Although children could likely care less which studio releases their upcoming animated films, it certainly means a lot in Hollywood and today a major development occured as DreamWorks Animation have announced who they will partner with for distribution. The company which is behind the Shrek and Kung Fu Panda series, as well as the recent critical darling How to Train Your Dragon, was working with Paramount Pictures, but now The Wrap reports that with that deal ending, they’ve found a new home at 20th Century Fox.

The deal will last for five years at Fox and stretch to everything from marketing and distribution in international and domestic markets. This comes after the news that Paramount was ramping up their animation slate with the likes of J.J. Abrams and more, one of the reasons why Dreamworks didn’t continue their deal with the studio. This new Fox and DreamWorks deal will kick off in 2013, which marks November’s Rise of the Guardians as the last hurrah for Paramount.

With other titles such as How to Train Your Dragon and Kung Fu Panda sequels, as well as the original properties of The Croods and Turbo, there’s no telling if Fox will be adjusting the release calendar. They recently released the fourth Ice Age film, which was a massive hit, as well as last year’s Rio, both from Blue Sky Studios. As we wait for more news, check out a statement from  DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg below.

[Fox Co-Chairmen] Jim Gianopulos and Tom Rothman have built a world-class distribution team and we are excited to apply their expertise, robust infrastructure and global resources so that DreamWorks Animation’s films can reach their fullest possible potential over the next five years.

Starting in 2013, DreamWorks Animation content will be distributed in the more traditional markets under a fee structure that is similar to our existing arrangement with our current distributor. However, our new agreement with Fox presents more favorable economics overall for DreamWorks Animation because we are taking advantage of lower costs associated with the emerging digital distribution landscape and managing domestic television distribution in-house.

Are you happy with Dreamworks Animation films now at Fox?