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Pixar vs. DreamWorks Animation
I don't get why people still consider Pixar to be DWA's only rival. The whole thing held true ten years ago, but now? We have a resurgent Disney, we have Sony, Illumination, Warner Animation Group, Laika (who only has movies every couple of years, and admittedly they don't make much of a dent at the box office compared to the CGI stuff but they're good), and poor creatively-irrelevant Blue Sky.
I saw a comment on Deadline saying that DWA's movies aren't doing well because people are sick of seeing DreamWorks everywhere and Pixar only does one movie a year. But Disney is a brand that's everywhere and has been for a long time. I suppose DWA has more to prove than Disney (people are still largely stuck in 2006 and think they just crank out crappy Shrek clones), but still.
Comments
They're the best at making CG art
Hey, the original Ice Age was good, even if the plot was very similar to Monsters Inc. Though the way you put it, I guess you can't say the same about everything since.
I'll admit that I fell into that trap primarily since I only pay attention to DreamWorks and Pixar brand names. I never even heard of Laika until you pointed it out. Though I'm not sure if you only mean CGI, but I always liked Aardman Animations.
And yeah, DreamWorks is underrated. Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon are awesome, and the only Shrek movie I hated was the Third. I think people, especially fanboys, are stuck in the mentality that there's only room for one animation studio. And you're taking the word of Internet comments, which, to say the least, aren't a reliable source.
The original Ice Age was alright. I do think Blue Sky's work has a certain charm to it (except for Rio, which lays on the primary colors so thickly as to appear kind of primitive), it's just that nobody really pays attention to them.
I still need to watch KFP. I enjoyed HTTYD, but didn't think it was as amazing as people said. Maybe my expectations were too high.
Also, Laika made Coraline and ParaNorman...they have The Boxtrolls coming out in September.
I thought How To Train Your Dragon was pretty standard as far as plots go, but mostly appealing for its thrill factor and visuals, so I got what I expected. What were your expectations going in?
As for Kung Fu Panda, it clicked with me because I could definitely say it was a Chinese movie despite the (for the most part) American characters, something The Forbidden Kingdom failed to pull off. As a Buddhist, I enjoyed the spiritual themes of the second movie.
How To Train Your Dragon was pretty standard, but it was well-executed, acted, and believable. Like, there are dozens of "kid-trains-wild-pet" movies, but only this one made me want to be the kid.
Also I absolutely agree with your assessment of Kung Fu Panda, and appreciate it from a novice Daoist point of view.
People kept saying HTTYD was "as good as Pixar"...it was good, but not that good.
Also, I admit to worrying about what will happen to DWA once Jeffrey Katzenberg's contract expires in October 2017, provided he doesn't renew it again. I'm worried he'll sell the place to 21st Century Fox and that they will ruin it (look how stellar Blue Sky's track record is).