#this is the same company that made something like shark tales boss baby the megamind sequel!!!!!

[kingofthewilderwest]

As "bad" as THW ended up being *glares in the lazed traitor De Blois' direction* just be thankful that it was made by DreamWorks and not Disney. There's no knowing how much worse the female character designs(both human and dragon), the sugarcoating of serious topics, and pretty much everything else would've been if Disney had made it.

So I’m of two minds about this one. On one side, you know how I feel about Disney and its current direction, with way too much power given to the financial and monopolizing aspects and too little heart coming through anymore. Also, as you said, Disney tends to be less gritty, etc. etc. etc.

One of the things I always loved about DreamWorks was that it was willing to be quirky and take chances. You could get some wonderfully artistic, heart-felt movies like The Prince of Egypt, How to Train Your Dragon, How to Train Your Dragon 2, the Kung Fu Panda trilogy, or Rise of the Guardians. You could get stuff that made you go, “What the fuck?” like Bee Movie. You could get stuff that intentionally turned expected animated movie paradigms on their head like Shrek and Megamind. You could get stuff that felt like standard but good family fare. And yeah, sure, you’d get your Shark Tales in there, too, but there was nevertheless a willingness to go places in their movies that made DreamWorks fun. Even with the movies that were mediocre, you could tell DreamWorks was willing to experiment, willing to have grit or wonkiness, but also trying to keep good heart in the story, too.

I think that DreamWorks in the last half decade isn’t quite that level anymore. DreamWorks is starting to settle into the role of an established company... which I mean, now it is. But with that settling has come creative complacency, too. The Boss Baby, The Boss Baby sequel, Trolls, Trolls sequel, that’s starting to feel increasingly like the norm for what they’re outputting. It feels like DreamWorks is playing it increasingly safe, increasingly standard. Its edge isn’t so edgy anymore.

Mind. They’ve had elements of this way longer than the last five years (Turbo in 2013 was no showstopper), but these traits are feeling increasingly pronounced to me. Whereas DreamWorks used to be a delightful mixed bag, now it feels increasingly... bland.

I would never call DeBlois a “traitor” or “lazy.” I think that’s misdirecting the thunder. I don’t like seeing him called something like that, myself. He worked with a lot of heart on beautiful movies like Lilo & Stitch, How to Train Your Dragon, How to Train Your Dragon 2... that’s someone who’s helped put good soul in our stories. Whether or not he would have made something in THW all fans would’ve liked, I don’t know, especially given as no one creator will make EVERYTHING into a powerhouse... we all have our “okay” projects and our “awesome” ones. But we’ve seen hints of what the original drafts of HTTYD 3 looked like, and they’re more on par with the flavor of storytelling I’d expect from him. Major movies are created with too much corporate power and higher-ups molding them, and if the movies we get are bland, watered-down, sugarcoated, lacklusterly mainstream, etc. then it’s not necessarily the creative team (though good creative teams are more likely to leave in such environments)... it’s likely the business blokes stifling them.

So I am like, “Yeah, DreamWorks ain’t Disney.” But... they’re infringing on some of the same crimes, aren’t they? Isn’t DreamWorks already making projects feel more palatable and sweet, isn’t DreamWorks already showing money-first idea-second for some of its latest projects? I’m not as much in the DreamWorks camp as I was even five years back, and this is why. I’m a little jaded wondering where they’re headed.

Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe that shift I’m seeing is just my perspective of the company changing, not the company actually changing. And who knows, maybe they’ll surprise me. They better do The Wizards of Once right. XD That’s something I hope they can make as beautiful as they did the first HTTYD.

#anti-Disney #httyd 3 criticism #anti-DreamWorks #DreamWorks #Disney #ask #ask me #awesome anonymous friend #analysis #my analysis #httyd3 #httyd 3 #How to Train Your Dragon 3 #THW #The Hidden World #THW criticism #httyd3 criticism #can you tell I forgot my tag on that one XD #Dean DeBlois #Anonymous