The big green cartoon character Shrek is the best known face of Dreamworks Animation, but it was another kind of green – money – that was of interest as the shares in the studio started trading on the New York Stock Exchange. One of Dreamworks founders director Steven Spielberg rang the bell to open the Wall Street exchange.

As soon as the shares started trading they shot up over 40%. This week’s initial public offering of 29 million shares raised over 635 million euros. The money will be used to produce new films and challenge Pixar, the other big name in animation. For those who bought the shares, the return on their investment will depend on the studio’s ability to regularly repeat the success of such hits as Chicken Run and the two Shrek movies. Dreamworks Animation has only been profitable in one of the last three years.

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