The Fall of DREAMWORKS: How Disney’s Rival Destroyed Itself

The entire history of DreamWorks Pictures, discussing the studio's founding by Jeffrey Katzenberg, Steven Spielberg, and David Geffen, its early financial and awards successes, the fates of its many divisions, including animation, television, and video games, and what has ultimately become of a studio that was once presented as a revolutionary force in Hollywood.
#dreamworks
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Sources:
"The Men Who Would Be King: An Almost Epic Tale of Moguls, Movies, and a Company" by Nicole LaPorte, 2011
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[@MattDraper]

What's your favorite DreamWorks movie?

[@MutantsInDisguise]

AMERICAN BEAUTY. It's sad the company is only known through their animation division, now part of Universal studios.

[@carsonsmith7314]

Prince of Egypt. I used to think Shrek, but then I found out why it was made, and then... it wasn't funny anymore.

[@funniator]

shrek

[@teddyfurstman1997]

Prince of Egypt, Shrek 2, Small Soldiers, Puss in Boots the last Wish and others. Oh and Mouse Hunt.

[@TyY-mh8mi]

Shrek

[@Anynom]

The excellent book "The Men Who Would Be King" on Dreamworks is a must-read touching on so many things. Katzenberg in particular was obsessed more with taking down Eisner and Disney than really making the company work and never the same after "Sinbad" flopped. Fun bit is that the one movie he didn't micromanage to a ridiculous degree would become the company's biggest hit, "Shrek."

[@cinemaarts8795]

Having not read the book, how was Katzenburg never the same after Sinbad, the failure of Peabody and Sherman seemed more devastating for Dreamworks.

[@Anynom]

@@cinemaarts8795 That was much later. Katzenberg had Sinbad as a passion project, really thought it was going to be this epic smash hit and it flopping took the wind out of his sails.

[@pdzombie1906]

Exactly! If Katzenberg had focus on winning the game on the long run instead of simple revenge, he would have won since Disney is basically ruining itself with Disney+ and DEI...

[@AL-lh2ht]

@@pdzombie1906 dude causally says the problem with disney is hiring too many blacks and gays.

[@hydra7427]

@@AL-lh2ht Yes, focusing on meaningless 'diversity' over actual quality is indeed a negative. It robs individuals of agency and advocates one drop rule standards from the Jim Crow era.

[@brenolad]

Ex DreamWorker here. This is a great essay. Although there are some discrepancies - the PDI 500 layoffs wasn't to do with Peabody & Sherman numbers so much, what setoff initial layoffs was the poor performance of Guardians in 2013 where we laid off 250 employees. We were over-spending and we couldn't afford the box-office flop. Guardians was INSANELY expensive which just added fuel to the fire. From then on, DreamWorks was riding a thin line with investors with overall poor box office numbers. Peabody & Sherman was just OK with box office numbers but far from impressive. What did kill us was the abysmal Penguins box office results, released on Thanksgiving 2014. The Hunger Games was released the same holiday weekend and it DESTROYED us! Hunger Games made close to $160M domestic while Penguins made a paltry $6M in comparison. We were depending on it to be a hit but inevitably it lead to the 500+ PDI layoffs (which I was part of) and closure of PDI DreamWorks. Penguins was already a hit show on Nickelodeon - why on earth would our key audience want to see a movie of what they watch on TV everyday.

[@MaFeLikEmE]

Can you hire me in something 😢 I need job so bad

[@resonatingtruths]

@@MaFeLikEmEWhat are you good at?

[@MaFeLikEmE]

@@resonatingtruths everything!!!!

[@resonatingtruths]

@@MaFeLikEmE What was your last job?

[@MaFeLikEmE]

@@resonatingtruths investment banking back office /accounts officer

[@AuraLeafstorm]

The Prince of Egypt, The Road to El Dorado, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, and Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas are all criminally underrated. All four of them are equal in quality to the films from the Disney Renaissance, and it's a shame they're not recognized for it. It's a tragedy that DreamWorks stopped making traditionally animated films.

[@suarezguy]

I loved The Road to El Dorado, the rest are OK but they all suffered from being at a time when viewers were tired of the Disney formula but also just not believing that any 2D-animation film would differ from it, would be for more than real young children, so not being willing to give them a chance even though they actually very much differed from it.

[@AuraLeafstorm]

@@suarezguy Personally, I think The Prince of Egypt is a top contender for best animated film ever made. The only Disney films that arguably match it in terms of sheer scope and mature subject matter are The Lion King and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (though the latter has some tonal problems that the stage adaptation fixed). And I say that as someone who adores nearly every film in the Disney Renaissance. The Prince of Egypt is just that unmatched.

[@thirdcoinedge]

​@AuraLeafstorm Better than the original Ten Commandments, hands down. The visuals are more beautiful, the characters are more compelling, and the film actually maintains the grandeur and mystique of God. The best Biblical film I've ever seen, at least for the Old Testament.

[@rosverlegaspo6752]

The Prince of Egypt is great, but it suffers for being a Christian film. Nearly two thirds of the world aren't Christians and it is just bothersome to talk about religion while discussing films. It just fails to have a broad appeal. The Road to El Dorado is ok. The plot is just not very engaging and is constantly drowned out by character drama. On the other hand, the characters aren't the type that appeals to a lot of people making the drama going on doesn't always resonate. It is just an ok film for me. Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron is not my film. It is a good film but like The Prince of Egypt, it has more limited appeal. You either like it, or you are indifferent to it. Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas... No. This is a middling film, and some might even consider it a bad film. It is really formulaic and the characters has the same issue as The Road to El Dorado. The animation is really great here though. Of the four, I consider The Prince of Egypt as one that does stand on equal terms with Disney Renaissance's best. Its religious nature though would keep it from being widely considered (pretty much like how The Hunchback of Notre Dame suffers the same fate).

