Netflix keeps upping the ante when it comes to original content. The streaming service just recently struck a deal with DreamWorks Animation that will give it rights to exclusively stream an entirely new Voltron series, as well as a new series by Guillermo del Toro.
Voltron began life in the 1980s as an anime series, Voltron: Defender of the Universe, about a team of astronauts that pilot a giant robot. The series was one of the top-rated children's shows at the time and spawned other series and comic books.
DreamWorks bought the rights for Voltron several years ago and now plans on working with Netflix to reimagine the show on the streaming service.
Netflix also plans on working with DreamWorks on a new series by del Toro for children called Trollhunters, which follows two friends who "make a startling discovery beneath their hometown." That discovery is trolls, which the children must hunt to protect their town. The show finds inspiration from a book that del Toro wrote with Daniel Kraus.
"I wanted very much to develop a story that could be written for kids but dealt with a genre that was scary," said del Toro to the Hollywood Reporter in 2010. "It essentially combines fairy tales with modern times and is about how difficult it is to be kid. Normally, kids are idealized in animated films. But the growing pains, married with the notion that there is a world right next to us that is completely plagued by creatures of ancient lore, it's thematically fitting with the rest of my stuff."
The agreement between Netflix and DreamWorks also gives Netflix the rights to the company's animated film library, as well as its other series for kids, including The Adventures of Puss in Boots, Dinotrux and Dragons: Race to the Edge.
"This agreement adds to the incredible foundation we've built together with Netflix over a number of years across both film and television," said Ann Daly, president of DreamWorks Animation. "We are proud to work closely with Netflix to continue delivering high-quality programming to audiences around the world."
Netflix expanded its original content this year, with more family-friendly programming added to its service, including A Series of Unfortunate Events, a show based on the Lemony Snicket children's books.
