DreamWorks Animation has often been my target when it comes to criticizing sequel abuse on animated movies. While they make good sequels (most of the time), there isn’t much that makes them special.
Recently, I rented "The Penguins of Madagascar" (2014) from Redbox, planning to go on a full-frontal assault against DreamWorks for yet another "Madagascar" venture. Upon the start of the end credits, I thought for a bit about what I thought of the movie.
Well, I laughed. The story was alright. Animation was creative, especially with how Dave the Octopus was animated. I really didn’t have anything bad to say.
At least, I didn’t have anything significantly bad to say. All I thought was this...
It’s a DreamWorks movie.
That’s both a good AND a bad thing. After the recent "Puss in Boots" (2011), I couldn’t imagine DreamWorks screwing up another spin-off based on characters already made with vague backstories.
What makes this thought bad is that this spinoff of "Madagascar" can easily become a victim of what I call “the DreamWorks Effect.”
If you had a childhood, you can recall the great feature that was "Shrek." A story about an ogre living among classic, and mildly irritating, fairytale creatures turned out to be incredibly hilarious and practically a spoof of everything we know from Disney films. With witty dialogue and a touching story, "Shrek" still holds up to this day and remains a classic among many.
Three years later, "Shrek 2" was released and it was a bigger success than its predecessor. Most "Shrek" fans will tell you that "Shrek 2" is the best of the four.
Yes, there were two other "Shrek" films; "Shrek the Third" and "Shrek Forever After." It was in these two movies when the franchise went stale and the humor went from clever and hilarious to crude and lazy. Many critics panned both films and it shows on Rotten Tomatoes.
Since then, DreamWorks hasn’t taken a hint and learned that too much of something is never good. While the content may be good and make us laugh every once in a while, DreamWorks doesn’t do much to make its movies memorable. Why? Because of the sequels and spin-offs. DreamWorks can’t let a story live and die until the cash cow has been slaughtered.
And the "Madagascar" franchise is next on DreamWorks chopping block. So far, we’ve had three feature films, a television series, a spin-off, two television specials, one short film, and a fourth feature film that is currently in development.
"Kung Fu Panda" has two feature films, a television series, a holiday special, two short films, and a third feature film is currently in development to release after the holidays.
As for movies like "The Croods," "Monsters vs. Aliens," "How to Train Your Dragon," and even "Puss in Boots," they’re next to be sold in the butcher sho––I mean, box office.
When you release sequel upon sequel of a franchise after every couple of years, the story loses its value. This is why I haven’t been on top of any of the X-Men films. There’s a new one every two years. So, I have all the time in the world to see one.
I find that when you starve a fanbase for a sequel for long enough, it makes the movie all the more special (for the most part). Take Pixar’s "Toy Story" franchise. Society went over a decade without a third "Toy Story." After the eleven year wait, "Toy Story" made over a billion dollars at the box office. The "Toy Story" franchise is so beloved that people flipped their lids when "Toy Story 3" came out. After that time, we were given a heart-wrenching story that made the wait worth it.
What did Pixar do in between those eleven years? They built other franchises and continued original works with as less sequels as possible.
The only movies that have managed to escape DreamWorks sequel abuse have been "Over the Hedge," "Megamind," and "Turbo." All three are good films, but it’s probably a good idea to be left alone as they are.
Wait...there’s a "Turbo" animated series on Netflix?
Dammit! They’re digging in the past. They’re digging in the past! Get out of there, Megamind!