[@AuraLeafstorm]

@@rosverlegaspo6752 For the record, I'm not a Christian. One doesn't need to practice a form of spirituality to enjoy a film that incorporates it into its narrative. I also enjoy Japanese films that incorporate elements of Japanese mythology and Shintoism into their narratives, for example. But, it's also valid to be put off of religious films if it's simply something that bothers you. I'm only speaking for myself. Spirituality aside, I think The Prince of Egypt is a work of art. I agree that Sinbad is the worst film of these four, though I certainly wouldn't call it bad. It's a fun sailing film with an iconic villain and a somewhat morally grey protagonist that perhaps follows the episodic nature of its source material a little too strongly in the middle sections in a way that doesn't service the narrative structure of a standalone film. But it has a strong beginning and a strong ending, kinetic action sequences, and some really creative set pieces and visual designs. I'm not sure what you mean about El Dorado having characters that don't appeal to a lot of people. In my experience the opposite is true; the film has become a cult classic largely in part due to its protagonists being funny, charismatic, and likable. It's a fun adventure film that harkens back to the golden age of cinema and could have had lasting legs as a franchise with multiple installments. It certainly had the potential for it. Spirit is a great movie with a surprisingly mature take on the American colonial expansion of the West during the 19th century from the perspective of a horse and a Lakota boy. The film would have worked a lot better without Matt Damon's narration, which at times was a little too on-the-nose. But otherwise, I think it's a beautiful film.

[@magnusprime962]

I think the biggest problem with DreamWorks is that two of its primary players were focused on beating Disney while Spielberg was focused on creative freedom. Spite isn’t a good long-term motivation, and Spielberg needs good people around him to ensure things work. Someone needed to be the adult in the room and rein them all in, but no one stepped up. DreamWorks fall isn’t surprising given what happened, what’s surprising is that it lasted as long as it did.

[@UnrealNeoBat]

If that's the case, the Daily Wire would surly fall sooner.

[@KaminoKatie]

Spite does help with PlayStation's case

[@princewellidk]

​@UnrealNeoBat shut up Biden Supporter 🤮

[@scaper8]

​@KaminoKatie But that wasn't Sony's fuel for long. By the PS2, and probably even before, they were just interested in the typical market-share rivalry on any company.

[@emmagrove6491]

I agree. Spite and revenge are bad motivations. Bad mojo and bad way to start a business. I remember interviews with the cast of ANTS and everyone at DreamWorks was crowing, "We're going to squash them like bugs." Don Bluth had the same idea. Ironically both studios had similar fates: Flowered early, lost direction quickly, made desperate attempts to ape Disney after many flops, and eventually ran out of steam.

[@FOXZILLA5734]

The biggest memories of DreamWorks I have was Wallace and Gromit, a shame later on they severed their relationship with AARDMAN.

[@MichaelNixSpain]

And that helped them win their 2nd Oscar for Best Animated Feature

[@seanr.8499]

I liked Wallace and Gromit, as well, but I would never say it had widespread appeal; it’s a very low energy show. It would be a very respected art piece, but it was a very bad business venture.

[@stuartkenny7430]

Eddache did a great video about the rise and fall of the partnership between DreamWorks and Aardman. It started off with all good intentions until a massive gulf appeared between the two companies, one that wasn't there before. Aardman liked to do things at a leisurely pace and had a British way on doing things whereas DreamWorks wanted new products NOW NOW NOW! This is a cautionary tale of how to take care with who you sign up to doing deals with. kzbin.info/www/bejne/g3jZqWSAp9Z9o7csi=OpQEWlpB5mCdgtzL

[@FOXZILLA5734]

@@stuartkenny7430 Thanks for the video link, I'll definitely see it

[@koobs4549]

I’m glad they severed their ties, dream works didn’t understand Aardman & their IP. They wanted to change too much, robbing it of its unique character

[@SK-yx7hm]

If katzenberg just let his ego go and let the train keep going without him, dreamworks probably couldve gone to disney levels. But trying to spite disney and in doing so he became them. Also my fav movie is the prince of egypt and its a tragedy it flopped.

[@cinemaarts8795]

Prince of Egypt was successful, it made over $200 million on a $60 million budget but for whatever reason it's somewhat fallen into obscurity.

[@studio7389]

Sinbad flopped.

[@DavidMartinez-ce3lp]

​@@cinemaarts8795Too bad. It's such a good movie. Much different than all their other stuff.

[@LucyLioness100]

Haha Katzenberg would let it go over his dead body 😂

[@rosverlegaspo6752]

​@@cinemaarts8795 It is a good movie. However, it is not surprising that it falls into obscurity. It is a religious film, specifically a Christian film. People aren't really fond of talking about religion while discussing films, especially a religion that aren't theirs. Even Christians doesn't always agree on religious matters. It is just more trouble than it is worth and it is more pragmatic to avoid it entirely. So, the most that people would say is that it is good, and leave it at that.

