A few weeks ago, DreamWorks Animation CEO and moviemaker Jeffrey Katzenberg flew into Bangalore with a sealed can that contained the final print of Puss In Boots to show the film to the India team. The work is on a par with the highest standard of animation in the world and it matches DreamWorks tradition, Katzenberg is said to have told the team. 

The Indian crew included animators, lighting artists, special effects experts, atmosphere and volume metric experts, image rendering specialists, secondary animation experts for foliage, fur, hair, dust, fire, hay and particles, and simulation specialists for water, waves, wind, air, etc. 

The storyboard and a rough, pre-visualization sketch came from the DreamWorks studio in the US, while the team in India developed the entire layout, a framework that blocked space for each character frame-by-frame. 

Biren Ghose, country head of Technicolor, told TOI that the unit faced several challenges. For instance, screening rules had to be highly synchronized between India and the US for seamless picture quality, high resolution, colour accuracy and 3D stereoscopic effect. Also, DreamWorks uses only proprietary tools and software, making it tough for Indian talent to quickly get accustomed to it. Still we did it. 

DreamWorks Animation has globally released 23 movies including Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar, and How to Train Your Dragon. Bangalore had done some work for Madagascar 2. Many parts of Madagascar 3, scheduled for release in 2013, will be done out of here. 

Never too late to do the right thing, thats the message delivered by Puss in Boots key characters Puss, Kitty Softpaws and Humpty Dumpty, Ghose pointed out, suggesting that DreamWorks has done the right thing by getting work done in India. 

Its a nice beginning for the Indian animation industry. No one will again ask if the country can produce animation and special effects for a global audience. Such a question existed till a week ago (before the movie released), he said. 

Puss In Boots has already collected over $140 million, with the first weekend collection being $34 million, in the US. Other markets including Asia have collected another $89 million and the total box office volumes are expected to cross $400 million while an equivalent sum is expected from DVDs and TV syndication. 

Last year, Mumbai-based Crest Animation had worked for Alpha & Omega, a full-length movie from Disney. Disney had also worked with Prana Studios in Mumbai for the animated movie Tinker Bell. India is emerging as a destination for such work on account of both the availability of talent and the significantly lower costs, which some estimate is at least 40% less than in the US.