Animation: The Dreaded Dreamworks

 



“It seems to me as if most of the traditional narrative animation is endlessly repeating itself. With minor variations, the form seems to have been set a long time ago.”

- Jean Detheux

I remember being in the theatre a few weeks ago for Disney’s live action “Cinderella” and what really struck me is just how similar all of the movie trailers were. Safe, predictable, marketable. Especially the Dreamworks computer animated pictures. UGH. Talk about groan-worthy.

We see the same glossy, slick style of animation, the same goofy story with glib cynical characters. I dreaded each one, exchanging eye rolls with my mother who sat next to me. Having seen several DreamWorks movies in the past few years, I'd say the experience is similar to eating cotton candy: pretty to look at but no substance. 

Sitting in the theatre was painful as we watched a parade of "Here is the one with monsters and a fart joke! And the next one with aliens and a burping joke!" These films sell, though, and seem to encourage the same style, endlessly repeating until someone takes a risk and tries something different. These movies seem to be following in the style of “Shrek” with it’s animation style and crude, cynical humor, which was interesting and different at the time, but now just completely worn out.

I believe that DreamWorks began on this path of mediocrity around somewhere after the success of "Shrek" and has continued up until this point.

DreamWorks IS capable of making BEAUTFUL films. For example, their crowning achievement, I believe, is "The Prince of Egypt" in 1999. This is a film with gorgeous animation, innovative sequences and just some really cool ideas (how rather than casting one actor, the film combined the voices of all of the cast to create the voice of God? What a great idea!) And talk about daring, given the subject matter. I've not seen anything this sophisticated or outstanding from DreamWorks since. 

A string of successful pictures followed and hit a high point with "Shrek" in 2001. The success of these movies seemed to drop following "Shrek 2," which was not as successful as it's predecessor. Afterwards, forgettable and similar-looking bombs like "Fish Tale," "Flushed Away" and "Over the Hedge" have cemented DreamWorks with a reputation as an animation company stuck with a certain style. Just look at not only how similar the animation is, but even the style of the character's faces in promotional posters!

The Face of DreamWorks? I'm sensing a pattern here...


 However,  I did recently see a DreamWorks film that gave me hope for the future of the company. Trailers for the film "Rise of the Guardians" was another eyeroll-producing groaner for me. "Not another one," I thought. My friend finally sold me on the idea of watching it. And while this is still 3D animation that is still the DreamWorks style, the ideas in this story were just phenomenal! How creative! Original and interesting! I was blown away by the execution and imagination of this movie. This movie gives me hope that DreamWorks might be able to break free of their mold, because if they can provide very creative stories, they can perhaps someday escapes this look that they have been saddled with and try something new.