[@JoaqMan]

They were the opposite of how studios were supposed to go. If you compare them to A24 for instance they have a slow progression of making larger budgeted movies and eventually making animated series and films, it’s a financially safer bet for a studio. Dreamworks came out of the gate with movies with big budgets and never before used technology which lead to too many financial failures to now what’s left of is in name only or the animation owned by Universal.

[@allenrubinstein3696]

Hubris

[@thirdcoinedge]

A24 really is what DreamWorks wanted and failed to be: cutting edge, consistently producing at least one fascinating piece of cinema every year. They were just wise enough not to put too much hope in just a few projects, with lower budgets provided to their projects so that any losses would not prove to be too major. Heck, they only just recently got into the animation business, whereas DreamWorks got into it not 4 years after its founding, which, while making it the one thing everyone now associates with DW, nearly cost the company everything not five years after the division started.

[@pedrogarcia5932]

To this day I keep forgetting that Dreamworks Dreamworks, not Dreamworks Animation, still exists

[@aidanmallon9879]

DreamWorks Pictures technically still exists separate from DreamWorks Animation; the former is now simply a division of Amblin Partners that generally produces more mature films than Amblin Entertainment

[@jblackmann]

I will say this, The Prince of Egypt is one of the greatest animated films of all time so Jeffery cooked with that idea at least

[@bighand1530]

Wish DreamWorks would do more movies based off the Bible.

[@chasehedges6775]

@@bighand1530Same

[@thirdcoinedge]

@@bighand1530 Question is, which stories would work? Jesus' life has been done to death at this point (no pun intended), and Genesis is quite frankly in everything, so maybe a film about one of Christ's apostles. That might be the story that would work best for a family audience, especially considering the violent nature of many Old Testament stories would likely not help convince executives to go ahead with such a project.

[@Waaagh40KRed]

The Prince of Egypt is not only my favorite animated film. It’s my third favorite movie of all time, after Wings of Desire and Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.

[@Waaagh40KRed]

@@thirdcoinedgeDreamworks did release a straight to video prequel called Joseph: King of Dreams. It featured Ben Affleck as Joseph and Mark Hamill as Judah. For the most part, it’s decent. It’s just not as good as The Prince of Egypt.

[@dygrdqjzco7j]

13:56 DreamWorks didn’t make Crystal Skull. It was a Lucasfilm production. With Paramount handling distribution.

[@goldengamer-b2z]

you know im kida shock becuse when people talk about dreamwork they only talk about the animation studio not the whole studio

[@_J.B.S._]

I’ll be honest I didn’t even know they did other things than animated movies/series. My guess is that’s the reason why, many people either don’t know or forget that they have made other things as well. That’s why, when I first read the title, I was kinda confused cause while they haven’t made the best movies lately (with exception for Puss in Boots 2) they haven’t really made anything bad either..with the exception for Kung Fu Panda 4. It has mostly been mediocre and/or forgettable (which I guess you could say is bad but to me what makes a movie bad, at least by Dreamworks, Disney Pixar and other animations studios are movies like Shark Tale, Cars 2, The Emoji Movie etc). Even that Kraken movie they released recently I wouldn’t say was bad, predictable and bland but not necessarily bad.

[@CartoonPostYT]

I thought they were only an animation studio... They made other things?

[@mechajay3358]

What happened to DreamWorks is a lesson on how not to start a company out of spite. Katezenberg was way too focused on taking down Disney and Eisner that along really affected DW negatively in the long run.

[@cinemaarts8795]

Still amazes me how Shrek was able to get away with a clear mocking caricature of Michael Eisner with Lord Farquadd, a small man (literally in Farquadd's case) with a huge ego, who's trying to compensate for something.

[@magnusprime962]

Any response would’ve only made things worse for Eisner. The best move was to power on and focus on trying to make Disney better. He failed in that regard, but he at least didn’t give Katzenburg any more fuel.

[@suarezguy]

@@magnusprime962 Hercules Hades is often seen as a mean caricature of Katzenberg

[@maxxpower3d6]

Farquadd didn't physically resemble Eisner, so it was easy to just assume him to be a caricature of Disney as a whole. I'm just amazed they got his name past Standards & Practices.

[@cinemaarts8795]

@@maxxpower3d6 If you take away the hat and hair, Farquadd's face is clearly modeled after Eisner.

[@officialmonarchmusic]

Honestly, it was petty. I'm not the biggest Eisner fan but he was clearly focused on trying to help the company as much as possible, it was just a sign of Katzenberg's fragile ego that he created that whole character, proving himslef to be worse

[@eatmanyzoos]

Eisner was responsible for everything cool in Disney world. expanding it to appeal to lower middle class and teens. katzenberg wanted to cut 'part of your world' from little mermaid. enough said

[@phabiorules]

Eisner is also responsibility for a lot of flops in Disneyland as well though. A lot of defunct land videos involve him playing a large role.

[@eko9554]

It was like the 80s when they added videopolis in Disneyland. Added Splash Mountain in both WDW and Disneyland as teens love log flumes. And adding roger rabbit. It was caused by Eisner's son criticizing on a trip to Disneyworld on how there wasn't attractions catered to him and thought that Disney was only for kids which isn't true.

[@j.c.b.4872]

Matt Draper acknowledges Nelly Furtado, Papa Roach, and The All-American Rejects (and Toby Keith) as prominent acts on DreamWorks Records, which is fine and all, but no acknowledgement of Elliott Smith???!!?! What a shame 😭

[@johnnymeeks]

Alien Ant Farm was also signed by them as well, remember their nu-metal cover of Smooth Criminal?

