Do you feel like all animated movies will be compared to Pixar’s? I guess the answers might be a bit biased, this being a Pixar forum, but I’d like to hear what you think. Can a studio consistently make quality animated films that rival that of Pixar’s?
It is an interesting Idea to think about.
Dreamworks HAS the potential to do it, if they had talented and smart CEO’s and leaders. Basically, it all comes down to the people running the company and how they choose to run it.
Ps. Love your avvie Monster,
Pixar is the Gold Standard for CG animation, but maybe not all animation. Another studio could probably make animated films that consistently rival Pixar’s quality, but they would have to be willing to commit as heavily to story as Pixar does.
Example: Andrew Stanton’s last-minute “fix” of the WALL-E garbage bay scene must have cost a bundle in time and money. Most other studios would probably have left it as is for budget constraints or whatever other reason. Pixar apparently crafts, crafts, crafts the story until it’s right, even if the fix is difficult to bring about.
I think the only studio over the years that we could honestly say made animated films of the same league as Pixar would be Disney itself. Though now I tend to compare even Disney to Pixar cause I’ve come to see them as having management differences in the 90’s. Back then I used to assume that everything Pixar made for Disney was “Disney”, but now I think they were really a studio all their own. I guess either Walt’s films or the ones from the Renaissance period would be considered Pixar quality the most.
simply Pixar is the best out there, followed by Ghibli and Disney, after that is Dreamworks with only 5 good films from its 21, the others animation studios are mostly crap
It’s kind of a cycle. Back in the early nineties, animated films from Pixar and Don Bluth were compared to Disney, because Disney was at it’s height and was the pioneer in the industry.
As time went on Pixar became more of that pioneer, most certainly from a technology standpoint. I’m sure it’s a trend that won’t last for ever, but you can’t ignore it. A lot of movie critics and reviewers compare aniamted films to Pixar.
I have a lot to say but it’s all been said so I’ll just mention something different; I have a lot of faith in/hope for Illumination Entertainment right now.
gazelle: Agreed, Illumination looks very promising. They could eventually achieve Pixar quality and successfully channeled Pixar and Warner Bros. in Despicable Me (no problem with that, and it worked well).
Blue Sky is also close to Pixar quality (Ice Age and Horton are at least on par with Cars), although I haven’t seen the Ice Age sequels to gauge. If there’s anything like “the next Pixar,” it could be Illumination or Blue Sky.
PDI/DreamWorks technically could achieve Pixar quality, but their business model doesn’t seem to include such a goal. Can’t blame them for wanting to carve their own different path, and they’re successful at it, so more power to them. As noted elsewhere by others here, HtTYD shows that they could hang in the Pixar playground if they wanted to.
Sony Pictures Animation has gotten close to the Pixar playground with Surf’s Up and CWACOM, but their business model is all over the map–they seem to be experimenting with all the different ways to produce films using CG animation. That broad-focus approach would seem to preclude the “story at all costs” model.
But at the end of the day, Disney is the studio that most likely can produce a Pixar-quality film–which they pretty much did with Tangled. No wonder! With Lasseter there, how could the magic not rub off?
They’d have much more potentional if they were working on more original movies like HTTYD instead of 4 sequals to HTTYD and Kung Fu Panda. I get it, Pixar has sequeals for Cars and TS. But still, 4 sequels? For both movies? Please.
I also agree with you the one with most Pixar quality is Disney. After all, Ed Catmull is the president and Lasseter is a producer and Creative Officer there!
But they are working on more original movies and new adaptations. I mean has anyone but me been following any Dreamworks news outside of the whole sequel situation?
Sure we heard about Me and My Shadow but where are the news stories on animation sites about things like Truckers, or Boo U, or Pig Scrolls, or Alma, etc? It seems like they get pushed to the bottom of the stack for things like Dreamworks sequel news or how they’re milking yet another franchise.
It’s really weird that I have to go to all-purpose entertainment websites to pick up PDI/Dreamworks news that isn’t just a quick jab at their sequel practices.
