Disney and Imax are back in business together, inking a five-picture deal that commences a year from now with Robert Zemeckis’ 3-D holiday release “A Christmas Carol.” The Mouse House — the market leader in 3-D — has been noticeably absent when it comes to exploiting Imax screens, choosing instead to play its digital 3-D titles in conventional theaters only. Relations between Disney and Imax grew strained after the two partnered on “Fantasia 2000,” which celebrated the 40th anniversary of the acclaimed animated feature.

It’s a 3-D world, and Jeffrey Katzenberg thinks it’s time to reflect that on the big screen — and not just in animated films. “In five to seven years, all films, regardless of budgets or type, will be made in 3-D,” the DreamWorks Animation boss said Wednesday during his keynote at the inaugural 3DX Film and Entertainment Technology Festival. “3-D is how we see, how we take things in. It’s natural,” Katzenberg said. “This is not a gimmick, it’s an opportunity to immerse the audience, to heighten the experience.” He added that the migration to 3-D will happen on all screens, including mobile phones and laptops.

3-D stepped to the forefront at NAB on Monday. The entire day at the Content Theater was devoted to 3-D case studies and demonstrations, and technology partners DreamWorks Animation and Hewlett-Packard got into the act in a separate presentation. DreamWorks and HP also announced a new flat-panel monitor system, monikered DreamColor, aimed at providing ideal color fidelity for digital artists at one-quarter the cost of a high-end monitor.

Director James Cameron’s upcoming “Avatar” must rank as one of the most anticipated film projects in recent memory. His first narrative film since making the No. 1 box office hit of all time, 1997’s “Titanic,” “Avatar” will be the realization of Cameron’s long-held dream of melding digital 3-D stereo with epic bigscreen storytelling. Variety’s David S. Cohen conducted this email interview with Cameron, which is the director’s most extensive exploration of 3-D to date.