I know I am SERIOUSLY and I do mean really late to the party on this one but I've been pretty busy lately. So, here we go! To go over the title with you briefly, last month, Comcast and NBC/Universal now own DreamWorks Animation. Much like how Disney had taken ownership of Pixar back in 2006 to put it to you in a way you'd understand if you don't know stocks. And if that's the case than, that's OK. I don't either, I'm not an accountant.
For those of you who are...uncomfortable with this thinking that NBC/Universal is trying to be more like Disney seeing as to how they have both Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar, I myself actually think this might be for the greater good because DreamWorks was first owned by Universal during their beginnings going from Antz to Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit. In case you're wondering how I knew about that...I'm sorry, I don't have any evidence on that, only Shrek 4-D being at Universal (at first) told me that. Also, this trailer for "The Road to El Dorado" with the same announcer from the trailers for some of the films by Don Bluth (Land Before Time, An American Tail and that's about what I can remember that was distributed by Universal)...
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Now, I will say that in my opinion...I'm more of a Disney-Pixar kind of guy than with DreamWorks but I will say however that the "How to Train Your Dragon" movies and the "Kung Fu Panda" trilogy are amongst my favorite animated films, right up there with Fantasia, Inside Out, Monsters Inc and one other animated film...
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Plus, I really do enjoy the Madagascar films, Puss In Boots, The Road to El Dorado, Flushed Away, MegaMind, Rise of the Guardians and...that's about it. Y'see, DreamWorks knows what they're doing (most of the time) when it comes to how they make their films from being serious and mature with some light humor here and there with How to Train Your Dragon, Kung Fu Panda and Rise of the Guardians to having fun and letting loose with the first two "Shrek" movies, Puss In Boots, the Madagascar films, MegaMind, The Road To El Dorado, Flushed Away among others while the rest just makes you want to bang your head on a TV set you would typically find at GoodWill or a computer monitor.
But enough about my opinion on DreamWorks, let's talk about how this would effect DreamWorks as of now. I already briefly mentioned that this would be a way for Universal to rival Disney as they now both have 2 animation studios. In Disney's case, Walt Disney Animation Studios (formerly Walt Disney Feature Animation) and Pixar, in Universal's case, DreamWorks and Illumination (whom we know best as the creators of the decent start to a decent studio Despicable Me, the could've had potential but lost it Hop, the irritating and confusing Lorax, the good but overrated Despicable Me 2, Minions and the upcoming Toy Story and Cats Don't Dance ripoffs, The Secret Life of Pets and Sing, but you get the idea.)
Could this mean that we'll get a series based on Minions or Secret Life of Pets on Netflix? Could there be some involvement from Awesomeness TV (a company worse than Nickelodeon that is owned by said company and DreamWorks)? Who knows. But maybe this could mean that they'll replace Marvel Super Hero Island with a DreamWorks themed area at Universal Islands of Adventure to compete with Disney's Hollywood Studios' Toy Story Land. I dunno. I'll talk about it in another article pretty soon.
But unfortunately, this also comes with Jeffrey Katzenberg leaving DreamWorks. Honestly, I don't know why he would... I mean, isn't he the glue that held DreamWorks Animation together since the founding of said company in the 80's?
I mean sure there were times where he didn't make the best choices (though those were mostly when he was working with Disney but I digress) but still why would he abandon his own company after all the magnum opuses that he made there?...
Well anyways, while I don't know what'll happen to the guy by the end of the year (which is when the Universal/NBC-DreamWorks deal is supposed to come full circle), but I do hope that there is a place in the world of animation for him. Could he be the head of Blue Sky Studios or Sony Pictures Animation? Who knows?
All I know is that Shrek, Po, Hiccup, Toothless, Puss In Boots, Donkey, the Penguins, Alex and the cast of DreamWorks characters are now neighbors with Gru, the Minions, E.B., some Dr.Seuss characters (as in The Cat, The Grinch and the Lorax), Max, Duke and Matthew McCougnahey (sorry if I get his last name wrong) as a Koala in a home that would stand opposite to Disney for years to come.
I'll see you next time!