Will Disney buy DWA? No! Universal did!

[ShyViolet]

Awww that's so sweet Ben!

[ShyViolet]

DWA may technically still exist within the framework of Comcast/Universal but to me it's dead, dead, dead. No more JK, no more real originality, Um...more Shrek???? I guess that's probably a big reason why they were acquired in the first place, to run that franchise into the ground but this time with zero magic. (Hate Third but love Forever After.). Just imagine...these sequels might be even worse than Third, but still make money because of the Shrek name. Thus dumping mud on the wonderfully clever and fun films that Shrek 1, 2, and 4 were. . And the worst thing is, all the franchises of DWA are now up for grabs. (I'm imagining some horrible direct-to-video version of Kung Fu Panda.).

And what in the world is going to happen to the animators? Although according to the TAG blog no major changes are in the near future (layoff wise, who knows about pay and benefits) that could change at any moment. Sooooo sorry for them.

And not much hope for Trolls either. The whole idea is stupid; capitalizing on a now-forgotten 90s craze. Why not just make a Tamagotchi film?

[Randall]

I hate to break it to Vi, but for a lot of people, DWA died with Shrek the Third. Not every film after that was weak/bad, but there was already a downward trend then.

[Randall]

And I cannot think of a less appealing property than Trolls.

[ShyViolet]

Yeah...what were they thinking there?! I know we haven't seen any real footage from the film, but the trailer looks atrocious.

[EricJ]

And I cannot think of a less appealing property than Trolls.

Well, you wanted them to "Do something with the well-known pop-cultural Classic Media properties"...Were you holding a monkey's paw at the time?

[ShyViolet]

Interview with JK at Annecy:

http://www.animationmagazine.net/featur ... 3369140625

[Ben]

Um...more Shrek????

Been meaning to add this here and hate to break it to you, Vi, but JK himself was playing up the chances of more Shrek at least a year ago. Just this week he was in Barcelona and said as part of his farewell speech that "we have a heck of a good script for Shrek 5", or words to that effect. So his influence will be felt for a few more films, at least, but the truth is that he was also just as eager to get on with more Shrek as Universal is.

[ShyViolet]

Oh, I can believe it. I remember reading about that and feeling quite disappointed in him. (Hope that doesn't sound too weird!) I realize he's made a lot of bad choices lately.

[ShyViolet]

Really sad about JK leaving the company as well as him selling it in general. How could he just abandon all his animators like that?? I guess money talks, but still... I guess we should be grateful he stuck with DWA as long as he did...

[ShyViolet]

Re: story on front page:



Oh God...

This is so, so bad. It really and truly is the end of DWA.

How could JK do this?? (I mean sell company)

This plus the 20% cut a year ago means that approximately 1/3 of DWA has been eliminated. Who knows how much more...

[droosan]

All the people I knew on the feature side of things (less than a dozen artists, TBH) have been laid-off and/or gone for a couple of years, already.

However, I know a few guys on the TV/Netflix side of the studio .. and that division's currently going gang-busters.

[James]

Bad for the people involved, yes, but the article says "the positions being eliminated at the animation unit are in the executive ranks, distribution and consumer products" so not so terrible for the animation business itself. Comcast already has people who can do the jobs being eliminated so they're just consolidating positions. Comcast doesn't have animators so hopefully those guys are safe.

[Ben]

How could JK do this?? (I mean sell company)

Because he made Four. Hundred. Million. Dollars.

[ShyViolet]

Gotcha.