been two failed attempts to turn "Casablanca" into tv episodics. OTOH, M*A*S*H became a long-running television blockbuster.)

*Recently, Disney Toons had a sequel to "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" in development, centered, I think, on the Dwarfs. From what I've been told, it might not be made, and that's a shame. I think the boys and girls are missing a bet if they don't turn Dopey, Sneezy, Bashful, Grumpy et al into action heroes. ("C-c-c-cover m-m-m-e Grumps! I'm going in!")