My 10 Favorite DreamWorks Movies
When I first joined Tumblr one of the first few posts I made was a "Best of DreamWorks" where I just pasted a bunch of images from the movies I liked the most.
After seeing the new Puss In Boots movie and seeing all the love it's been getting I thought it would be nice to revisit the list, but this time actually talking about why I like these movies so much.
Just wanna say real quick, If you're coming here wondering if "Shark Tale" will be on the top 5 and how I'm gonna defend my case about it, you lower these expectations right now. This is gonna be a super boring list. My favorites are everyone's favorites.
The only thing I can bring up is why I myself like them, and hopefully, I can bring up unique enough reasons for it. I've always been a fan of this company, mostly because I really respect how many risks they take with the premises of their stories.
I always like to believe that there is no such thing as a bad idea, only a bad execution, and DreamWorks proves that by never being afraid of giving a chance to the weirdest of ideas, and when the execution pays off, it pays off greatly!
So which ideas did I feel were executed the best?
10 . The Bad Guys
First things, first. "Good Tonight" is a freaking awesome song and everyone should give it a listen.
The idea of bad guys is "what if we tried to make the meanest-looking animals that people are familiar with into the heroes of our story?"
Animals like snakes, sharks, spiders, and so on, things that are known for being very dangerous and scary, but placed into the roles of bandits that go on heists while running away from the police.
I always call this the "Not Sly Cooper" movie, because that's exactly what I feel a Sly Cooper movie would be like. Tons of animal-acting-like-human jokes, fun cartoonish heists and car chases, and some nice morals about what it means to be a thief and what it means to be a hero.
Bad Guys is a very charming movie. The characters are all likable, many of the jokes are funny, and the way the movie looks with its blend of 2D and 3D is just amazing. The scene where they are escaping from prison with the help of a "mysterious ninja" being my favorite part.
The only problem I have is that I feel having both a shark and a piranha in the cast was kinda redundant. I would have replaced the piranha with a bat so they would have a scary flying animal instead of two scary water animals. Plus, imagining a bat singing "Good Tonight" just feels like a funnier visual to me.
9. Megamind
"Presentation!!"
The idea for Megamind is rather simple, show what happens when the villain does beat the hero.
I feel like this movie did a good job showing how the fun of working hard can sometimes feel more rewarding than the fun of actually winning, kinda sending a sweet message about the futility of cheating.
I also like how over-the-top Megamind himself is with how he treats all his evil actions as some grand spectacle. Doesn't matter if he's winning or losing, this dude always looks like he's having a lot of fun treating these hero vs villain battles as some sort of playtime with his best friend.
You're basically watching a kid's imagination of what these fights would look like from someone who grew up watching way too many cartoons. Tons of cheesy one-liners, tons of dramatic speeches, tons of last-second twists, and of course, tons of big explosive action.
And it's also fun seeing Megamind's fantasy of what a hero vs villain scenario looks like slowly dying once he meets Titan and how differently he treats this whole thing compared to MetroMan.
The one problem I had was the way the character of Roxane was treated. It felt like they were trying to make her more than just "the girlfriend" and give her more depth, but in the end, her biggest role in the climax was still needing to be saved and serving as emotional support for the main character. Also, the way she was basically catfished by Megamind always made me very uncomfortable, especially when thinking that kids might be watching this and learning from this.
It wasn't too awful, but I felt they could have done more with her.
8. Spirit
"What if we made a movie about the adventures of a horse?"
This one is kinda hard to describe why I like it. I think the reason is that it feels... How do I put it... Honest? Real? Genuine?
Whenever Spirit goes through an emotion it always feels earned. When he's sad, you're sad, when he's angry, you're angry, and when he's celebrating after succeeding in a daring escape, you want to celebrate too.
This movie to me just did a great job at making me feel what this horse was feeling, and most of it with the use of very minimal words.
I loved Spirit, loved his chemistry with the villain, loved the sense of speed whenever he is running through the fields or avoiding the cowboys... and most of all, loved the joy you get whenever you feel free.
It's not that this gives you a great sense of freedom, its that it gives you a desire to fight for freedom! It makes you feel you can be more, and do more and have the right to reject being tied down by others who want to limit your true potential and control you.
This movie makes you want to be free.
7. The Road to El Dorado
Do I even need to say anything besides the fact that this movie has Chel in it?
