Dreamworks Animation: Splitting from Pixar an Starting Anew

By Emmanuel Gundran

     During the time Disney and Pixar pioneered the computer-animated film industry, another studio was about to compete against them: Dreamworks SKG. It all started over the controversy surrounding the making of Disney and Pixar’s A Bug’s Life (Lasseter and Stanton 1998) and Dreamworks’ Antz (Darnell and Johnson 1998). According to Businessweek, after Jeffrey Katzenberg, co-founder of Dreamworks, had left Pixar midway through production of Toy Story (Lasseter 1995), John Lasseter had stopped by Jeffrey Katzenberg’s office to talk about A Bug’s Life (1998). In retrospect, Lasseter, after reading out about how Dreamworks’ Antz was very similar in concept, felt betrayed by Katzenberg. Two computer-animated films about ant colonies liberating themselves from tyranny were to be released in 1998, one by Disney and Pixar and the other by Dreamworks. In the end, Antz did not surpass the success of A Bug’s Life. However, this was only the beginning for Dreamworks, as they later produced hits that put them on the map as pioneers of computer-animation.

A Bug's Life and Antz have very similar premises and were released within the same year.

​     In 2001, Dreamworks released Shrek (Jenson and Adamson) which was a massive box office hit and critical success, that started their first franchise and would help define the company’s style from then on. The film follows an ogre named Shrek (Mike Myers) whose home is invaded by magical creatures, whose homes were taken by the evil Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow). It’s up to Shrek to rescue the princess who Farquaad wants to marry to reclaim his and the creatures’ land. Unlike Disney and Pixar’s films that are more focused on overall moral messages and family values, Dreamworks’ Shrek is more farcical and irreverent while still maintaining a PG rating. The gross out humor and adult references do not make the film very subtle or nuanced. Overall though, the film, like the films made by Disney and Pixar, has a lot of heart at the end and is a delight to watch. It was received so well that it was made into a franchise with three more films and another one reportedly on the way.

Shrek and his traveling partner Donkey out on an adventure in the land of Far Far Away.

     Two more recent films that demonstrate the wider scope of storytelling that Dreamworks is capable of are How to Train Your Dragon (DeBlois and Sanders 2010) and How to Train Your Dragon 2 (DeBlois 2014). The films chronicle the struggle of a Norse tribe fighting back the threat of dragons. Hiccup (Jay Baruchel), the chieftain’s son, struggles to become a Viking because of his difficulty with fighting dragons. Throughout in the two films we see him becoming more courageous as a fighter and mature as a person, giving a sense of character progression. Furthermore, though the films are made for a family audience, the filmmakers don’t dance around dealing with more serious themes such as limb loss and even death of loved ones. These are both important things to show even in a PG-rated film, because kids may have to cope with these types of situations at their age, and it’s helpful for kids to see films that present relatable themes. It is this level of dramatic storytelling that has helped How to Train Your Dragon become another one of Dreamworks’ main franchises alongside Shrek (2001). Though toting a style very different from Disney and Pixar, Dreamworks has contributed a lot to the computer-generated film industry and cemented itself as one of its champions.

Hiccup with his dragon Toothless, who he was able to tame and ride.

Works Cited:

Burrows, Peter. “Antz vs. Bugs: The inside story of how Dreamworks beat Pixar to the screen.” Businessweek. 1998. Accessed 6 Nov. 2016. Web