[@AngelPerez-tu1nk]

And the funny thing is, in many ways DreamWorks did so many things better than Disney. Hell, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is better all around than anything Disney Animation has made since 2016. It's a shame DreamWorks is how it is

[@carsonsmith7314]

The sad thing is you're wrong, dreamwork was worse than Disney, mostly, they had their moments. (Prince of Egypt). But Really Puss in Boots: The Last Wish was a fluke in the story of dreamworks. It also really wasn't the best animated film that year. That honor goes to Guillermo del toro's Pinnochio.

[@AngelPerez-tu1nk]

@@carsonsmith7314 Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda and HTTYD beg to differ. I love Disney Animation, but they have become bland and mediocre. Hell, DTVA has become bland and mediocre too!

[@carsonsmith7314]

@@AngelPerez-tu1nk look where those series ended up. Shrek the third and forever after, Madagascar spinoffs about the penguins and lemurs, king fu panda 4, and dragons the nine realms. I’m just saying, dreamworld cares only for money and for spite. Plus again, they’re not the best animated films of those years.

[@TonyTylerDraws]

@@carsonsmith7314I will say that Dreamwoeks starts off creatively strong with an IP but then drive it into the ground. Which, honestly, isn’t that far off from Pixar/Disney but they at least sprinkle in standalone projects.

[@carsonsmith7314]

@@TonyTylerDraws fair point. But that doesn’t solve anything.

[@davidmylchreest3306]

Good video. I would only add that as you pointed out, Miramax were an awards rival for Dreamworks at the time: Miramax were owned by Disney. It was always about Katzenberg beating Disney.

[@BoyNamedSue4]

Having read the men who would be king, they just tried to go to big to fast. Some solid projects but they were too unfocused to ever last.

[@spaceodds1985]

I agree. Not to mention Spielberg’s penchant for lining up projects at other studios.

[@erikwirfs-brock2432]

Having been around and a film nerd then, Dreamworks outside of their animation never really had much of a strong identity-there was no real core to build a media conglomerate out of

[@Attmay]

There was nothing to differentiate their live-action movies from any other Hollywood studio's.

[@Denozo88]

​@erikwirfs-brock2432 after having grown up with Dreamworks i agree. Their best flims have always been animated.

[@BoyNamedSue4]

@@Attmay didn’t even have Spielberg working exclusively for them. That would have been something at least.

[@EChacon]

8:15 - Quick Correction Amblin Entertainment wasn’t founded in 1969, it was founded in 1980 as Steven Spielberg/Amblin productions before changing it into its current name in 1984.

[@glennac]

Yeah, that date stopped me short as well. I thought, “That can’t be. Kennedy and Spielberg didn’t even meet until the late 1970’s during the production of 1941.” 😮

[@daleanderson1727]

Thanks for making and sharing this. Heart breaking because I was one of the many who really saw DreamWorks as something special. What a shame.

[@zillauniverse7208]

One thing you forgot to mention about Transformers is that because of Dreamworks leaving paramount was one of the reason why all future Transformers movies starting with Dark of The Moon no longer had Dreamworks co-producing it despite Spielberg still remaining as an executive producer, makes me wonder that had Dreamworks live action and animation division stayed at Paramount would we still get Transformers One but this time done by Dreamworks Animation instead?

[@benjipc5637]

Paramount kept DreamWorks Pictures' library when the two studios split. That's why Anchorman 2 was produced by them instead of DreamWorks and Interstellar was co-produced by them (it was originally a script treatment that Jonathan Nolan left and was intended for Spielberg until his brother Christopher Nolan took over as director).

[@egateqa1351]

@@benjipc5637weird how Paramount still owns the DreamWorks pictures movies, but not the DreamWorks Animation films.

[@Bigmojojo]

​@egateqa1351 it literally says why in the video. Before they joined Paramount, the animation studio spun off into its own company and listed itself on the stock exchange.

[@ShockwaveFPSStudios]

@@BigmojojoHe wasn’t asking a question

[@valmarsiglia]

Randy Newman wasn't "past his prime" lol. He was never anything so trivial as a commercial artist. He's one of the greatest songwriters the US has ever produced.

[@UnchartedMedia]

Damn that Naito reference was a DEEP CUT!!!!

[@SocietyofSteve]

I was impressed!

[@SuperLegendOf364]

For the life of me, I didn't even know DreamWorks made movies outside of animation.

[@suarezguy]

Hard to see you wouldn't know, someone wouldn't know about also Saving Private Ryan, American Beauty or Gladiator (or Almost Famous)-though I guess they could seem really different from the animation part or Universal (and/or Spielberg specifically) could just get most of the credit.

[@thirdcoinedge]

The only other DreamWorks films I knew about beyond their animation were Saving Private Ryan and the one about the mouse. I was honestly surprised that Gladiator and American Beauty, of all things, were DreamWorks films.

[@suarezguy]

@@thirdcoinedge I was so hyped for Pirates of the Caribbean because of the DreamWorks talent (writers of The Road to El Dorado and Shrek, director of Mouse Hunt) and it didn't disappoint.

[@shanep2369]

Mega Mind doesn't get the love that it deserves. It had to compete with Despicable Me so most people passed on it.😢

[@pieterboelen2862]

MegaMind is pretty brilliant! Far moreso than Despicable Me.