But for real, I think this movie was my introduction to the Maya, Inca, and Azteca culture, (I think my closest only other option at the time was "Mucha Lucha" of all things...), and they make this culture look fun and cool.
The architecture looked nice, the clothing looked nice, the people were so likable, and anytime they party you just want to party as well. I kept waiting for some big reveal to happen for the citizens to turn on the heroes, but they never do, and that was so refreshing, just showing people from different areas becoming friends AND staying friends.
I also love how funny Miguel and Tulio are, I was a kid when I first saw this so I was weirded out by the idea of two adults as the leads but I was sold on them very quickly. Even their horse was likable. everyone is just so likable in this movie. It makes you want to visit El Dorado and hang out with all these people.
Such a charming, funny, and friendly movie.
Also Chel. Chel was a big selling point.
6. Puss in Boots, the Last Wish
I already talked about this one over here, but, long story short, like many other movies on this list, I love how good this movie is at sucking you into the mood.
The way the visuals, the story, the dialogue, and the characters work together really succeed into making you feel what these people are feeling and making want to see more of them.
Didn't matter if it was the heroes, the villains, the antagonists, or what, I was 100% behind everyone's motivations and I couldn't wait to see all their goals clashing with each others'.
Also, the wolf is by far one of DreamWork's best antagonists, right up there with Shen and Ramses. He looks cool, talks cool, and even his motivation was cool.
This wasn't just a movie, this was an experience.
5. Shrek 2
I freaking dare anyone going into this movie blind to predict what the climax is going to be.
The weird idea of this one is that Shrek after marrying his wife needs to meet her parents... And that's it. It's just one long and uncomfortable reunion with people who really don't want to be on the same room together and all the things they try to pull of to make or break this relationship.
Hire assassins, request help from magic fairies, fake your appearance, steal a potion, it's all about seeing how far everyone is willing to go to do what they think it's the best for those they love.
It all turns into a glorious and creative mess and I can't help but love every second of it!
(Side note, anyone ever notices how often DreamWorks sequels focus on the idea of characters dealing with their parents?)
4. Kung Fu Panda 2
If it wasn't for Prince of Egyp, I would say that this was the hardest and darkest DreamWorks movie.
There is so much focus on feeling lost, feeling abandoned, feeling hopeless and betrayed, and just trying to understand what you're doing wrong and what you need to do right.
This movie was like a therapy session... Done with talking cartoon animals, yes, but a therapy session no less.
The themes of trying to understand yourself, where you came from, and where you want to go are all handled greatly as you watch the relationship between the hero and the villain.
Po and Shen have such an absurdly great chemistry. I love seeing them talking, fighting, and trying to one-up each other, and I really love how much their relationship changes the more they learn about each other, and it all happens so fast and so smoothly too.
It makes me angry whenever I see a movie and the hero and the villain barely talk with each other. That's one of the best things you can do with them! Why are you skipping it??
Luckily this one didn't, and in return, we got one of the best interactions ever. I love these two by themselves and love these to together. Just a pair of wonderful characters that work really well off each other!
3. The Prince of Egypt
Man... What do I even say about this one?
It's probably the riskiest idea DreamWorks has ever tried to do, tell the story of Exodus as an animated musical... And that was their second movie ever after freaking "Antz!" These guys have a lot of guts.
This was a movie that I didn't really get it when I saw it as a kid, but I just love trying to understand its themes and messages now that I'm older.
I love the main conflict between the brothers, again, bringing attention to how good a story can be when you focus on the connection of the hero and the villain. Showing both sides of people who grew up under an unhealthy ideology, one trying to grow out of it and the other trying to embrace it even more.
I love the imagery of Egypt, both as this grand epic kingdom built from the struggle and pain of the slaves and as this falling empire being attacked by God Himself. The visuals of the plagues being my favorites.
And I love the sense of calmness that appears whenever the chaos takes a break. Seeing Moses and his people getting out from the ocean and enjoying the dawn of a new era after all the struggle they went through just felt so rewarding. It's just such a satisfying ending for such a long journey... As long as you decide to stop there and don't look up what happens in the rest of the story.
I especially love the concept of Ramses, A person so deep into the teachings of his father that he can't even see why the things he's doing are so bad. I think my favorite part is when he's hugging his son while glaring at Moses and just asking "Why?" while he has this GIANT WALL SHOWING BABIES BEING FEED TO CROCODILES right behind him.