And Katzenberg is probably just blue-skying. Talk to any studio exec that doesn’t work at Pixar and you’ll get similar responses when it comes to franchises. Warners had contingency plans for things like Watchmen. Watchmen! So even though I hate the idea of him milking a franchise or even talking about it, it’s not aberrant, it’s the norm.
Sorry for the harsh tone. It just that it seems like one has to fight uphill battles when it comes to defending Dreamworks except when it comes to one movie. Just the general thought among fans of them being creatively bankrupt outside of a handful of films and will continue to be creatively bankrupt despite developing more IPs is a frustrating thing to say the least.
Absolutely! I plan to see Megamind and am eager for more info about The Croods and The Guardians of Childhood. Not a lot available on those latter films, though, probably due to their planned 2012 releases.
Also, on a note I hope you find amusing, aerostarmonk…how would you like to defend not just DreamWorks but (horrors!) Vanguard? Apologies to all offended by the mention of Vanguard in a Pixar/Quality topic. Please note that this is in NO WAY a suggestion that Vanguard could make a film as well as Pixar. But… ? ? ?
Somewhere out there there’s a guy who has it far worse. Shouting loudly so everyone can hear his arguments on the merits of Video Brinquedo unironically.
There seems to be a bit more creative freedom at some of the other studios as well. At Pixar it seems if you cross the Trust you’re out of the game. If it weren’t for the fact that the Trust’s practices have ensured them such a sterling reputation I reckon Pixar would get a lot more guff than that small minority of naysayers they already have.
I may be reading the situation wrong though. I’ll admit when it comes to studio politics, live action is more my game.
Of the movies in development I’ve mentioned I’m not sure at how much traction they’re actually getting. I know quite a bit about Alma but only because I follow del Toro and Blaas updates like a man possessed. But I’m beginning to think that it and its “sibling” production Trollhunters will never see the light of day before the end of the decade if only because you can’t count on del Toro to finish anything he sets out to do. I swear there should be some sort of gambling pool for which production that guy sticks with and follows through on because it would rival the lottery in odds.
The others have only had off and on rumors since being announced. So I guess it’s hardly any websites or person’s fault that they rarely get mentioned.
I hope you enjoy Megamind JustSteve! I certainly did. At points it’s a bit fast paced, but it’s a feature which feels like dreamworks… but proves this isn’t a bad thing. It also really cheered me up when I was having a bad time too. It’s not perfect, but I still loved it.
It has indeed been said there’s less freedom in Pixar though (of course I couldn’t say personally), which is why people have been leaving, though people do sometimes change studios for a change of pace in general too.
I think the thing with freedom is, yes that means that it’s possible they’ll be quite a few ‘duds’ produced as well- but it also means it’s possible to produce something amazing- something which yes, beats at least a fair number of pIxar movies and maybe some day all of them. I certainly think that about say HTTYD and Megamind (beating a large number of Pixar movies at least in terms of how much I enjoyed them), even if for me that may be down to personal taste etc. and MM wasn’t perfect I’ll admit, but I couldn’t help but love it to pieces and so many of the characters and it really helped me when I was feeling down.
Despite the whole ‘sequels’ thing that doesn’t stop these two Dreamworks movies from being fantastic to me personally and that can’t be taken away from me no matter how horrible the sequels might be. Pixar is supposed to be about the ‘story’, or so they claim and that’s ultimately what the most important thing is and always will be for any movie. Pixar doesn’t own every single last person who is able to come up with a winning or compelling story in the end and not everyone who is there always was at Pixar in any case or ever will be.