[@TheGreatDevlin]

T-shirt Naito as a description for anything is DAMNING

[@laurencelikestopgun]

I wish Dreamworks and Paramount was still working together

[@adriande1]

Wouldn’t have worked. Viacom/Paramount is a whole other bag of worms filled with corporate politics and be back stabbing

[@TJGrant97]

Loved this video. You should definenately do more studio rise and fall vids, like on Orion Pictures, United Artists, or Hanna Barbera and Filmation.

[@goGothitaLOL]

And especially MGM and Miramax (with a mention of TWC for the latter)

[@damonlam9145]

Say what you want about Dreamworks nowadays, but I feel like as the years went on they been playing it a lot more safe when it comes to movie releases. Back then, even though it was a mix bag of quality, it was a risky mixed bag of quality. But after they got brought by Universal in 2016, while we were able to get occasional bangers, it was mostly pretty safe. It was either sequel to pre established franchise and books like Shrek 5 and the bad guys or stuff that makes me think Universal is turning Dream works into the new Illumination like Boss Baby and Trolls. Plus the few times they did do something original it was done dirty. While I do think Dreamworks is still very profitable and successful it’s still subtle decline in quality feeling more mid nowadays.

[@benjipc5637]

One obscure fact about DreamWorks Records: Rise Against and Brand New signed to the label in early 2004 but because it folded shortly after, they were both transferred to Interscope Records along with the rest of the label's roster and made their major label debuts there instead. Saves the Day released their major label debut, In Reverie, on DreamWorks in 2003 but the label didn't give them any marketing push and the band went back to their old label Vagrant after DreamWorks folded.

[@owensreviews625]

I’d only previously been familiar with Dreamworks through their animation division, so hearing this story for the first time through this video has been quite the experience. “The dream is dead. Time to wake up.”

[@JoeLovesComics]

Same!

[@Jonathanest90s]

Knowing a lot of amazing folks in the animation industry. Everyone at DreamWorks and Disney Animation actually do get along far more than whatever Jeffrey Katzenberg was trying to create what that shitty rivalry. Katzenberg really caused so much damage.

[@superomegaprimemk2]

I think Disney could learn a lot from the Fall of Dreamworks, as they lost sight of their core audiences and carry on faultering with a LOT of bad decisons stacking up, so I think they are heading for a massive fall from grace similar to Dreamworks but on a larger scale as they gotten complancement and not realising that their enemies are ready to bring the house down upon them as they loose their audiences by simply not cakering to them! The best Dreamworks films are Prince of Egypt & Spirt, as they have great animation and good stories that put a lot of Disney movies to shame, even by today's standards, they FAR out class anything Disney has produced!

[@vasglorious]

I honestly feel a little sorry for Jeffrey Katzenberg, he wanted to form Dreamworks to prove he could lead only to fail in 2005 and quit in the 2010's. The real title to this video should be called, "The Shattered Dreams of Dreamsworks".

[@alyasVictorio]

Yeah! I was clickbaited by this title's wrong context, from "being disgraced since Megamind 2 (thank god KFP 4 isn't as bad/worse as they say but still not great either)" to actually "left nothing but being animation studio only owned by Universal/Paramount" Edit: I mean...owned by Universal (the others said that in comment section)? Or actually Paramount? I'm confused by the rest of comment section tho-

[@johnnymeeks]

Here lies Katzenberg’s hopes and dreams…what a baby, jk😂

[@jasonmaclean719]

8:14 while not related, I would love a video on Kennedy's role throughout Hollywood. Her beginnings and eventual leadership role. Of course including any and all controversies.

[@bradhorowitz2765]

I like how you sum up what caused dreamworks’s problems specifically in that the company was just another entertainment company in Hollywood. If you want recent films which I think represent how much this is true, look at the king fu panda movies (the last two sequels). Kung fu panda 3 actually is quite disappointing with very little interesting story beats, and king fu panda 4 is the black sheep of the franchise even if it’s quite successful at the box office. They are both “safe.” In contrast, studio ghibli and other foreign animators continue to pull out new stories that do things differently.

[@bullmonty764]

It is wild to me that Kung Fu Panda 4 is the “bad” one despite having Fresh scores on both the critical and audience sides (at least at the time it dropped and admittedly both are still lower than the first three). And yeah, there are valid reasons for that, like being safe and the production itself being a hot mess…but my comically wrong reason as to why is because no one likes Awkwafina

[@bradhorowitz2765]

@@bullmonty764 fresh scores to me dont mtter. when i watch the film-it is the type of bad where its not horrendous but rather "boring bad." sure there are mischaracterizations (the fact that shen gets to be a "good" ally while po's dad never acts angry/scared of him), but there are no risks and it genuinely feels as if the budget was cut. Kung fu panda 3 kinda has that as it really didnt take any risks, aka the villain. theres a better fan rewrite on yotube that actually makes kai not only more integral to the theme: chi and kung fu, but also makes him sympathetic.

[@thirdcoinedge]

Disagree on KFP 3 (I think it works quite well), but I agree on KFP 4, that movie just reeked of "we have an IP that gets money, what do we do with it?" We could've had a Toy Story 4 on our hands, but instead got an Indiana Jones 4.

[@mandalorianhunter1]

Sad because DreamWorks keeps being their own worst enemy. People thought they were back after Puss in Boots: The last wish only for us to get what we got after. People are disappointed with Kung Fu Panda 4, Megamind sequels and more. People have no faith in Shrek 5. It's just so sad. Great video as always Matt

[@MayoAnimations]

DWA has always been an inconsistent studio. Remember when they released Shrek 2 and Shark Tale in the same year?