It's such an amazingly blind irony as the man cries for his kid's safety while the crying of all these dead kids looms over his shoulder. Just how do you have to be raised to turn into this kind of person?
It's so baffling but I just can't stop watching and wondering how far is this man willing to go. Such a sad showing of someone who doesn't see he's on the wrong side and trying to fight against the tides.
It's a beautifully sad, and yet hopeful movie.
2. Kung Fu Panda
Yeah, I put Kung Fu Panda above Prince of Egypt... I don't know what's wrong with me either.
I don't know, for some reason, I just have a lot of respect for this movie? Prince of Egypt I liked a lot but I couldn't really fully understand it and enjoy it until I was much older. Meanwhile, even when young I could already enjoy Kung Fu Panda a lot.
It felt like it had a bigger challenge by being a good, deep movie while also being fun, funny, and cheerful.
It's easy to make dark stories have strong messages and depth, but it's hard to have no-so-dark stories also have strong messages and depth, and I have such an appreciation for that. They could have just made this a lame joke-fest about being an overweight character trying to learn martial arts, but they didn't!
They put a lot of effort into the lessons, the fighting, the motivations of the characters, the visuals, and even the jokes! I thought the jokes were going to be awful but they were all very charming!
I love the designs of the cast in how they each represent a level of kung-fu, AND, I love the Kung-fu itself.
I feel like this is the Kung Fu Panda movie that tries the most to be creative with combining martial arts in a cartoon setting. Like... I like Kung Fu Panda 2 and 3 but I don't really remember much of the action there aside from the stuff in climaxes with the "water dodgeball" section and the "giant energy dragon avatar in the spiritual realm" section.
But in here? I remember the bridge fight, the prison escape, the master vs student showdown, the hot-potato game with the scroll, and even the training sessions with Po and the five.
I feel like as the movies went on they focused more on the spiritual journey of self-discovery and toned down the cartoon action, while in here it's just perfect.
It's amazing how many elements this movie is trying to balance while still pulling it off each of them so well.
I just wished that Po and Tai-Lung had more scenes of interaction because they basically feel like strangers in the end even though the whole movie is building up to their fight... A fight that... Really doesn't feel as good as all the action that came before to be honest.
But still, that's just one small little problem in what's otherwise a perfect product. Besides... KFP2 covers the whole Hero vs Villain thing that was lacking in here by more than making up for it, so it's all good.
1. How To Train Your Dragon
Of course my favorite DeamWorks movie is the one with the dragon. I freaking love dragons! I have a comic based on people that become dragons for crying out loud!
Kidding aside, this is a movie with a message that I just respect a lot. I really appreciate the idea of teaching kids the importance of knowing how to stop, looking at what you're doing, trying to understand who you're hurting, and what you can do to change.
This isn't just something that holds value to kids, this holds value to everyone. We are always so focused on going after the things we want that we tend to forget the people we're sometimes stepping on to get there, and this movie shows that not only do we not lose anything for trying to be friends with these people, but we might even gain something even better.
I just adore the friendship of Hiccup and Toothless (God, I love these names).
One is a kid trying to make his father proud by following the family legacy, while also trying to do what he loves by studying and befriending dragons and the conflicts that come from trying to please both sides. This is such a great lesson for kids because they're always stuck into deciding on what's best for them and what's best for what their parents want from them.
And the other side is a pet slowly lowering his defenses and deciding if he wants to trust this weird stranger that tried to hurt him or give him a second chance to prove himself as a possible ally. What do you do? Put yourself at risk and give others a chance or remain safe and away from possible harm?
This movie reminds me a lot of Lake in that if you keep looking at it you can take away twenty different lessons and themes to talk about.
Again, it's the challenge of trying to be deep while avoiding being too dark and remaining all-ages-friendly.
Kids are gonna watch this, they're gonna love the dragons and the flying scenes, and they're gonna come back years later and pick up things they didn't see were there before and later realize that without noticing it, these lessons became a part of them and a part of what they do.
You can feel that there is a lot of love in this movie. I remember watching the commentary and looking at how the creators always would get excited when there was a silent scene or a world-building scene. It's clear they had a lot of fun working on this product, and this love really can be felt through the characters, their growth, and their emotions.
I freaking adore this movie, and I freaking adore DreamWorks!
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