So I'm sure some of you will remember the huge review series I did last year for Disney's 100th anniversary. And I had so much fun doing that, I felt like doing another one... and coincidentally, this year marks the 30th anniversary of Disney's biggest modern animation rival: DreamWorks Animation.
First, a little history lesson: Disney executive Jeffrey Katzenberg, after both betting against The Lion King in favor of Pocahontas and his Executive Meddling resulting in a disastrous early cut of Toy Story colloquially known as the "Black Friday" cut, left the company to pursue new ventures. Together with Steven Spielberg and record label owner David Geffen, he founded the independent film studio DreamWorks SKG in 1994, which has produced films such as Gladiator, The Ring, Lincoln, and the Transformers Film Series, along with its associated animation studio. The animation studio split off from the main DreamWorks studio in 2004, though both currently operate under the ownership of NBCUniversal, after multiple moves between owners over the years for both. Katzenberg hoped to make a studio with a distinct identity from Disney and Pixar, one more outwardly edgy and adult while still not excluding kids as an audience, and I'd say that for the most part he succeeded. While not without its ups and downs, DreamWorks has cemented its place in the modern animation landscape, so let's take a look at their iconic and not-so-iconic films and characters.
The Independent Era (1998 - 2005)
Okay, DreamWorks doesn't really have "official" era markers like the Disney Animated Canon, but they have hopped between distributors a few times, and those times has somewhat reflected their current status, so let's use that to set them apart. These are the films distributed independently by the studio themselves Day 1 - Antz (1998)
April 17
The studio's first film, and only the third fully computer-animated film ever made (the first two being Toy Story, of course, and a lesser-known Brazillian animated film called Cassiopeia
).
This film is rather infamous for its production history; namely, whether or not it was an intentional ripoff of A Bug's Life out of spite by Katzenberg towards Pixar. There's plenty of evidence to suggest either side; what I think is most likely is that Katzenberg heard about the early ideas for A Bug's Life while at Disney and thought the idea of an animated film about ants was a good idea, but beyond that the two films are very different, so I wouldn't say it could be considered a ripoff, merely just a borrowed concept. As a film by itself... this is rather good. It's definitely a lot Darker and Edgier than A Bug's Life, with themes like war, death, political corruption, worker revolts, seeking individualism within the apathetic masses, plenty of swearing and mild sexual themes... this is definitely not a typical kids' movie like you might expect. The visuals, while a bit dated, are still rather good. While the texures are quite rubbery, the actual animation is nice, the lighting and color choices make for a uniquely bleak and oppressive atmosphere to reflect the environment of the ant hill, and the character designs are nicely sharp and rough to create a unique look, especially compared to A Bugs' Life's mostly softer and cartoony vibe. The crowd shots are especially amazing for 1998 CGI, seeing thousands of ants together like that is something even Pixar struggled to do. The characters are largely one-note based on the archetypes of the actors playing them, but they're well-written to serve the story, just not all that memorable beyond just being "Woody Allen Ant", "Sylvester Stallone Ant", "Jennifer Lopez Ant", "Danny Glover Ant", etcetera. Gene Hackman's evil Social Darwinist general is probably the most overtly complex of the bunch, but even he isn't all too much to write home about. The weird exception to the "actor archetype" angle is Christopher Walken as his Number Two, though. You'd think from that casting that he'd be the comedic sidekick, but no, he's played oddly straight within the story... contrasting with Walken's signature offbeat delivery. The use of humans is also pretty neat, leading to some fun action setpieces via a Humans Are Cthulhu depiction. Overall, like A Bug's Life, Antz is a good early film in an iconic studio's library, but not one that particularly stands out compared to their other output. Which one is better, in my opinion? I honestly couldn't say, like I said, they're much more different than the shared general premise would suggest. Next up is a film where Katzenberg shows how DreamWorks can play in a Disneyesque ballpark but still definitely put their own unique spin on things.
