Kung Fu Panda

[carlminez]

So..."Kung Fu Panda" and "Dragon" were only good movies because of...math?

Oh-kay.

Not really. A mathematical certainty has nothing to do with the math you remember from school. It's simply a law that says that something is bound to happen if, for example, you do something over and over again. Now DreamWorks has produced like 20 animated features. Pixar has released 11 during the same period of time. It's just an expression really. Quantity vs Quality.

[Dacey]

You mean like Tyler Perry? He's made, what, a dozen movies? And we all remember the one or two of them that have been critical darlings, right? You know, because they were "bound to happen."

[droosan]

One of the production companies for which I've recently worked makes 13 movies per year, and they're all ████ .. not that good.

[carlminez]

You mean like Tyler Perry? He's made, what, a dozen movies? And we all remember the one or two of them that have been critical darlings, right? You know, because they were "bound to happen."

Tyler Perry is always an exception. He doesn't exist within the realms of physics.

[Lorikeet]

Ah, it all makes sense now!


But, as for the original topic, I know for a fact that I will be seeing Cars 2 in theaters, even in the event that the critics dump on it. I have seen every Pixar film in theaters so far, and I don't want to break that streak. I liked the original Cars, though it's not one of my favorite Pixar films. From the trailers, I'm not sure what to expect, but I hope it has the same kind of humor as the first one.

On the other hand, I'm a little iffy on Kung Fu Panda 2. I never managed to see the first one on the big screen, and waited for the DVD. I loved the film the first few times I watched it, but my liking of it has waned a bit over time. I'm not totally sure why. I think I'll wait for the critics' reviews before deciding whether I want to see this one in theaters or not.

[Bill1978]

Both movies are in the meh camp for me in terms of anticipation, the trailers have not excited me about each movie and have in fact made me not care about the movies at all. And that's saying something when The Smurfs trailer actually made me wonder if I should give the movie a chance.

And personally I don't give a hoots about who gets to walk away with the title of winner between these two films cause in the end it will just be a hollow victory not worth much but petty bragging rights.

I've not heard a peep from the Ice Age camp about how their 3rd movie trounced every other animated film internationally when it was released, so it doesn't really matter to the studios it seems.

Plus you are comparing cars to pandas. It's not like they share similar characters or ideas like say Antz/A Bug's Life or Armageddon/Deep Impact which in the end you could claim bragging rights as the more popular ant or meteor movie.

[Ben]

I did kind of make that same quality/quantity comparison in my Toy Story 3 review, saying something like how Pixar were only on their third film in fifteen years while DreamWorks had cranked out four Shreks (plus Puss spin-off) in just ten.

I don't think Blue Sky is that big on bragging rights, which is nice. But the success of Ice Age 3 is shown in more films coming along: IA4 has been confirmed for a while now, with voice talent signing up right now for it.

[CGIFanatic]

Here is an early review of KFP2.

http://movievu.info/?p=543

[Macaluso]

I did kind of make that same quality/quantity comparison in my Toy Story 3 review, saying something like how Pixar were only on their third film in fifteen years while DreamWorks had cranked out four Shreks (plus Puss spin-off) in just ten.

I don't think Blue Sky is that big on bragging rights, which is nice. But the success of Ice Age 3 is shown in more films coming along: IA4 has been confirmed for a while now, with voice talent signing up right now for it.

Blue Sky has a lot of potential that they haven't reached quite yet. Horton was awesome, and Rio is gorgeous, but I can't wait until they make their breakout movie.

[Lorikeet]

Here is an early review of KFP2.

http://movievu.info/?p=543

I took a glance at the review, but didn't read the whole thing--it seemed a bit spoiler-ific. I think if all the early press is this positive, Kung Fu Panda 2 will turn into a must see for me.

[CGIFanatic]

You're right Lorikeet, I should have mentioned that it was full of spoilers.

[estefan]

Blue Sky has a lot of potential that they haven't reached quite yet. Horton was awesome, and Rio is gorgeous, but I can't wait until they make their breakout movie.

I thought Ice Age was their breakout movie. And I personally adored Rio to the point where I will likely buy the Blu-Ray on release day, which is something I only usually say for Disney or Pixar titles. I've always liked Blue Sky, though, but I think due to how personal a project Rio was for Carlos Saldanha allowed it to have that specialness attached to it.

Back on topic, I'm looking more forward to Kung Fu Panda 2 as its release gets closer. But, what I'm most excited for is the Tintin teaser that will be shown before it.

