I feel sorta like an idiot now. I didn’t make a single one of those leaps. I’m usually a fierce defender of what many people suspect to be plotholes, but somehow I completely missed the boat on this one. And this is my favorite movie so far this year. In retrospect it seems I wrote everything off too easily and that isn’t like me. And you’re talking to a guy who has a defense for the “plotholes” in Signs! I almost feel like I should have my right to criticize “plotholes” revoked because of this incredible gaffe on my part.
This requires further thought. What other plotholes in films have I written off entirely without making fairly evident leaps. Hmm. Kudos to you two.
And believe it or not, this entire post has been nothing but sincere. Though I understand how it could read as something else entirely.
EDIT: Upon further review I’ve realized that there is really no way of making this post not sound sarcastic. I apologize if the entire body of text reads as snippy. It was not my intention.
BAD move Dreamworks. Turns out they were just looking for a story the audience likes like Shrek and bomb the world with a dozen of sequels which will make a nice bunch of money because of the good reputation the original has…
Sigh… At least make it something we can actually enjoy. Please, Dreamworks… PLEASE!
faceplam it really does seem like they haven’t learned anything goodness, I just hope that Chris Sanders and Dean Deblois somehow find their way on to this project.
Are you serious? Dreamworks already killed Shrek and they might end up killing Madagascar (:evil:). But, seriously? This was a great movie! now they are going to ruin it!
Way to go, Jeff. claps hands You greedy, money-grubbing git.
Really, you only have to study the quote to realize he’s all for the bottom line. Of course, as a comparison Avatar 2 is going into production too, but at least Cameron had planned it out for three films. Had Dragons not been a box-office sensation, I doubted it would get the greenlight for future sequels.
There’s eight books in the series, and judging by how the film didn’t even follow the first’s storyline, we can expect them to take some further creative license.
If Chris gets on board again, then at least I will have faith. But really, the ending was perfect. Why keep dragon it on (pardon the pun)?
Not just a sequel! They’re also talking about a TV series, an arena show, and an MMORPG kinda think. It’s funny how everyone is like “This movie is almost Pixar level!” and then Dreamworks is kind enough to explain why it’s not.
Well, I promised that I’d drive to LA and punch Katsenberg in the face if they announced a sequel… looks like it’s time to pack my car. Anyone else want me to pick them up on the way?
Heck, if we can hold this momentous event sometime in June or July, I’ll fly over there to kick him in the groin so hard that he’ll never be able to pollute the Earth with his genetic material (wait, he’s probably already done that). Something tells me I can’t restrain you for that long, though. Do take along a video camera though. I want to see the fun on Youtube.
And here we see another key difference - Avatar essentially seems to be a creator-controlled property (okay, it’s probably technically owned by whichever studio released it, but I bet they basically let James Cameron handle the creative work), whereas How to Train Your Dragon, for all the brilliance of the film, has been plainly revealed as an executive-controlled property. In a way, Dreamworks is much like any other studio, it’s just that they’re most well-known for animation, and in that field they’re up against Pixar, the best in any field at mixing artistic quality and mass appeal.
Oh, I maintain that the film is still Pixar level. It’s just that the rights happened to be owned by a bunch of hacks who seem determined to send this the way of The Land Before Time.
Still, I might be willing to give Dreamworks a chance on this. If they can get Chris Sanders and/or Dean DeBlois back on for the sequel, I will probably go see it. After all, Pixar can make good sequels (certainly for Toy Story 2, and assuming Toy Story 3 lives up to the trailers), and those two guys seem to hold themselves to a similarly high standard of filmmaking. If Dreamworks can’t get at least one of those two men back, however, then the studio is truly a lost cause.
The TV series may well come down to how much money they’re willing to throw at it. The Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV series, for instance, is very entertaining largely because the animation holds to a nearly cinematic standard (to paraphrase George Lucas, “Not as good as Pixar, but good enough”). From what I’ve heard of the Penguins of Madagascar, however, the animation is well-below par, even for Dreamworks.
As for an MMORPG, that is the one thing I’m all for. There’s some potential for cool stuff, and it’s not like any other movie’s been ruined by having a shoddy licensed game. Basically, it’s no big deal at worst, and could be quite entertaining.
Of course, all this stuff is completely unnecessary, and shows that Dreamworks are hacks who happen to get lucky occasionally through sheer random probability. At the same time, however, there is a slim but noteworthy chance that some of these things could work. Until that hope is extinguished, I shall hold onto it.
I still want to kick Mr Katzenberg in the groin, though - it’s the principle of the matter.
I hereby rig the Oscars to give that the award for Best Picture. Though now that I think about, if they get a comedian to host the next Oscars, the potential for utterly ripping into Katzenberg is huge.
To anyone who might know, did he become this much of a money-slave after moving to Dreamworks, or was he like this when he was at Disney? I can’t really reconcile Dreamworks’ almighty-dollar business model with the brilliance of the Disney renaissance of the early-to-mid 90s.
This film doesn’t deserve something like this. (as in, it’s way too awesome for that.)
I don’t WANT it to become a franchise! I don’t WANNA! I don’t WANNA! /throws tantrum
Let’s hope they’ve learned from their mistakes with the Shrek sequels and actually try to make a GOOD sequel for once. If they are still gonna…
But then, back when Over The Hedge was still new they wanted to make a sequel too and it still hasn’t been released, so perhaps they’re just all like ‘look we claim that we make sequel but actually don’t!’ and yeah
…but really this news saddened me. Not even something like the announcement of Luigi in Super Mario Galaxy 2 can cheer me up now. D’:
Wow. So, not only does Katzenberg look like the kind of guy you really wouldn’t want to leave in a room with your own children, but he’s also incredibly stupid?
Plus I genuinely can’t think of what else can happen following on from How To Train Your Dragon. The film came full circle, the ending was great, a really neat conclusion. So in short, Dreamworks fails.
OK, OK, yes, we all know Dreamworks fails. But they may not be failing with HtTYD 2. There are reports that both directors have sequels lined up. Proof: slashfilm.com/2010/04/28/chr … our-dragon
I really don’t think that there should be a competition. I think DWA should make 'em both! It’s the Dreamworks way, of course!
Yeah, I saw someone on Wall-E Forum post that earlier. It retrieves a slight bit of hope for me, but… I really wish they’re getting John Powell to compose the original score for the movie again. I can’t imagine a HTTYD movie without Powell’s musical brilliance in the background.
I’m keeping optimistic about the sequels at least seeing as Chris and Dean are still doing them, but I’m not sure about the other stuff. It just depends on if they keep the quality level up.
I just hope they don’t get Aesop Amnesia and forget that both Dragon and Panda did so well because they focused on character, plot and action instead of fart jokes and pop culture references.
goodness, I just hope that Chris Sanders and Dean Deblois somehow find their way on to this project.