The studio's first film, and only the third fully computer-animated film ever made (the first two being Toy Story, of course, and a lesser-known Brazillian animated film called Cassiopeia
).This film is rather infamous for its production history; namely, whether or not it was an intentional ripoff of A Bug's Life out of spite by Katzenberg towards Pixar. There's plenty of evidence to suggest either side; what I think is most likely is that Katzenberg heard about the early ideas for A Bug's Life while at Disney and thought the idea of an animated film about ants was a good idea, but beyond that the two films are very different, so I wouldn't say it could be considered a ripoff, merely just a borrowed concept. As a film by itself... this is rather good. It's definitely a lot Darker and Edgier than A Bug's Life, with themes like war, death, political corruption, worker revolts, seeking individualism within the apathetic masses, plenty of swearing and mild sexual themes... this is definitely not a typical kids' movie like you might expect. The visuals, while a bit dated, are still rather good. While the texures are quite rubbery, the actual animation is nice, the lighting and color choices make for a uniquely bleak and oppressive atmosphere to reflect the environment of the ant hill, and the character designs are nicely sharp and rough to create a unique look, especially compared to A Bugs' Life's mostly softer and cartoony vibe. The crowd shots are especially amazing for 1998 CGI, seeing thousands of ants together like that is something even Pixar struggled to do. The characters are largely one-note based on the archetypes of the actors playing them, but they're well-written to serve the story, just not all that memorable beyond just being "Woody Allen Ant", "Sylvester Stallone Ant", "Jennifer Lopez Ant", "Danny Glover Ant", etcetera. Gene Hackman's evil Social Darwinist general is probably the most overtly complex of the bunch, but even he isn't all too much to write home about. The weird exception to the "actor archetype" angle is Christopher Walken as his Number Two, though. You'd think from that casting that he'd be the comedic sidekick, but no, he's played oddly straight within the story... contrasting with Walken's signature offbeat delivery. The use of humans is also pretty neat, leading to some fun action setpieces via a Humans Are Cthulhu depiction. Overall, like A Bug's Life, Antz is a good early film in an iconic studio's library, but not one that particularly stands out compared to their other output. Which one is better, in my opinion? I honestly couldn't say, like I said, they're much more different than the shared general premise would suggest. Next up is a film where Katzenberg shows how DreamWorks can play in a Disneyesque ballpark but still definitely put their own unique spin on things.
Day 2 - The Prince of Egypt (1998)
April 20
"With this staff, you will perform My wonders."
A beautiful, emotional Epic Movie based upon the Book of Exodus... and rather boldly so, as it is very faithful to the story, no holds barred. This certainly ain't VeggieTales, that's for sure (which, fun fact, DreamWorks actually also owns). The animation is breathtaking, on par with Disney's best efforts. While not all of the CGI integration has aged the best, the sheer spectacle of how it's used to portray the miracles and plagues more than makes up for it. The voice cast is excellent, boasting the likes of Val Kilmer, Ralph Fiennes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sandra Bullock, Jeff Goldblum, Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Patrick Stewart, all performing their absolute best. The focus on the relationship between Moses and Rameses is a great angle to take with this version, adding a ton of character depth and raw emotion to both of them. The scene where Moses hands back the ring to Rameses especially stands out, with him displaying all sorts of conflicting emotion on his face within a few seconds without saying a single word. The fact that, like I mentioned, nothing about the story is sugarcoated for kids is very commendable; not only is stuff like the slaying of the firstborn present, but we see it happen. In an era where Hunchback of Notre Dame got away with a G rating, this definitely earned its PG. The cinematography is amazing, knowing just how to frame each scene to elicit the maximum amount of awe, wonder, and terror. The awe-inspining music by Hans Zimmer manages to be the charry on top of it all. This is an absolutely incredible film all around, and definitely hard to believe this is the same studio famous for things like belching ogres, crazy penguins, and rotund pandas. Next time, we move on to another traditionally animated film... though thankfully one much lighter.
"With this staff, you will perform My wonders."
A beautiful, emotional Epic Movie based upon the Book of Exodus... and rather boldly so, as it is very faithful to the story, no holds barred. This certainly ain't VeggieTales, that's for sure (which, fun fact, DreamWorks actually also owns). The animation is breathtaking, on par with Disney's best efforts. While not all of the CGI integration has aged the best, the sheer spectacle of how it's used to portray the miracles and plagues more than makes up for it. The voice cast is excellent, boasting the likes of Val Kilmer, Ralph Fiennes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sandra Bullock, Jeff Goldblum, Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Patrick Stewart, all performing their absolute best. The focus on the relationship between Moses and Rameses is a great angle to take with this version, adding a ton of character depth and raw emotion to both of them. The scene where Moses hands back the ring to Rameses especially stands out, with him displaying all sorts of conflicting emotion on his face within a few seconds without saying a single word. The fact that, like I mentioned, nothing about the story is sugarcoated for kids is very commendable; not only is stuff like the slaying of the firstborn present, but we see it happen. In an era where Hunchback of Notre Dame got away with a G rating, this definitely earned its PG. The cinematography is amazing, knowing just how to frame each scene to elicit the maximum amount of awe, wonder, and terror. The awe-inspining music by Hans Zimmer manages to be the charry on top of it all. This is an absolutely incredible film all around, and definitely hard to believe this is the same studio famous for things like belching ogres, crazy penguins, and rotund pandas. Next time, we move on to another traditionally animated film... though thankfully one much lighter.
Day 3 - The Road to El Dorado (2000)
April 22
Beloved cult classic or underrated comedy gem? Both. Both is good.