[Ben]

Well, yes, Ice Age was their establishing movie, but what I think Mac is getting at is that they haven't really had a second massively impactful film since that, like Pixar then had with Finding Nemo.

Blue Sky's "trick" is coming up with fantastic visuals: even Ice Age had its own look that got over initial limitations, and then there were Robots and Horton's worlds, but the films themselves have never quite "wowed" the way the first or second Shreks did, or Kung Fu Panda, to name some from another Pixar rival.

I'm glad Rio was another success for them, and at first glance this seemed to be something completely new, but from what I'm hearing the story goes in predicable directions and ultimately takes the usual CG family comedy route (though I think I'm right in that this is Blue Sky's first musical).

I'm quite keen to see KFP2, but as I said in my book review, it does look like a bit more of the same, without much fresh to bring us in. This first sequel might pull it off, but I just keep see the series going to six episodes and not feeling tired long before it ends.

[estefan]

Just got back from Kung Fu Panda 2. Liked it even more than the first. I especially liked Po's personal journey and the sequences that were done in traditional and even paper-puppet styles (Not sure if that's the right term for it. Think "Prince Ahmed"). I also found it funnier. Excellent kung-fu action as well. Still disappointed at the lack of fleshing out of the Furious Five, though they seem to

hint at a possible deeper relationship between Po and Tigress.

Shifu's role is also seriously down-sized. However, if you liked the first one (like I did), you'll likely enjoy this one. I also saw it in 3-D and while it was solid, I wouldn't have been upset if I saw it in 2-D. So, this isn't a Rio or a How to Train Your Dragon where the added dimension brings a lot to the screen to justify the extra price.

[Ben]

DWs in trouble?

Shares of DreamWorks Animation fell to their lowest level in two years on Tuesday as several Wall Street analysts called the opening weekend performance of the studio’s Kung Fu Panda sequel disappointing.

Early in the trading session, it went as low as $23.09. That was below a 52-week low of $24.38 hit last week and also marked the lowest price hit in about two years.

DWA shares last traded this low in May 2009. On May 13 of that year, the stock went as low as $23.12. A day earlier, it had even hit $22.51.

The stock later recovered a but to close down 3.7 percent at $23.91. The decline came as the broader market rallied after the long Memorial Day weekend in the U.S.

Shares of 3D technology firm RealD dropped even more sharply Tuesday, closing down 11.7 percent at $27.30, still well above their 52-week low of $15.63.

BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield on Tuesday reiterated his “sell” rating on DWA, cut his target price by $5 to $20 and reduced his financial expectations.

“The key drivers of DWA’s troubles are that its movies have not lived up to expectations and the global DVD market is in free fall as consumers continue to shift from buying to renting,” he said. He also pointed to an analyst day about 18 months ago, during which the company had outlined such growth opportunities as 3D, TV series, live entertainment (Broadway shows) and virtual worlds. “It has become increasingly clear that none of DWA’s growth opportunities are going to “bear the fruit” that management had hoped,” Greenfield argued.

Janney Montgomery Scott analyst Tony Wible, who has a "neutral" rating on DWA shares, called the Kung Fu Panda performance a “disappointment,” saying the $68 million box office take through Memorial Day fell short of his $75 million estimate. He suggested that the first-weekend data implies that Panda is on pace to generate $225 million in U.S. box office receipts, below his $245 estimate.

“The film grossed less than its predecessor (opened to $60.2 million) despite the 3D ticket premium, long weekend, and three years of ticket price inflation,” Wible highlighted. “This is the latest in a string of disappointments for DWA and is more troubling as Panda has been one of the company’s few remaining franchises, which may be showing signs of fatigue.”

Reiterating his "neutral" rating on the stock, Wible predicted that "recent film disappointments will overshadow longer-term benefits."

Doug Creutz, analyst at Cowen & Co., said the film had “a very strong international opening,” but he still reduced his outlook for the film’s profitability and cut his 2011 earnings estimate for DWA. He said he continues to have a “neutral” rating on DWA shares.

“We believe that the soft domestic open further validates our concern that increased competition is hurting the domestic box office potential of individual animated films,” Creutz said. “Further, we note that Kung Fu Panda is the only franchise DWA has launched in the last five years that has shown any sort of international box office power, and thus we do not expect the international strength of Panda 2 to be repeated on a regular basis by DWA’s future releases.”