[@mandalorianhunter1]

@@MayoAnimations Yeah but their highs were really great during the 2000s

[@thirdcoinedge]

To be fair, I think many of the more recent flops are more the fault of being bought by Universal. It's like what eventually happened with BioWare after being bought by EA: the execs want to keep impressing their new superiors, so they go all out in making a variety of projects so that will keep a steady stream of revenue coming in. Hence, we get more movies of increasingly mixed results, though most have been successful enough to warrant this level of production (sans Ruby Gillman and Spirit).

[@sukuntee]

Shrek 5 could possibly be funny, but its tiresome that these ppl keep regurgitating old stories. After the 3rd movie i stopped watching toy story. I think they are doing a 5 movie too…🤷‍♀️

[@LuciferMorningstar-zu1ud]

I had no idea Dreamworks fell smh they have some great titles under their belt. If they just followed Spielberg in focusing on making top notch films and not competing with everything Disney did, I think they would’ve been much bigger

[@suarezguy]

I was really hyped for Pirates of the Caribbean because of the DreamWorks talent (the writers of The Road to El Dorado and Shrek, the director of Mouse Hunt) and it (the first one) did not disappoint, that film obviously couldn't been made at DreamWorks but you would think DreamWorks would try to reverse-advertise the connections to, for their previous films and also get them back for more films.

[@Shorty_Lickens]

8:31 I like that you show the version of ET where they still have guns in their hands. Always hated that unneeded changed to radios.

[@karlkarlos3545]

They still have guns. What are you talking about - the 20 years anniversary DVD?

[@christianwise637]

​@@karlkarlos3545 Yes, they changed the guns to walkie-talkies in the 20th anniversary release, but I guess due to audience outcry they switched back to guns for the 30th anniversary version

[@Attmay]

I walked out on a screening because they used the 20th anniversary edition instead of the original cut.

[@TylerAStinson]

1:41 Finally bought a prince of Egypt shirt

[@michaelsilver253]

Still can't believe Shakespeare in Love beat Saving Private Ryan for best picture, and I say that as a person with a theater degree and a massive love for the former.

[@GremlinBones]

Whoa, I forgot about Quibi. I remember seeing the commercials for it here on KZbin and I was so confused. And then Musicly/TikTok started gaining traction, I think, and I stopped seeing Quibi stuff and only saw commercials for Musicly/TikTok, and then I completely forgot about it from there.

[@MasterMario548]

Oddly enough DreamWorks big hits with Paramount that included Transformers, Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull, and Disturbia all stared Shia LaBauf.

[@suarezguy]

Weird to think that Disturbia was a big hit, it felt like an also-released movie, and yes really weird that he was considered to be at least maybe next big star.

[@Mammothsaber-4457]

The thing about Dreamworks is that their animation division is one of the few studios that can give Disney a run for their money. Some of their animated films like How to train your Dragon, Shrek, Kung-fu panda and even Madagascar to an extent are both incredibly good and yet distinct from Disney, the issue with Dreamwork’s animation is that starting with Mr. Peabody and Sherman, they started Chasing trends and not creativity. If you look at Dreamwork’s animations canceled projects it’s clear that they were willing to sacrifice incredibly creative premises for, mass appeal. Even some of their more creative premises like Ruby Gilman are altered for mass appeal, hopefully Wild Robot recaptures some of that creative spark.

[@ntcnetwork9934]

I didn’t realize David Geffen was such a bastard. 😂 He’d been on my mind somewhat recently because I saw his old film studio’s logo in front of the Beetlejuice Beetlejuice trailer.

[@goldylover1000]

Yeah, when I heard the name Geffen all I can think about is Guns N’ roses appetite for destruction, beetlejuice Risky business, little shop of horrors, and Beavis and butthead do America. All classics But, yeah he sounds like a prick.

[@ntcnetwork9934]

@@goldylover1000 definitely classics!

[@fignatoli-guevara5826]

Yeah, about what you said about one of DreamWorks more successful films during the Paramount years being Kingdom of the Crystal Skull... that wasn't DreamWorks. That was Lucasfilm, with Paramount serving as the distributor.

[@remuslazar2033]

I didnt even notice that Dreamworks is no more. But now that you mentioned it, I haven't seen lately any Dreamworks movies

[@ginofrancejr555]

Excellent video DreamWorks got too big for its own good it was fun while it lasted

[@bighand1530]

Wonder how big Shrek 5 will be when comes July 1st 2026? That’s in 698 days. James 4:13-14 comes to mind. And in 2025, DreamWorks has three movies coming out. But I don’t care for Gabby’s Dollhouse : The Movie. Course, DreamWorks has always been unpredictable.

[@suarezguy]

Probably more like it was always risky, being too artist/filmmaker-friendly just 2, 3, 4 failed/underperforming films can really hurt the overall company. It would have made sense if after 2002/2003 they had continued, done more with television and then later streaming.

[@ULTROXBLAST]

Last Wish was superb, and honestly revives hope and promise for future projects.. well at least Shrek 5

[@KaminoKatie]

The animation studio has always been the equivalent of a box of chocolates since day 1

[@BrandonBowditch]

Why do people keep forgetting The Bad Guys? That was a great film.

[@BrandonBowditch]

Why do people keep forgetting The Bad Guys? That was a great film!

