# Dreamworks vs Pixar **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 3, 2004, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreamworks-vs-pixar/267311 "2004-10-03T11:40:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreamworks-vs-pixar/267311/21 "2004-10-04T08:21:06Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > It is if they’re stealing ideas. That’s just how Hollywood works. You can’t hold it against them. ---
**Author:** ![Duderdude2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Duderdude2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duderdude2)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreamworks-vs-pixar/267311/22 "2004-10-04T08:35:55Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > That’s just how Hollywood works. You can’t hold it against them. And even then, I still contend that it’s a stretch to consider Shrek a ripoff of Monsters Inc. Even Shark Tale, apart from being underwater (and apparently shitty) looks drastically different than Finding Nemo did in both content and visuals. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreamworks-vs-pixar/267311/23 "2004-10-04T10:20:03Z")
> [@Duderdude2](#): > > And even then, I still contend that it’s a stretch to consider Shrek a ripoff of Monsters Inc. Even Shark Tale, apart from being underwater (and apparently shitty) looks drastically different than Finding Nemo did in both content and visuals. You’re still using the term “ripoff” and thinking in terms of “copying”. They aren’t copying the movie and just changing the titles. They are stealing the _concept_. A billion ideas to make a movie about, and in order they have had a bug movie, a monster movie, and a fish movie. There can be no other conclusion. ---
**Author:** ![Duderdude2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Duderdude2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duderdude2)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreamworks-vs-pixar/267311/24 "2004-10-04T15:55:37Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > There can be no other conclusion. Rarely have I seen so much ignorance spouted in such few words. There _can_ be another conclusion if what I perceive happens to differ from yours. I believe that your tagline, “there can be no other conclusion” would now correctly fit the context. I maintain that throwing Shrek into the same category as Monsters Inc. is a ludicrous statement. Sure, technically both involved at least one “monster”, but that’s akin to stating that The Truman Show ripped off Dark City because of the deceptive reality. The content of the two movies couldn’t be more dissimilar. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreamworks-vs-pixar/267311/25 "2004-10-04T16:54:01Z")
I’m suprised no has mentioned Dreamworks **Ice Age**. Are you going to tell me that this was a rip off of Disney’s **Dinosaurs**? I really don’t care who’s copying who as I take the films movie by movie with little reguards as to who released them. And if your going to try to tell me that **Shrek** had a bad message about ogres being considered ugly cause they were fat, then how do you dismiss all of Disneys films with the heroine always being the skinniest-prettiest girl in the movie? Cinderella=skinny-pretty Stepsisters=fat-ugly Belle, Arielle, Snow White, Jasmine are all role models for girls to be themselves aren’t they? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreamworks-vs-pixar/267311/26 "2004-10-04T17:06:48Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > And if your going to try to tell me that **Shrek** had a bad message about ogres being considered ugly cause they were fat, then how do you dismiss all of Disneys films with the heroine always being the skinniest-prettiest girl in the movie? Cinderella=skinny-pretty Stepsisters=fat-ugly > Belle, Arielle, Snow White, Jasmine are all role models for girls to be themselves aren’t they? When did I dismiss the Disney films? I think they’re just as culpable as the rest of Hollywood - except that they haven’t made a movie whose theme is acceptance regardless of appearance filled with short jokes. I happen to like that Belle’s a bookworm who falls in love with the Beast while he’s still a beast - in this case, the fact that he ends up turning into Michael Bolton is gravy! What changed were his actions, not his appearance (well, he did get a bath and a haircut.) Ariel’s a saucy little wench, but of course the “losing your voice to get a man” theme had me steaming. Snow White - meh. Far too long ago for me to have any opinion other than hating her singing voice. Jasmine, well, Jasmine was a hottie with an Ariel complex (re: her Daddy), but I thought the movie was mostly worth watching for Robin Williams’ Genie and Lea Salonga’s beautiful singing. There wasn’t much of a theme to get me rilled up about (or I’ve forgotten about it.) ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreamworks-vs-pixar/267311/27 "2004-10-04T17:07:15Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > Belle, Arielle, Snow White, Jasmine are all role models for girls to be themselves aren’t they? Yes, except that each of them eventually sacrifices some portion of themselves (in Ariel’s case, her _fins_!!) to marry a man and thereby become a Princess. If you go into the Disney Store this October, you’ll see that your little boy can be any kind of hero he likes, and your little girl can be any kind of princess she likes. If my (future) daughter wants to be a princess for Halloween, she can – but she’ll darn well have a choice of being an astronaut or a hippie or a sea serpent or a Viking. ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreamworks-vs-pixar/267311/28 "2004-10-04T17:14:02Z")
> [@](#): > > I’m suprised no has mentioned Dreamworks Ice Age . **Ice Age** was 20th Century Fox, not Dreamworks, if I recall correctly. I am surprised no one’s mentioned it, though. I _like_ the movie quite a bit, but I haven’t heard of many other people who do. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreamworks-vs-pixar/267311/29 "2004-10-04T17:24:26Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > …(what does Puss In Boots really do?)… You mean, aside from stealing the whole freakin’ picture? ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreamworks-vs-pixar/267311/30 "2004-10-04T18:30:53Z")
I saw _Shark Tale_ over the weekend, and I thought similar thoughts of Pixar vs. Dreamworks. I dunno about idea-stealing or theme-stealing or whatever you want to call it. However, it’s plain to me that Pixar has something going for it that Dreamworks doesn’t – good writers. Whether it’s an original story, or an adaptation, Pixar’s writers just seem to have a better feel for both the story and the individual characters, and the knowledge and talent to be able to meld them properly. _Shreck_ came the closest, in my opinion, to having a good storyline combined with good dialogue. Heck, look at some of the shorts Pixar has done, none of which (to my knowledge) have dialogue. They’re still brilliant. I don’t think Dreamworks is capable of producing shorts like that. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreamworks-vs-pixar/267311/31 "2004-10-04T22:33:24Z")
[QUOTE=Duderdude2] Rarely have I seen so much ignorance spouted in such few words. There _can_ be another conclusion if what I perceive happens to differ from yours. I believe that your tagline, “there can be no other conclusion” would now correctly fit the context. [QUOTE] Now my head hurts. Okay, perhaps I should’ve said “In my opinion, it is the obvious conclusion.” That’s what I was thinking, but not what I said. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreamworks-vs-pixar/267311/32 "2004-10-04T22:40:13Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > You mean, aside from stealing the whole freakin’ picture? I meant in the plot. Fine, he looked cute and he did funny things. But that’s not a good enough reason for him to be a central character if he has no story motivation. ---
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreamworks-vs-pixar/267311/33 "2004-10-04T22:48:22Z")
> [@Sauron](#): > > I saw _Shark Tale_ over the weekend, and I thought similar thoughts of Pixar vs. Dreamworks. > > I dunno about idea-stealing or theme-stealing or whatever you want to call it. However, it’s plain to me that Pixar has something going for it that Dreamworks doesn’t – **good writers**. > > [snip] > > Heck, look at some of the shorts Pixar has done, **none of which (to my knowledge) have dialogue**. They’re still brilliant. I don’t think Dreamworks is capable of producing shorts like that. (bolding mine) Then I think you mean they have just plain talent rather than good writers. Writing isn’t everything, and plenty of animated shorts, especially the ones with _no dialogue_ aren’t written at all - they’re storyboarded. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreamworks-vs-pixar/267311/34 "2004-10-05T00:35:27Z")
Y’all are forgetting _Sinbad_ from Dreamworks which was really quite good. And I liked _Ice Age_ but mostly because mammoths are my totem creature. And they could have just made 90 minutes of scrat and his acorn misadventures and I would have bought it on DVD. I haven’t seen comedic short cartoons like that since the early Bugs and Daffy stuff. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreamworks-vs-pixar/267311/35 "2004-10-05T00:52:36Z")
