Today DreamWorks Animation reported that less money was rolling in. No big surprise there, since no newer features have been released in recent months.
No big surprise there. This also wasn't a huge surprise:
... [Chief Executive Jeffrey] Katzenberg also disclosed that the studio did not plan to produce a sequel to "Monsters vs. Aliens," which generated $380 million at the box office but did not fare well in some key international markets. Asked why, he said: "I'd like to tell you there's a perfectly rational, clear and easy answer as to why not, but there isn't."
“There was enough of a consensus from our distribution and marketing folks in certain parts of the world that we would be pushing a boulder up a hill ...”
I've got an explanation: The Three Dee was first rate, but the characters, gags and story didn't gel and catch fire the way Kung Fu Panda did. Mostly, however, MvA was America-centric. How many people in Asia or Europe know what the hell Area Fifty-one is? Or care? And American troops and American Presidents aren't quite the ... uh ... crowd pleasers in other countries that they used to be. And Monsters had plenty of all those things.
(You'll note that the picture did fine in the U.S. of A. But not so fine everywhere else.)
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12 comments:
MvA has to be the ugliest-looking CGI movie to date. No, scratch that, it comes in second to Hoodwinked. But not by much. I can hardly stand to look at the DVD ads running on TV right now. I can't imagine having to look at those hideous characters (even the big blonde was unpleasant-looking) for 90 minutes. Gahhh!!!!
well anonymous, now you have to deal with an even MORE lame Halloween special featuring the characters from the movie. I really do agree with you too.
I dont know Steve... I know it was a little more than 10 years ago. But, Independance Day with Will Smith did rather well internationally. And if I remember correctly (it has been 10 years), it was pretty US centric? Not to mention Area 51 was in it.
Dreamworks sucks baby! Woot woot!
Another case of incredible Development art....poor 3D execution. Some of the most Generic CG humans to date. But I'm sure it was cheap to pull some verts around on existing models and repackage them.
Well, the script was really average and predictable, which should explain a lot. I think the logic is the other way round: it did well in the US because of all these American-centric elements. Without those, the movie would have fared as in the rest of the world I guess. Not so much a problem of not knowing those country-specific elements... The movie itself just wasn't well written...
How much did the "visual effects supervisor" have to do with the "look" of this film? That would explain a lot of the ugly and bad taste. Who Art Directed this? Where the hell were they?
The look of MVA didn't blow me away. But, it didn't bother me. Actually, I thought it was nice to have a change. Not everything has to look like a pixar film.
Moratorium on "woot woot," please.
I second that motion.
R.
Give me a break. The American-centric elements were hardly a problem for this film. The lack of innovative story was, however. Let's see...
An insecure girl-woman that doesn't have a spine and doesn't know how to handle any aspect of her life? Check.
An insensitive man in her life that doesn't have any empathy for her plight as a giant? Check.
Goofy but loveable weirdos that help her understand that she can be strong, all while giving her some slight bit of self-worth? Check.
It was, in effect, a Lifetime movie. And one viewing was more than enough.
I laughed and enjoyed the 3D. The designs were hilarious. It was very Mad magazine in its tone, and in that way, made it different than the usual. The humans reminded me of Jack Davis drawings come to life, the humor drawn from a good Mad parody. The film didn't take itself too seriously, something too many animated films tend to do when they are reaching for Best Animated Picture bullshit awards.
The only thing predictable with regard to this movie is the usual crap criticism on this labor blog.
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