[@shaynethechangingman322]

I was today years old when I learned DreamWorks didn't only make animated films. Seriously, I can't count how many films and other media I see referenced in this video that made me go "That was made by DreamWorks?". And oddly enough, I vaguely remember the "Go Fish" logo.

[@dygrdqjzco7j]

25:07 Chris Meledandri is only involved with reviving Shrek.

[@ericmontgomery7339]

Medal of Honor: European Assault might be one of my favorite games ever. Very satisfying to play, and a nice blend of realism and over the top storyline.

[@Jansenbaker]

And here I thought DreamWorks was only an animation studio. Didn't know they were behind movies like Gladiator and War Horse.

[@homerthompson6481]

Another great video! One correction though at 12:45; War of the Worlds was not a financial loss. It made over $600M worldwide on a budget of $130M. At the time it was Tom Cruise's highest grossing film.

[@tripledair]

I didn't even realize DreamWorks "fell" until we got to this 21:48

[@Kusanagikaiser999]

To me Dreamworks will always be the animation studio, nothing they did live action, Music or games archived nearly any type of success compared with it's animation studio, so as long that exist, I feel they at least archived something and have let a length legacy of amazing films, even if their goal in general never got archived.

[@Legomoviefan2008]

I feel like Dreamworks pictures would shut down and Dreamworks animation would still exist. I cannot see Dreamworks pictures lasting as long as animation. Am sorry.

[@Shrapnel82]

"Freedom, Revenge, and Power" would have been a badass tagline for Dreamworks.

[@dfailsthemost]

Man, that 99 best picture still hurts.

[@allenrubinstein3696]

Why, in particular? Because in one of the best years of movies in history, it was hardly the best of the lot? That's my reason.

[@awesomeferret]

I'm a movie buff and this video taught me that there were other parts of DreamWorks aside from DreamWorks Animation. That's a amazing that I never heard of their other ventures. That goes to show the much bigger impact that their animation division had on the world.

[@bhunt799]

I sometimes wonder what would happen in an alternate universe where DreamWorks pictures and DreamWorks animation never became separate entities.

[@suarezguy]

I doubt the Animation would have done so many franchise-sequels.

[@SnapperChannel]

DreamWorks is basically Icarus but they got too close to the moon rather than the sun *drum roll rimshot* Would love to see you cover some of the early 2D animated films from DreamWorks. All 4 released are extremely good and often overlooked (luckily the internet has brought some of them out of obscurity)

[@zainmudassir2964]

Ikaris like Shinji ikari from Neon genesis Evangelion?

[@SnapperChannel]

@@zainmudassir2964I meant Icarus from Greek Mythology

[@thirdcoinedge]

Those four 2D films are what I'd call "animated homages to films your dad liked." You have a remake of a Biblical epic, an animated Ray Harryhausen adventure flick, a successor to "The Road to..." comedy films of the 40s, and an animated Western straight out of a boy's magazine. They also have probably the best animation James Baxter ever did (IT'S SO FLUID WITH SO MANY MOVING PARTS!!!).

[@suarezguy]

I think DreamWorks didn't dominate, didn't knockout Miramax but it did make very solid, strong showing and many successes

[@joshuabelmonte12]

Great video man! That Naito reference was great, I totally got it.

[@dickiesdocos]

What did it mean?

[@SamYoungnz]

You asked could viewers name any movies made by DreamWorks? Yes, lots. In my opinion, living outside the USA, the films made by DreamWorks were of a much higher quality than the other studios. Girl on a Train was a bit ho-hum though. But earlier films like Cowboys & Aliens, The Lovely Bones, Chicken Run, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Catch Me If You Can etc were good films.

[@benderbendingrodriguez420]

Honestly had no idea Dreamworks had studios besides their animation/game releases. Hearing they did music & many live action stuff i knew of growing up but had no idea it was DreamWorks till this video😅

[@tragicallyrose7464]

knew I heard The Midnight playing in the background.

[@LucyLioness100]

Nice retrospective, Matt. Like you went over the whole history and covered the complicated issues that constantly plague Dreamworks

[@glennac]

It’s criminal that Freaks & Geeks wasn’t given an opportunity to find its audience. Great first season, and then cut off at the knees. Wife and I both would have loved to see this series extended to 5 or 7 seasons. 😢 We watch the DVDs of that one season every couple of years❣️

[@56postoffice]

"Galaxy Quest" is a fantastic film from DreamWorks. It was a love letter, more than a p take, on the Star Trek lore.

[@neilhannan5112]

Dreamworks was made out of Spite for Disney like their first movie Antz was released to Sabatash A bug's life their prince of egypt movie was based on a movie disney didn't want to do and Shrek well you can tell what they are making fun of Fairytale disneyland and villian lord farquaad was mocking Micheal Eisner but Dreamworks Shrek changed animaiton industry for better and worse the celebrities vocie acting chock chock Shark tale. I believe they problem was that they didn't adapt to took the wrong lessons from the movies and was spite to Disney for too long 😢

[@ethinwhite3454]

Like a wise 2 day old robot once said, just because something's beautiful, doesn't mean it lasts forever.

[@bighand1530]

Matthew 6:19-20 and James 4:13-14 comes to mind.

[@chasehedges6775]

💯💯

[@MattyStoked]

I was really hoping you'd mention DreamWorks Interactive. A strange, inconsistent flash in the pan which gave us some really weird games. Goosebumps: Escape From Horrorland specifically, with FMV shot by Spielberg himself!

