Will Disney buy DWA? No! Universal did!

[Randall]

Ben is right. The Penguins were already overexposed with their TV show. Not a big surprise to see their movie tank, regardless of quality. Too bad, though.

[ShyViolet]

Yeah...it's a real shame, all of the artists' hard work gone to waste.

I don't even think this would have worked as a DTV.

[Ben]

Ouch! I wouldn't have gone that far!

But, yeah, maybe if the Penguins hadn't become so overexposed with the TV show or, y'know, the movie hadn't been an extended episode and had done something new that we hadn't seen before then maybe the breakout characters from Madagascar could have had a bigger hit. It'll be interesting to see how a fourth Mad movie would do...I still think there's miliage in that series, but DWA should have realised that sidekicks don't always make for good lead movies (Puss In Boots), especially when in effect the movie they're trying to sell is playing for free on TV.

That said, I think Penguins will do well on home vid, ironically where Vi didn't think it would stand much of a chance either. I can see it doing quite well there, though.

[EricJ]

That said, I think Penguins will do well on home vid, ironically where Vi didn't think it would stand much of a chance either. I can see it doing quite well there, though.

Again, I think Vi is just clinging on to that one Dean DeBlois life preserver that how could DWA ever be bad if they make Dragon movies? Well, the fact that we're singling out ex-Disney directors by name could be one clue...

As for DWA's overall outlook, in honor of our new spambot poster, think we could say that the company is currently suffering a poisonous probity of character.

[ShyViolet]

Umm..no I'm not actually. Like many here I think DWA has made many good films, but are in a definite slump right now. That's ALL. I do love the Dragon films but that doesn't mean that there aren't great directors in DWA other than Sanders and Deblois (hey Eric...weren't you the one who way back when kept saying how JK only "bought" Sanders to get even with Disney and how Dragon would probably be more typical DWA fare?)

DWA has had lots of great movies and directors and I'm not "clinging" to any particular one. Please don't single me out like that again.

[EricJ]

Well, just saying a little variety of DWA defense away from the D-word would be good for anybody in the discussions--At least we're not all singling out the first Kung Fu Panda as the sole reason for the studio to still exist.

And to be honest, I'm halfway through Dragons 2 right now on 3D streaming, and it's good, but not really that....good, in that I can see why lukewarm theater audiences didn't deliver on it like the good critic reviews said they were "supposed" to:
The villain's not even likable enough to be hatable, the mom's a frightening looney-bird, there seem to be three antagonist plots going at once, and even though these are comparatively "good" DWA characters from the Disney directors, Hiccup's teen friends are still negatively-portrayed sitcom targets (DWA doesn't really seem to like anybody, do they?), and the heroine's Jay Baruchel imitation at the beginning--"Wait, I don't sound like that, and what am I doing with my shoulders?"--parodies that even on those rare occasions when DWA does give us a "sympathetic" character, he's still going to be a nerdy cliche'. (Or at least a more grown-up better one in the sequel.)
The 3D's still good, but basically, if you could do a pie graph of why audiences liked the first movie four years ago, a big blue third of it would be those post-Avatar audiences using Dragons 1 as a symbol of what studios "should" have been doing with 3D in 2010 (and I'll admit, that's one thing we'll be losing when DWA goes under), a nice big red chunk of those who were surprised to see the anomaly of a DWA movie that liked its characters and tried to pump in Disney hugginess, a medium-small green sliver of those diehard holdouts from '01 who still wish Chris Sanders would be allowed to direct every animated movie ever made (he didn't do 2, of course), and an indetectable sliver of Miscellaneous.
I could extend Ben's theory that the Dragons TV series got whatever first-movie love out of our system over four years, but it does emphasize that even when Pixar "had" to do sequels, at least they made them drastically DIFFERENT--You can't say, for ex., that Monsters Inc. is a "franchise" just because the characters went to college.

(Basically, I still cling to the idea that Jeffrey K. will always be the Friz Freleng to John Lasseter's Chuck Jones:
The one who think he "knows the gags", and has a good mechanical sense of timing, but only sees them in his own cold, harsh, combative way that comes off as hard, nasty and mean-spirited, reduces every character-sympathy issue to the Bullies and the Bullied, follows several years behind in co-opting and imitating the shticks perfected by the other more talented directors, and tells himself that he's the "alternative" in doing his own hard style and that everyone else is too mushy, even if he falls behind the more fan-beloved directors who get our audience identification with emotions and expressions.)

[Dacey]

I'm not sure which Dragon movie Eric is referring to, but it's certainly not the one that I saw.

Seriously, the moment where Astrid imitates Hiccup which he seems to think was just meant to be snarky was actually really sweet. I honestly loved how this movie treated the relationship between the two of them, because they just seemed so naturally comfortable in each other's company. The sequel didn't feel the need to go the whole "they break up, then get back together" route that way too many of these things ultimately go through (And on another related note, I think that Astrid's character animation in this movie was excellent. So natural and fluid, some of the best the studio has ever done).

But DreamWorks has never been "mean-spirited," and whatever "edge" they once had, for better or for worse, went away more than a decade ago. Their movies are all warm and fuzzy at the end of the day. But I'm sure, in some way, I'm just being manipulated by JK's mind-control rays or something in order to think that.

[ShyViolet]

http://variety.com/2015/film/news/dream ... 201392307/

Bonnie Arnold (produced Over the Hedge) and Mireille Soria (produced Spirit and Sinbad) to be co-presidents of Feature Animation. Bill Damaschke to step down. All I have to say is "wow". Things must be crazy over there right now. I really hope it gets better.

[Randall]

Yep, looks like DWA is anxious to change course... or at least find a course.

[Dan]

Was about to post about the executive shake-up, but it's already been done in the news forum.

[EricJ]

In other words, they're promoting producers of the movies they made BEFORE they went franchise happy, and wondering if they hold the mysterious "secret" to unlocking those 90's-00's days when we liked DWA movies.
Although if JK doesn't remember, it may be too late to do anything, but confession is good for the soul.

[Ben]

...although many might suggest the changes need to happen even more toward the top...

[ShyViolet]

Thanks Lord, I really should have put it here. If someone can transfer it here many thanks!

[Ben]

Dunded!

[ShyViolet]

http://www.denofgeek.us/movies/me-and-m ... -after-all

Me and my shadow still active??