Column: Is Netflix the next HBO?

This is not just kid stuff: Shrek, the ogre hero of the “Shrek” movie franchise, will have his future adventures in A Land Far Far Away from cable television, namely on the Internet subscription service Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX).

And, thanks to the new deal announced Monday between Netflix and DreamWorks Animation (NASDAQ:DWA), Shrek will be joined by many new and old animated friends from the big and small screens.

That is, the agreement doesn’t just cover rights to current big-screen DreamWorks franchises like “Madagascar” and “Kung Fu Panda.”

Thanks to the animation company’s recent acquisition of the huge Classic Media Library, it also includes “Rocky & Bullwinkle,” “Casper the Friendly Ghost,” “Lassie,” “Mr. Magoo,” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”