[@markanthony1004]

Band Of Brothers is still one of my all time favorite shows ever

[@jgrab1]

Spielberg did NOT found Amblin in 1969!

[@Attmay]

That was the year he made a short movie by that name. That is the origin of the company's name.

[@johnpittsii7524]

Thanks for the amazing video Matt. Big DreamWorks fan ❤

[@frankputman7683]

"Those who fight with monsters must see to it that they themselves do not become a monster. If you gaze too long into the abyss, the abyss gazes back into you." Friedrich Nietzche; Beyond Good and Evil

[@Charsept]

When you described their peak, 2000-2002, I was impressed by that resume. Those are some huge names. So surprising that they couldn't recapture that success.

[@suarezguy]

Post 2009/10/11 most big films seem to be just sequels/remakes.

[@Ryan98063]

10:18 I absolutely loved Atlantis and still love it to this day.

[@soooluscious5636]

I remember working at Border's around 2008 in DeKalb, IL. That was one of my favorite jobs. I got to hang out with some cool, weird people at work who had some of the widest array of interests and tastes you can imagine. I got to read whatever caught my eye up at the register when it was slow. I learned a lot every day there. Didn't get paid well, but I was a broke college kid anyway. I miss that job.

[@BifMcAwesome]

If SKG had limited themselves to focusing on three key aspects of the entertainment industry in the areas they were most versed in (Speilberg in live action, Katzenberg in animation and Geffen in records) they may have been able to expand on those strengths while not being distracted by the other divisions. Each one of them could have thrived through more concentration on their vision of their domain.

[@davidmills47]

Got to 0:53 and thought "Huh didn't know Dreamworks did the Ted movies" and later it clicked that was probably A.I: Artificial intelligence, right?

[@Advoc8te4Truth]

It goes to show that creating something positive, entertaining, and inspiring is extremely hard, especially if your motivation is revenge. Spielberg really should have gotten together with George Lucas. I could imagine them and Martin Scorcese forming an amazing creative team. Especially considering their long-term friendship and abiding love and respect for cinema. 😢❤

[@MrSmith1984]

DreamWorks was pretty much doomed from the start, mainly because the Media Industry was (& still is) consolidating into fewer & fewer companies. What would have helped matters however was DreamWorks actually doing two things: *Avoid Co-Productions with other studios in favour of financing the films themselves. *Require Steven Spielberg to exclusively make his films with DreamWorks.

[@AnimationNation2004]

DreamWorks Pictures is my favorite studio hints my profile pic and I admit some of the films in their filmography are some of the worst I’ve ever seen like Cat in the Hat for example but others are phenomenal. Saving Private Ryan, A Beautiful Mind, 1917, Road to Perdition, Revolutionary Road, and so many others.

[@KaminoKatie]

11:02 I would add the first three Bionicle movies, but they are made by Creative Capers while Miramax only did the distribution

[@shadeblackwolf1508]

Dreamworks died by doing too much and consolidating nothing

[@themilkman5004]

25:36 you don’t know how hard this hit me, especially watching the G1 this year.

[@ofirbun]

Dreamworks is a lot like Naitos' knees today

[@guil656]

3:52 James Cameron casually passing by.

[@eliassmeke3991]

Don’t let DreamWorks to be shut down for good please 🙏

[@bighand1530]

I’m looking forward to The Wild Robot, Dog Man, The Bad Guys 2 and Shrek 5.

[@GideonGreene-qm7co]

DreamWorks would make a movie with a pair of siblings who meet a group of living toys who need their help to save the world from a demon invasion, lead by an evil goddess based off Medusa. The toys include a ballerina princess doll, a toy brachiosaurus, a futuristic superhero action figure, a cowboy wooden dummy, a teddy bear, a jack-in-the-box with springy arms and legs, a robot rapper, and a team of toy soldiers, a rag doll, even a talking toy train and race car. The final battle shows the evil goddess taking the form of a giant cartoon dinosaur based off Barney, which the siblings remember from their childhood. The toys have blasters that could destroy demons, and the siblings gaining armor and their own blasters. This movie is inspired by Ghostbusters and movies about demon hunting, and also does a take that on Disney’s Toy Story 5.

[@Zed-fq3lj]

An excellent, interesting and informative video. We all miss good movies from DreamWorks.😟☹

[@johnathanbowers5433]

3 guys with 3 passions within Hollywood and the only one who could make anything successful on his own was Katzenberg but we’re all gonna act like he was the problem child? Okay, then. Definitely has nothing to do with the fact that Spielberg couldn’t let go of video game production or Geffen living in the past and not understanding modern day music industry practices…..

[@oklaclarinet]

My hot take with Dreamworks Animation was the studio peaked with The Prince of Egypt and no picture they made since has passed it. As to the live-action side, I love how because of arrangements with Touchstone, 20th Century, and even Walt Disney Studios itself, a not insignificant portion of my favorite director's movies are part of Disney.

[@rachelw1076]

The Prince of Egypt was a MASTERPIECE.

[@matthewmccoyd2578]

Well, at least She-Ra went out on a high note...

[@goonishereva]

As a kid I always just assumed Dreamworks was an animation only studio. Whenever I’d see a live action movie only to see the same logo that appears when watching Shrek I’d be so confused

[@CharlieXBlitzoEntertainment]

I hate how universal is becoming the next Disney because they own everything including dreamworks