Owl House / Infinity Train / Inside Job Fan
Deadline’s saying DreamWorks has struck a deal with a group called Story Kitchen to acquire video game IP for adaptation.
https://deadline.com/2024/05/story-kitchen-dreamworks-animation-1235905101/
Maran the Brainy
Finally, we can get a Bubsy movie.
Jokes aside, though, I do wonder what the first movie they tackle will be.
"Hey, gimme a minute to get to know everyone, 'kay, Brainy?" "Of course, but please allow me to get a word in, too, bzz."
This is going to be so much fun.
Whatever happened to that Felix deal?
The sleepiest good boi
Day 7: "I'm never gonna ride you, am I? Maybe no one should..."
This is a rather unique animated film where the focus is on the wild animals and their interactions with humanity, but the animals don't speak and mostly behave realistically, outside of the more expressive facial and body language possible through the animation, and it works great. Long stretches of the movie go without dialogue, letting the visuals tell the story... at least, whenever Matt Damon doesn't suddenly pop up. Yeah, despite the lead horse not actually speaking in the story, his inner thoughts are occasionally narrated by Damon... and it feels rather superfluous, often Narrating the Obvious where the visuals already make it pretty clear what's happening. He doesn't even sound all that enthused about it; whenever he appeared I never felt like this was actually the horse's inner voice, I always got the distinct mental image of Matt Damon sitting in a booth reading the words off a script. I'm going to guess the movie was initially planned to be more based in the visual storytelling but Executive Meddling made them add the narration out of fear that kids wouldn't understand what's going on, as well as a way to get a name actor in the movie for easier promotion. I can sort of understand the first concern, but then again, I'm viewing this movie from a modern perspective where we've already had WALL•E prove that you in fact can have a dialogue-light family film that kids can follow. Had this been made after that, maybe they would've done it differently, who knows. Still, whenever he's not talking, the story of a wild stallion (excellentt) fighting the expansion of the Old West for his freedom is great and well-told. The animation is absolutely beautiful, horses are one of the toughest animals to animate properly and they look fantastic, with realistic musculature and behavior, again, outside of the deliberate minor anthropomorphism to make them more expressive to the audience, which is kind of necessary (see the passionlessness of the characters in the Lion King remake) and still looks good. I've mentioned how DreamWorks's previous attempts to integrate CG effects into traditional animation haven't been the best, but this film showed a massive leap on that front, using it quite well for environments, machinery, and background horses in a way that meshes very well with the animation and looks on par with Disney's integration in the Renaissance films. I guess maybe Shrek was good practice for them on that front. There are some times when background humans are CG, and those look significantly less good, but the rest of it is pretty impressive. So yeah, after all this time, finally seeing the movie was definitely worth it.
Disasturbator
I've definately seen this movie but I only remember the horses and not narration
New theme music also a box
Whenever I watch Mustang (in Poland Spirit is instead called Mustang from the Wild Valley) I always get goosebumps when watching the opening scene where eagle (for some strange reason I headcanoned him to be Sitka's spirit when I was young![[lol]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lol2v12_4863.png "[lol]"){kind=small}
) flies through North American wilderness. No, wrong. I have goosebumps for most of the film. That's most likely Hans Zimmer's doing, but who's gonna blame him, given the films featuring his music probably have the same effect as Spirit
. Given I was born in 2004, during the time period where Dreamworks released Shrek movies, Madagascar movies, Over the Hedge and first Kung Fu Panda, I was a bit surprised that this film lacked any of your usual "Dreamworks-ness" (aka. the tone that most Dreamworks movies have, including even those most emotional ones like Kung Fu Panda and How To Train Your Dragon). But I wasn't bothered by it, and this movie ended up as one of my most favourite animated movies from my childhood. Now I sincerity hope that upcoming The Wild Robot (2024) will have the same vibes and aura as this animated movie about story of a Wild West told from the perspective of a horse.
Edited by Filip04 on May 8th 2024 at 10:46:19 AM
The King Without a Kingdom
Mustang from the Wild Valley is a much better title.
It's been 3000 years…
Disasturbator
Spirit is just better and does not make me think of a car
New theme music also a box
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
That's funny Ultimatum, since when I think of mustang the first thing that comes to my mind is a horse (and this movie), not car.
As a Pole, I'm so happy that someone appreciated our translation of the title of the animated film
.
I’m the same way.
I smell magic in the air. Or maybe barbecue.
This is going to be so much fun.
They should release a Spirit dubless cut.
HEY! That is UNFAIR to dubs! The lame ass narration was in the original, dubbing had nothing to do with it.
The King Without a Kingdom
The sleepiest good boi
Day 8: Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas
I haven't actually watched Sinbad in a good while, but I always appreciate the clips I see. I couldn't imagine how painstaking Eris' movements must have been. Real shame DreamWorks' 2D films came about just as they were winding down in the west, because they all look really good.
Edited by Shoobedobah on May 8th 2024 at 10:50:53 AM
I remember liking that one. :)
I smell magic in the air. Or maybe barbecue.
