Studio Mir, a South Korean animation studio, has signed a deal with DreamWorks Animation to produce up to four TV cartoon series over the next four years.
The Korean studio, known for the 2-D martial arts fantasy TV animation “The Legend of Korra,” said Thursday that it would work together with the Hollywood animation behemoth in planning and producing the series, each with 78 episodes.
The corporate logo of Studio Mir
“The contract with DreamWorks is meaningful since we will be working as partners,” Studio Mir founder and executive producer Yoo Jae-myung said.
“This has never been done before by a Korean studio.”
A Studio Mir spokesman said details regarding the titles of the cartoons could not be revealed, but that they would be in 2-D.
The two sides also plan to discuss the distribution of the series online and on DVD.
DreamWorks’ television production head Mark Taylor and director Joaquim Dos Santos visited Korea last month to plan the joint project.
Studio Mir’s “Legend of Korra” has gained high ratings on Nickelodeon, a U.S. cartoon cable channel.
Its premiere averaged 4.5 million viewers and was the network’s most-watched animated series in three years.
In July, the Korean studio participated in the San Diego Comic-Con 2014 to unveil the season three of “The Legend of Korra.”
DreamWorks Animation, headed by CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, is one of the biggest Hollywood animation studios along with Disney’s Pixar, and is known for its blockbuster hits such as “Shrek,” “Kung Fu Panda” and “How to Train Your Dragon.”
By Suk Gee-hyun (monicasuk@heraldcorp.com)