Road to El Dorado is just a fun little movie that I'm glad has been getting more recognition as time has gone on. It was a huge bomb upon release, going with the pattern of traditionally animated films around the Turn of the Millennium, and even got a massive critical thrashing even by the animators themselves, who didn't exactly have a great time making it. I can't really understand that reception though, the movie is so very enjoyable from beginning to end. The humor is great, supplemented by incredibly fluid character animations and very snappy dialogue. The setting of El Dorado is colorful and gorgeous to look at, with imaginative architecture and creatures inhabiting it. The characters are simple, but fun and likable, with great comedic performances by Kevin Kline and Kenneth Branagh as the lovably roguish leads. Chel is a fun sidekick for her memorable sass, guile, and, uh... other reasons. The plot of masquerading as gods to pull off a con is incredibly fun, and it doesn't go into the cliched Liar Revealed plot by the end, which I can appreciate. Only the villain outright figures out the deception, and it's subtly implied the chief did as well, but chose not to say anything, which was a fascinating angle to go with. The songs from Elton John are nice and catchy, but not too memorable compared to most of Disney's. In fact, this movie feels like it's probably the most outwardly Disneyesque of DreamWorks's library, it's got a feel similar to their more comedy-oriented works like Aladdin and Hercules (in fact, Katzenberg brought on a lot of the people who worked on those films). It's definitely got a lot of its own identity to help it stand out from them, though, so that's not really a bad thing. My one complaint is that the CGI integration... isn't great. I pointed out how Prince of Egypt was showing its age a bit on that front, but El Dorado has aged even worse in that area without Egypt's awe-inspiring spectacle to make up for it, but hey, that's a rather minor complaint. This is just an incredibly fun time all around. Next up, we switch animation mediums again for the beginning of DreamWorks's short-lived foray into stop-motion animation.
Beloved cult classic or underrated comedy gem? Both. Both is good.
Road to El Dorado is just a fun little movie that I'm glad has been getting more recognition as time has gone on. It was a huge bomb upon release, going with the pattern of traditionally animated films around the Turn of the Millennium, and even got a massive critical thrashing even by the animators themselves, who didn't exactly have a great time making it. I can't really understand that reception though, the movie is so very enjoyable from beginning to end. The humor is great, supplemented by incredibly fluid character animations and very snappy dialogue. The setting of El Dorado is colorful and gorgeous to look at, with imaginative architecture and creatures inhabiting it. The characters are simple, but fun and likable, with great comedic performances by Kevin Kline and Kenneth Branagh as the lovably roguish leads. Chel is a fun sidekick for her memorable sass, guile, and, uh... other reasons. The plot of masquerading as gods to pull off a con is incredibly fun, and it doesn't go into the cliched Liar Revealed plot by the end, which I can appreciate. Only the villain outright figures out the deception, and it's subtly implied the chief did as well, but chose not to say anything, which was a fascinating angle to go with. The songs from Elton John are nice and catchy, but not too memorable compared to most of Disney's. In fact, this movie feels like it's probably the most outwardly Disneyesque of DreamWorks's library, it's got a feel similar to their more comedy-oriented works like Aladdin and Hercules (in fact, Katzenberg brought on a lot of the people who worked on those films). It's definitely got a lot of its own identity to help it stand out from them, though, so that's not really a bad thing. My one complaint is that the CGI integration... isn't great. I pointed out how Prince of Egypt was showing its age a bit on that front, but El Dorado has aged even worse in that area without Egypt's awe-inspiring spectacle to make up for it, but hey, that's a rather minor complaint. This is just an incredibly fun time all around. Next up, we switch animation mediums again for the beginning of DreamWorks's short-lived foray into stop-motion animation.
Day 4 - Chicken Run (2000)
April 28
"NO CHICKEN ESCAPES FROM TWEEDY'S FARM!!!"
The first of three collaborations between DreamWorks and British stop-motion studio Aardman Animations, and it's a delight. Chock-full of typical British humor and charm with the very funny premise of basically being a WWII prison escape movie WITH CHICKENS ON A FARM! As a kid, though, that aspect didn't really stick out to me, I just saw it as a silly chicken movie, but now being able to recognize the WWII imagery being used added a whole other layer to the humor. The plot and characters are rather simple, but enjoyable, especially Mrs. Tweedy, who radiates classical Disney villain-type energy. The animation is fantastic, a true testament to Aardman's talents in stop-motion. I didn't see the sequel that apparently came out on Netflix last year, might give it a try at some point, but the original Chicken Run is a fun little movie. Next up, we're delving into probably DreamWorks's most obscure film ever, so that'll be neat.
"NO CHICKEN ESCAPES FROM TWEEDY'S FARM!!!"
The first of three collaborations between DreamWorks and British stop-motion studio Aardman Animations, and it's a delight. Chock-full of typical British humor and charm with the very funny premise of basically being a WWII prison escape movie WITH CHICKENS ON A FARM! As a kid, though, that aspect didn't really stick out to me, I just saw it as a silly chicken movie, but now being able to recognize the WWII imagery being used added a whole other layer to the humor. The plot and characters are rather simple, but enjoyable, especially Mrs. Tweedy, who radiates classical Disney villain-type energy. The animation is fantastic, a true testament to Aardman's talents in stop-motion. I didn't see the sequel that apparently came out on Netflix last year, might give it a try at some point, but the original Chicken Run is a fun little movie. Next up, we're delving into probably DreamWorks's most obscure film ever, so that'll be neat.
