"Cheese!"

Aardman Features, the British studio behind my favorite turophiliac and his hound – "Wallace & Gromit" – has disassociated itself from DreamWorks Animation and inked a deal with Sony. Apparently Flushed Away didn't make enough money so the two studios parted ways.

DreamWorks pulled out of its five-picture deal with Aardman in January following a hugely disappointing performance for last fall’s "Flushed Away," a CG toon the two co-produced. Jeffrey Katzenberg-led studio had to take a writedown on the pic, which cost more than $130 million and grossed only $179 million worldwide.

I am genuinely surprised at this considering that The Dulcinea and her kids have each seen the film multiple times and now have it on DVD. So, how will this deal affect us fans?

Aardman co-founder and exec chairman David Sproxton said: "We know from experience that we create our best work when we do it from our home base here in Bristol, using first-class talent from the nation and around the world."

That’s a reference to Aardman’s less-than-satisfactory experience making "Flushed Away" in partnership with DWA in Los Angeles. Both sides were creatively frustrated even before the pic opened.

British studio made clear, however, that it expects to have less creative input and interference from Sony than it had from DreamWorks.

Sony and Aardman have not yet settled on their first movie, although Aardman execs say four scripts are already in advanced stages of development, including a "Wallace & Gromit" sequel from director Nick Park.

Woo hoo!