DreamWorks stuff

It's kinda sad that people automatically assume that Dream Works films are considered to be automatically crap, especially when stuff like Mega Mind and How To Train Your Dragon are shown to be smart and actually fun.

What's hilarious is that there are actually people who think their trailers are true.

Megamind was nothing more than Monsters vs. Aliens 2 with an incredibly stupid lead. Had they actually tried to make him a villain (my idea to establish this: have him kill Roxanne in the first scene, then keep the body around and make him a necrophiliac), then it would have worked.

I think that's a WEE BIT too dark an idea to fly in an all publics movie.

But also, I was hoping that the film would be like The Dark Knight as a cartoon (with Megamind being The Joker).

Erm not really. That would ruin the whole unique take of the film. Mega Mind works because it's not some lame dark-hero type that's been used a lot. Here it twists the Lex Luthor persona and makes it work.

And Monsters Vs Aliens was a take on Kaiju, this was about Super Hero.

I want to see the movie because it looks very comedic, and the premise sounds interesting to me. I am a bit apprehensive about the some of the V As Dream Works chose, though.

But the dumb villain concept has been used way too many times before (see Monsters vs. Aliens). For once, I want to see them make the villain as smart as the hero and absolutely cold and ruthless.

Also, I expected Metro Man to be a character whose friendly superhero persona was entirely played and he was actually a self-centered egomaniac who believed himself to be a god. This would lead to the audience to become unsure who the hero really is.

edited 21st Feb '11 10:54:43 AM by Buscemi

1: Never saw Mosnters VS aliens or How to train your dragon

2: Pretty cool idea, but not for a childrens film, you know.

3: I saw Megamind and I consider it to be one of the best movies of 2020.

edited 21st Feb '11 1:22:11 PM by NONAMEGIVEN

I've always saw Dreamworks as a rival to Pixar. What annoys me about the studio is that Dreamworks adds stuff to their films that feel like that they really shouldn't have been added in to begin with. Even if it was called for it shouldn't have been done with. Most of the time it often hits the mark of that they cannot decide if this project should be for kids or for adults only. I think Shark Tale sums it up perfectly. I got a theory that it was planned out as a PG 13 film, but Dreamworks decided to make it more of a copy-cat of Finding Nemo.

The only films I've seen that I have enjoyed out of them are Chicken Run, Wallace and gromit: the curse of the wererabbit, and How to Train Your dragon.

I enjoy, of their output: The Road To El Dorado Mega Mind Kung Fu Panda Madagascar HTTYD Shrek 1, 2, and 4 (3 kinda sucked)

I don't understand the hate for Shrek The Third (I saw it before it opened and thought it was better than Shrek 2). Now Shrek Forever After, that deserves to be hated (it's an awful reboot designed to save the franchise but fails badly, also Frumpy Pigskin was a weak villain).

Shrek The Third suffers from such a badly done ending. So the villains decide to stop being bad when they have the victory all in their hands... only because Arthur gives them the most trite, most cliche short syrupy speech in all animation. That's it. Yeah. Sure.

edited 21st Feb '11 5:23:33 PM by NapoleonDeCheese

I've found that the difference between Pixar and Dream Works is that Pixar tries to make awesome movies. If they make a merely tolerable movie, they've failed (Cars, Ratatouille). If they make an awesome movie, they've succeeded (Bug's Life, Toy Story). If they make a REALLY awesome movie, they've gone above and beyond the call of duty (WALL-E, Up, Toy Story 3, The Incredibles, Monster's Inc).

Dreamworks tries to make tolerable movies. If they make an unwatchable movie, they've failed (Shrek 3, Shark Tale). If they make a tolerable movie, they've succeeded (Bee Movie, Madagascar 2, Shrek 2, How To Train Your Dragon). If they make an awesome movie, they've gone above and beyond the call of duty (Madagascar, Shrek, Megamind).

My ranking of the Dream Works movies, in terms of how much I've enjoyed them, from best to worst:

1. Kung Fu Panda.

2. Shrek2.

3. Mega Mind.

4. Shrek.

5. Madagascar.

6. Madagascar 2.

7. Bee Movie.

8. Shrek Forever After.

9. Shrek The Third.

10. Shark Tale.

I'm not including the Aardman movies because I think they deserve a separate rating. Haven't watched How To Train Your Dragon and Monsters Vs Aliens yet.

This just proves how so many people forget Over The Hedge. It's quite possibly one of their least ambitious films yet at the same time felt full of heart.

I haven't seen a whole lot of Dream Works, but what I have has been a whole lot of "meh". I'm hoping How To Train Your Dragon, Despicable Me, and Mega Mind will turn that opinion around, because I've heard they're good.

But my favorite movie of theirs? The Prince Of Egypt, hands down. I don't consider myself a very faithful person, but that's a really good movie, IMO. Heck, you don't really need to be a faithful person to appreciate it. (Because I heard they took a few liberties with the story. XD )

edited 22nd Feb '11 5:04:12 AM by PrincessGwenevere

I liked How To Train Your Dragon and Kung Fu Panda substantially more than most Pixar movies released around the same time as those.

Despicable Me was not made by Dream Works.

And all you people should see How To Train Your Dragon! It is nowhere as similar to other Dream Works films, and could rise to the top 5 of your lists.

Oh. Well fail on my part then. ^^; I have no clue why I thought that was Dream Works...

I heard How To Train Your Dragon was good, if predictable. But Kung Fu Panda was pretty boring to me, though.

edited 22nd Feb '11 9:08:36 AM by PrincessGwenevere

Sorry, that's right, I forgot Over The Hedge. At my list, I'd rank it between Madagascar and Madagascar 2.

I didn't count their hand drawn movies, but from those I've seen, from best to worst:

1. The Road To El Dorado.

2. The Prince Of Egypt.

3. Sinbad.

edited 22nd Feb '11 9:19:56 AM by NapoleonDeCheese

I thought Sinbad was pretty decent. It's not worse than Spirit.

It WAS pretty decent. But the other two movies were still better.

Never watched Spirit, sorry.

As I've said on a few other Dreamworks threads, aside from Shark Tale, I think most of their best films are those they immediately passed off as "failed" or shouldn't garner a sequel. Monsters Vs Aliens, Mega Mind, Over The Hedge for instance were awesome stand alone films while Bee Movie was...fairly tolerable.

I couldn't stand Bee Movie. Just so much... stupid.

edited 22nd Feb '11 10:46:02 AM by PrincessGwenevere

It's a shame how little love their hand-drawn animation gets, aside from the odd horsey people who like Spirit. Although I suppose The Road To El Dorado does have its little cult fanbase running around.