This weekend Dreamworks’ Puss In Boots came in #1 at the box office and has seemingly cemented Guillermo del Toro’s future with the company. Del Toro collaborated with Puss in Boots’ filmmakers to a degree that he earned an executive producer credit on the picture. And now 24 Frames has revealed del Toro will be helping to develop another Dreamworks project Alma, based on the quirky little short you can view in full below:

With its plucky girl protagonist and creepy climactic twist, it’s little wonder del Toro has shown an interest in Alma. And it’s exciting to hear that Dreamworks is willing to take on something with a darker edge. Already Sunshine Cleaning scribe Megan Holley has been hired to flesh out the doll-centered short into a full-length feature, and the short’s creator Rodrigo Blaas, who has worked on a number of Pixar features including Up and Wall-E, has been slated to helm the film, which would likely follow little Alma’s adventures post snare.

Personally, the concept, look and del Toro’s involvement make this in-development animation something I’m eager to see. And it could provide a much-needed change in direction for Dreamworks, whose stock is steadily dropping in spite of Puss in Boots box office bravado. In fact, Rueters points out “DreamWorks Animation stock has dropped during each of the company’s film openings over the last 18 months, and $34 million is the slowest domestic start for any of those movies.” That period includes Kung Fu Panda 2, Megamind and Shrek Forever After. Is it possible that Dreamworks criticized strategy of spinning every successful film into a series of successive sequels is proving ultimately detrimental?

Are you interest in Alma? Are you exhausted by Dreamworks’ franchise-building?