> [@Jonathan Chance](#): > > Y’all are forgetting _Sinbad_ from Dreamworks which was really quite good. Well, there’s no accounting for taste. But check these out, and notice the use of “Stars’ names” that headline the posters. [Sinbad](http://www.impawards.com/2003/sinbad_legend_of_the_seven_seas_ver2.html) [Finding Nemo](http://www.killermovies.com/f/findingnemo/articles/2881.html) Proving Agrippina’s point that for some people it’s not about characters or story, it’s all about the star system. ---
**Author:** ![xvxdarkknightxvx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/34f0e0/32.png) [@xvxdarkknightxvx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xvxdarkknightxvx)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreamworks-vs-pixar/267311/36 "2004-10-05T00:56:54Z")
Couldn’t agree more. Dreamworks is terrible. Their ideas are tired and will easily show their age. Ice Age was pretty good, but not as good as any Pixar film. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreamworks-vs-pixar/267311/37 "2004-10-05T01:38:32Z")
> [@Dewey Finn](#): > > Thank God for Pixar, then, and its use of anonymous character actors. Who was it who did the lead voices for _Toy Story_? Ah, yes, the unknown actors Tom Hanks and Tim Allen. And given it was a movie about toys, it was swimming in pop culture references. > > You can dislike _Shrek_ if you want, but this is hardly fair. (To be honest, I’ve enjoyed the movies from both companies.) Well, Tom Hanks is pretty big, but Tim Allen? The guy’s Jeff Foxworthy with a toolbelt. He’s hardly A-List material. And look at who voiced the main characters in the rest of Pixar’s movies, vs. who voiced the rest of Dreamwork’s pictures: Pixar has employed the talents of John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Albert Brooks, and Dave Foley. All (well, mostly) actors I like and respect, but none of them are exactly superstars. Most people probably have no idea who Dave Foley even is. With the possible exception of Billy Crystal, the Pixar movie each of these actors did voicework for was the biggest success of their careers (if not necessarily the best work they’d ever done.) Dreamworks has used Mike Myers, Woody Allen, Eddie Murphy, Will Smith, and Robert DeNiro. Most of these actors are slumming. And most of them were cast because of other roles they’ve played. Woody Allen voices a neurotic ant who doesn’t fit into society. DeNiro plays a gangster shark. On the other hand, most of the Pixar characters are characters in their own right, not jokes based around the person who’s voicing them. Buzz Lightyear doesn’t wear a toolbelt and talk about giving everything “more power.” The green eyeball in _Monsters, Inc._ doesn’t hand out statuettes. Woody the Cowboy doesn’t die of AIDS. That said, I have to say that I really like Dreamworks’ 2D animation. _Sinbad_ was a great cartoon, and _Prince of Egypt_ is one of the best animated movies I’ve ever seen. Oh, and I’m not seeing the connection between _Shrek_ and _Monsters, Inc._, either (Both of which were over-rated, IMO). ---
**Author:** ![Duderdude2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Duderdude2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duderdude2)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreamworks-vs-pixar/267311/38 "2004-10-05T05:02:24Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Now my head hurts. > > Okay, perhaps I should’ve said “In my opinion, it is the obvious conclusion.” That’s what I was thinking, but not what I said. Fair enough, it’s all good. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreamworks-vs-pixar/267311/39 "2004-10-05T06:43:13Z")
An easy way to test things out– 1. Wait for **The Incredibles** to show up and kick major box-office keister(\*) next month. 2. Wait two years and see if Dreamworks comes out with a superhero-themed computer-animated movie. 😉 (\* = And it will, my friends … Pixar’s already got talent oozing from every pore, and throwing Brad Bird’s talents into that mix is guaranteed gold) ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreamworks-vs-pixar/267311/40 "2004-10-05T13:00:10Z")
> [@pizzabrat](#): > > (bolding mine) > Then I think you mean they have just plain talent rather than good writers. Writing isn’t everything, and plenty of animated shorts, especially the ones with _no dialogue_ aren’t written at all - they’re storyboarded. Yeah, but in moviemaking, storyboarding is another form of writing. I don’t work in the movies, but I do oversee the production of commercials. Storyboards don’t get made until a script is fleshed out and approved at the production level – even if the “script” contains no dialogue. Storyboards take a while to make, and nobody’s gonna invest that time until they know exactly where the story is going. Hence, the story has to be written first. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreamworks-vs-pixar/267311.md?page=1)