An eye-opening realization

The Common Room Other Animation
#1

I don’t want to hate on either company, and to do so would be very hipocritical of me at this point. Don’t take this thread negatively, please. Has anyone noticed that DW’s protagonists are usually freaks or outcasts who learn self confidence? Po, Shrek, and possibly MegaMind are examples. Pixar’s protagonists are usually(with the exceptions of ABL and Ratatouille) the leaders? Mr. Incredible, Marlin(leader of the family?) and Woody are examples.

What do you make of this? It seems very strange and symbolic to me. In a good way.

#2

That is actually a very interesting observation. I’m not sure I ever made the connection. I guess in that sense most of DW’s films are kind of ‘rags-to-riches’ stories. :stuck_out_tongue:

#3

Huh, what an excellent point. :astonished: I never noticed that. Let me think…
Woody, Sully, Mr. Incredible & Lightning McQueen were definitely starting out with great lives but eventually had run-ins with someone else or something else keeping them from continuing that…Of course big exceptions to this are Flik and Remy, who start out really looked down on for being different, as if they’re nobodies. So it’s not like Pixar is always about characters with popularity.
Not to mention I think the neutral ones would be Carl Fredricksen, Marlin, and WALL-E, because they’re not exactly outcasts, but they do seem really lonely and stay at home a long time until they go off further than they’ve ever gone before, on an adventure making new friends.
So I think Pixar has a pretty fair mix of types of protagonists.

And DreamWorks movies most of the time are about outcasts becoming heroes one way or another…Kung-Fu Panda, Monsters vs. Aliens, How to Train Your Dragon, Shrek, Shark Tale and what I’ve seen of MegaMind all prove that…

The only DreamWorks’ CGI movie that comes to mind as an exception is Madagascar. I mean, Alex had everything he wanted, but then got into trouble with his friends and ended up in the wilderness of Madagascar.

I don’t know what Bee Movie qualifies as though…
Well, anyway, outcasts learning to be heroes or leaders is a very popular idea and can be used in thousands of different ways.

This is just an idea, but do you think it sort of symbolizes Pixar saying that being on the top and being popular doesn’t guarentee being trouble-free and there’s still lots of responsibility and hard work…?
And DreamWorks doesn’t know that feeling as much, but they’re saying that trying and persistance can get them as popular someday?

I really don’t know if what I said made sense…will edit later maybe.

#4

That made 100% sense! Brilliant observation! :slight_smile:

#5

Hmm, I definitely agree that Dreamworks films tend to be about outcasts and ‘rags-to-riches’ style storylines, but I’d hesitate to say that Pixar protagonists are universally the leaders. Here are the exceptions:

A Bug’s Life: Flik is obviously not a leader, and this is probably the most most conventional rags-to-riches plot out of all the Pixar films.

Finding Nemo: I’d say that Marlin is as much of a social outcast (largely self-inflicted) as any Dreamworks protagonist, and is even outcast from his own son on many levels.

The Incredibles: This probably depends on whether or not you think the movie really starts with Bob as a down-on-his luck insurance guy, which is where I personally think it starts. The stuff before that is a prologue, in my opinion.

Cars: Lightning McQueen is not on top of the world at the start. He is very close, and he’s aiming for it, but he’s not there yet. The whole film seems to be a subversion of the rags-to-riches plotline. At no point does McQueen achieve conventional success, but he gains more important things along the way.

Ratatouille: Yeah, you don’t get much lower than a rat.

WALL-E: Except possibly a garbage man. No, not just that, a robot garbage man doing a completely meaningless task, alone, for which he has no expectation of any reward or gratitude. At least Remy had a job with the slightest hint of purpose by smelling for poison in the rats’ food. WALL-E is even lower than that. He is the ultimate woobie (look it up on TV Tropes).

Up: An old man whose house is in perpetual danger of being demolished by the big evil corporation of doom is hardly on top of the world.

I certainly agree that Woody and Sully start off in the best possible positions, and there are arguments for Mr Incredible as well, but Pixar is no stranger to the underdog.

#6

Wow, BDD, you’re a genius. :open_mouth: That’s one of the best things I’ve ever read.

nintendofreakgcn, it was a generalization, and I acknowledged that Remy and Flik didn’t count. Sorry about Wall-E. And “Glory Days” is a scene in the film, therefore it is part of the story.

#7

Wow! That makes a lot of sense, great observation Virginia! It could be viewed as symbolism.

#8

Thanks!! :slight_smile: And I agree with you and BDD, I think this means something very important.