People will ultimately compare Pixar to a lot of different studios, mainly because they basically seem to have the ability to practically print money with films with their logo attached and the fact they were the first in this type of animation. That’s not to say something that happened to Disney won’t happen to Pixar though too (say they lose their crown for a little while or even a long one while still making at least some money, before pulling themselves up again). But for now that’s what people do. Heck even when/if that happens they’ll possibly be comparing films to ‘Pixar’s good days’ or something. I don’t think it’s really fair to compare animation quality- unless of course we are talking about the big dogs/big three which have that type of money. But I think story is a fair means of comparison- though comparing everything to Pixar all the time could get a bit tiring eventually just because it has the same type of medium. I mean the medium is just there to help show the story, but it’s not the story completely.
Ha! Although, to be honest, I would defend Video Brinquedo purely for its hyper-low quality (as a function of hyper-low budget) if it weren’t for their apparent deceptive approach. In other words, it looks like their intent is to trick unsuspecting consumers into buying a cheap knock-off, and that is what makes them cringe-worthy. If someone produced comparable CG-animated original stories and hung out their shingle in an honest hope that audiences would respond well, “poor-quality” as the result was, I’d give it a fair shake. There are far worse things in life than offering perceived low-quality work in a medium to which one devotes honest, even loving, effort.
I plan to enjoy Megamind and will certainly give it a fair shake. Well said about the freedom of good story crafters!
I couldn’t agree more with you two. Granted, this is a Pixar-centralized site so there’s going to be an overwhelming bias, but over the last year I’ve really found myself learning to appreciate and love films besides Pixar’s. I’m actually far more excited for the films DreamWorks will be releasing this year and in the next few years than I am for anything Pixar has planned. Call me crazy, but that’s just sincerely how I feel. Pixar’s been on top for such a long time, but I feel that other studios like DreamWorks might catch up quick.
It’s really not fair that people will automatically tear apart all the sequels coming up (though I don’t agree with having so many, I’m genuinely looking forward to KFP2 and HtTYD2) and never focus on any original works coming out of DW, like Me and My Shadow. Either that or it’ll just get blown off and immediately dismissed simply because it’s DW so it’s automatically ‘lesser’ or something. Holding that stereotype over any other company isn’t right. You’ll miss out on a lot if you don’t give other studios a chance. If I had still been that way last year, I would have missed out on gems like HtTYD, Despicable Me and Megamind, two of which were DW films I honestly thought were going to be outright stupid.
And even if the sequels to KFP and HtTYD are seriously just bad, it’s not going to change how much I love their originals, as mentalguru stated.
Sorry I keep quoting you mentalguru, but one of your statements can sum up everything I just said perfectly:
little chef
I don’t think it’d be fair to compare all animated movies to Pixar. Yes, Pixar sets the standard most of the time, but its business model is different than other studios. The films it makes are different than the films other studios make. I think studios like Dreamworks, Blue Sky, and Illumination Entertainment can rival Pixar… as they should. There needs to be some sort of competition in the industry! And the neat thing is, even if they all rival each other, they all produce such different types of films for the most part that it gives variety to the animated films we can see. I think we can appreciate all the other studios for what films they produce. They may not quite meet Pixar’s story quality but a lot of them are good films in their own right.
Well written, and I agree with you. But on the board I think I’ve heard a few things like how to train your dragon was overrated and the usual hate for the Shrek series, and that’s the reason why I thought of these questions. No intentions of saying that other animated films aren’t just as good.
Well thank you.
I’m personally excited to see what DW has to dish out. Sorry, guys. 
Same thing with Illumination and Sony.
^ That’s what I was saying too, IV. And once again, my post gets shoved down to the bottom of the last page so no one sees it. >8I
I’m not mad at you, IV, I just get frustrated that no one hears my opinion cuz my post is always left on the last bit of the other page. 
little red
I read it, chef! I was going to reply but I had nothing to add. You essentially said everything I would’ve said in response to everyone else.
As I’ve said frequently, I’m much more interested in what other studios have in the pipeline right now than anything over at Pixar at the moment. Save maybe Brave. And even my interest in that is waning ever since the original director allegedly crossed the Trust.
Come on, and this goes out to every studio, can’t we have one film with both a female protagonist and a female writer/director?