Dreamworks Animation has announced a first-look development and directing deal with Joel Crawford, who directed its recent feature The Croods: A New Age. The deal cements a relationship between Crawford and the studio that stretches back more than a decade. Joining Dreamworks in 2006, Crawford cut his teeth as a story artist on Trolls, Shrek Ever After, Rise of The Guardians, the Kung Fu Panda trilogy, and Bee Movie. He graduated to directing with the 2017 Christmas special Trolls Holiday Special, and made his feature directorial debut with the Croods sequel. The Spongebob Movie: Sponge out of Water, Fox’s Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, Warner Bros.’s