This is going to be so much fun.
I thought Eris' flowing and movement were CG.
The sleepiest good boi
Day 9 brings us to a definite high point in the studio's library. Behold... Shrek 2!
One of the textbook examples of an Even Better Sequel in animation, Shrek 2 is everything that makes the first film great and more. The story is a natural extension of the previous film's ending by having Shrek and Fiona coming into very real, relatable marital problems with each side having a fair nuance to their points and coming to terms with how their relationship is going to work. The actions of both make it clear that no matter their differences, they really are each other's true love. Fiona's parents add an extra element to the equation with King Harold's character arc being an excellent showing for a man whose own insecurities have made him unfairly judgmental and growing past them, and Queen Lilian being a great, calmer Foil to him that's clearly offput by Shrek but willing to give him a chance. The Fairy Godmother is an excellent villain, acting as essentially a magicial mafia don obsessed with her own perfect vision of a Happily Ever After while doting on her Manchild son. And, of course, the introduction of the Iconic Sequel Character, our Favorite Fearless Hero himself, Puss in Boots, who's not really all that tied into the plot but makes for an entertaining comedic foil to Donkey and has plenty of genuinely badass action moments, nicely setting the stage for his owns spinoffs down the line. The humor is still top-notch, especially with how they don't fall into the common comedy-sequel trap of recycling the old jokes, with sharp pop-culture and fairytale satire and great situational and character-based comedy alike. The visuals, like with the first two Toy Storys, are an astonishing leap forward on every level despite the short gap between films; everything from the more natural shading and the more detailed texturing, to the subtle yet notable difference in shape to the models. The human characters look much better than the first, especially human Fiona for a direct point of contrast, Donkey and Puss have much better fur detail, Gingy having a better crumbly texture to him, even the better use of particle effects like rain and smoke. The soundtrack is just as great as the first, elevated by the amazing climactic cover of "Holding Out For A Hero". The whole thing is just superb, a nearly perfect film all around and hands-down one of the best animated films ever made. I've seen this movie many times before and I'll see it many times again. I even saw the 20th anniversary screening of this movie in theaters not too long ago and it's actually what got me to go forward with this new series. But of course, next time, we'll be diving deep into the ocean for a decidedly... different experience.
I NEED A HERO! I NEED A HERO! HE'S GONNA BE QUICK AND HE'S GOTTA BE FAST-!
But seriously, definitely my favorite Shrek movie.
Edited by Shoobedobah on May 11th 2024 at 11:29:15 AM
I've always been of two minds about Dreamworks Sindbad film. On the one hand it's a gorgeous film with a decent plot, a great villain, and did I mention it was gorgeous?
On the other hand, even back when the movie came out I was a huge 1001 Nights fan and (even if Sindbad isn't exactly 1001 Nights) it really is a godawful Sindbad movie. Plus the while the characters are fun, Sindbad's entire character arc is really cliche.
Edited by KnownUnknown on May 11th 2024 at 11:16:08 AM
"The difference between reality and fiction is that fiction has to make sense." - Tom Clancy, paraphrasing Mark Twain.
The sleepiest good boi
Yeah, I don't know much about the original Sinbad stories but I'm guessing they weren't as full of Greek stuff as the movie.
Found this interesting What Could Have Been for Shrek 2:
Is it weird that I kind of want to see this? Like, giving Gingy a House of Cards/Game of Thrones style political drama parody spinoff? It seems like something that could potentially be Crazy Enough to Work.
Disney100 Marathon | DreamWorks Marathon
I mean... say whatever else you will about King Harold, but he wasn't ever exactly a corrupt ruler, he and Queen Lillian ruled Far Far Away fairly, balanced, for the betterment of their subjects, and while I'll easily highlight that he drove the plot of Shrek 2, being the reason Shrek has that hit on him with Puss In Boots, and of course the chicanery that Fairy God Mother pulls... Harold kind of has his arm twisted in with her. So the form of government being a monarchy wasn't exactly the issue there.
Robin: Don't ever ask me to dock with you again. Serious...
Sindbad's stories have many elements in common with the Odyssey (there's one story where he is captured by a giant which he escapes by blinding the giant and then hiding under some livestock). I wonder whether the movie turned the cast from Arabian to Greek because of the political climate at the time (namely George W. Bush's war with Afghanistan and Iraq).
![[down]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_down.png "[down]"){kind=icon}
Also, whoever is the next poster, congratulations on the 2500th post!
Edited by Snicka on May 12th 2024 at 1:55:38 AM
This is going to be so much fun.
Why is the Saunders version of Holding Out for a Hero locked in streaming services?!
Also: KFP4 overtakes KFP3
Edited by Ookamikun on May 12th 2024 at 11:15:42 AM
You guys wont believe it but in Latin America, Shrek was promoted a lot on Disney Explora A Disney Magazine. They gave it a two page article about the characters but for some reason they REALLY obscured the fact Shrek And Fiona end up together.
Discord: Waido X 255#1372 If you cant contact me on TV Tropes do it here.