Tuesday
04Nov2008
Trailer - 'Monsters vs. Aliens' Heats Up Pixar vs. DreamWorks
Tuesday, November 4, 2008 at 1:00AM
As much as we love Pixar movies, DreamWorks has really
started to gain ground on their rival. The Shrek movies make up one of
the biggest trilogies ever, even if we've seen diminishing returns each time.
Flushed Away didn't fare so well, but was a
well-written flick that deserved a bigger audience. And this summer,
Kung Fu Panda, while not the technical symphony
that Wall-E is, made more money and might even be a bigger crowd pleaser.
I'm a Trailer Addict
In case you didn't spot all the voices:
Seth Rogen,
Will Arnett,
Paul Rudd,
Hugh Laurie,
Kiefer Sutherland,
Rainn Wilson, and
Reese Witherspoon. Oh, and
Stephen Colbert as the President of the United
States.
We had a bootleg trailer for Monsters vs. Aliens a few months ago, and now that same trailer has been officially released by the studio. And it will be released in the InTru 3-D format, which means we'll have to wear glasses, but it could look much better than it does in the trailer.
I'm a Trailer Addict
Reader Comments (7)
That Pixar is returning to their roots and producing Toy Story 3 suggests that the creative well might just be about dry...
Maybe we'll see a direct to DVD sequel to A Bug's Life too.
Whoever wrote this obviously has put little to no thought into the article. There is no, and i repeat, no way that a Dreamworks movie can triumph a Pixar movie in terms of sheer quality, be it plotwise or technical aspects. And time has proven it again and again. And to Will, are you a serious film critic? Or just a very bored individual out to make a fool out of him/herself? Toy Story 3 is produced due to over-demand, not because they have run out ideas. Anyway, your response and the beginning of this article simply speaks of the current average movie-goer's intellectual level, everyone seems to be more content with a mediocre plot and slapstick humor. Either way, it's your loss that you are unable to appreciate the quality of every Pixar movie to date. Well, maybe except Cars wasn't that good, but it's still better than any of the Dreamworks animations.
Again, compare what you've seen from this film to Up. This looks like the better movie, and Kung Fu Panda is very entertaining and well-made.
I love how a comment of Pixar's 'creative well drying up' follows the release of one of their own animated films rumoured to be a possible nomination of a Best Picture Oscar.
Monsters vs. Aliens may be funny and entertaining on a base level, as most of Dreamworks' films are, but the second an 'all-star cast' is mentioned, isn't it obvious that they're not able to go beyond the obvious and make a truly good film on all levels? Dreamworks has come closer and closer, but they're still making films that lack that special something. Meanwhile, Pixar's next feature will star an old man- something you so rarely see in cinema nowadays, let alone in animated fare- and isn't about things exploding or fart jokes or how famous the actors behind the voices are, but is instead about the core essentials, such as the story, the meaning, the characters themselves.
When Dreamworks releases a film that can make me cry like a Pixar film can, then they've achieved something. Until then, we'll have to put up with laughing at the films they release, and then questioning what their point is.
Monsters vs. Aliens looks decent, but by no means does it look better than Up, at least not to me. The premise of Up, to me, sounds much more intelligent and more appealing than Monsters vs Aliens. As a fan of adventure movies (good ones like Raiders of the Lost Ark, Treasure of the Sierra Madre) Up sounds especially good. Also, Pixar is once again proving to be more daring by making the main hero a 78-year-old man. I might catch Monsters vs. Aliens in theaters, but I know for sure that I will be seeing Up, especially since Pete Docter (who made the underrated Monster's, Inc.) is directing.
As for Toy Story 3, somehow, I just KNOW it will be great. Toy Story and Shrek are certainly incomparable. Sure, the first Shrek was pretty good, but the second was just okay, and the third one was quite "meh." So far, both Toy Story and Toy Story 2 are equally great, and both are better than any of the Shreks. And in case none of you knew, Dreamworks in making a "Shrek Goes Fourth" and a "Shrek the Fifth" are far as I know, as well as a Puss-In-Boots spinoff. Pixar is making a Toy Story 3 and a Cars 2. I admit that I'm puzzled by a Cars 2, but Toy Story 3, not at all.
For one thing, while all of the Shrek sequels have been pretty unnecessary, Toy Story 2 wasn't at all unnecessary, and based on the premise alone, Toy Story 3 doesn't seem unnecessary either. And as far as I know, Toy Story 3 will be the final film in the "Toy Story" series. I highly doubt that Pixar will kill their first-born child just for the sake of making money. If Toy Story 3 sucks, then everything that everyone at Pixar has said (about their filmmaking ideals) is pointless. I highly doubt that they're ready to give it all up so soon.
Hey, lizardgirl, you were here! ^^
Anyway,
*back to topic*
what is going on here again?
Another Dreamworks ripoff?
Monsters vs Aliens reminds me of Monsters, Inc. and Lifted.
Pixar makes A Bug's Life, then Dreamworks makes Antz.
Pixar makes Finding Nemo, then Dreamworks makes Shark Tale.
You get my point?!
Why can't Dreamworks just make a feature of their own ideas? (as in a samrter idea than a Panda that can do Kung Fu thingy)
I'm not english speaker. And I watch movies in translation, so DreamWorks don't have any "star voices" for me.
Pixar is the #1. DreamWorks just better then 90% of others, but not the best.