Dreamworks Dumps Wallace and Gromit

Tiger4 writes "Aardman Animation and Dreamworks are splitting their relationship. Apparently Dreamworks feels they lost money on 'Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were Rabbit' and 'Flushed Away.' So off to their separate ways they go. Aardman is going back to stop motion and clay, Dreamworks will be staying with their CGI ways." In addition, Aardman Animation announced that a new Wallace and Gromit film is in the works.

I say

[MadUndergrad]

good riddance to CG where it's neither needed nor wanted.

Gromit

[blowdog]

Oh well Gromit lets have a cup of tea and a nice bit of cheese. The UK still loves you Ardman

Smart Move?

[FeldBum]

The best two animated films Dreamworks put out since Toy Story and they're dropping the production company? I guess we can look forward Shark Tale 2: Out of Water, Farther Over the Hedge and Madagascar II: Kung Fu Panda (one of those is actually the real name for a planned sequel). Didn't Were Rabbit win a freakin' Oscar?

Re:Smart Move?

[el_womble]

Dreamworks don't understand animated movies. They understand celebrity and set-pieces, but they don't understand movies.

Dreamworks CGI movies are a series of set-pieces held loosly together by a lame plot. This works great for kids because they just skip to the bit they like, and don't really get the plot anyway, but if you want to convince a parent to pay to go and see it at a cinema you need more. At best they draw an adult audience because of celebrity pulling power - and comes away feeling cheated.

Dreamworks was always going to be a poor choice for Aardman. Perhaps this will make Disney/Pixar wake up and adopt them. They seem to have similar goals. I'd also expect them to split their concerns so that they have Aardmen for clay and Pixar for CGI.

Re:How bad was it?

[FlyingGuy]

Hmmmm let me see, cost you 30 million to make, you take in 185 million world wide, lets thats 150 million in profit? Ohh wait is that the Net, the Net Net, or the Net Net Net...?

I am seemingly unclear, you invest 30 make 185, lets see uhmmm 6 x 30 = 180... I guess 6 times your investment is not good enough.

Am I missing something here?

Praise the Lord!

[leptonhead]

Wallace and Gromit and Aardman's other work are such uniquely funny creations (notably, with the exception of the horrid Flushed Away) that I am very happy to see them separate from the marketing machine of Dreamworks. Hopefully this means we will be getting more of that subtle, relaxed British humor as opposed to try-hard material based on focus-group approval ratings that you can expect from a U.S. behemoth like Dreamworks. Not to say that the latter doesn't have its place in the entertainment industry, because it does - as has been proven by the many excellent achievements of this company - but coupled together with Aardman, there is no synergy, just mutual deprecation.

The decision was made years ago

[Anonymous Coward]

This announcement is just the "official" one. The decision to dump Aardman was made years ago when Katzenberg was frustrated by Aardman's inability to turn Tortoise & The Hare from a deeply flawed concept (a mockumentary) into something American audiences would want to see. Aardman's refusal to relinquish the merchandise rights for W&G to Dreamworks was the final straw. Since then, we've just been seeing death spasms of this relationship.

I'm not saying either party is in the wrong, but the whole deal was a disaster waiting to happen. The surprise success of Chicken Run gave everyone rose-tinted glasses. Katzenberg only ever really wanted W&G.

Aardman don't need dreamworks

[harryman100]

Well, not any more. I think aardman got what they needed - they became a slightly better known in america. The curse of the were-rabbit was a very funny film, but when you compare it to Aardmann's other stuff, it has some noticeable lackings. The humour isn't quite as good, and goes for the guaranteed laugh rather than the actual funny stuff.

Aardmann are an excellent creative company and the last thing they need is a company like dreamworks breathing down their back.

That said, dreamworks are good, I loved the Shrek films, but what they needed to do with aardman is just leave them alone and let them exercise their own creativeness. However, they've decided to dump them now, and I don't think that will really make much of a difference.

Re:How bad was it?

[Anonymous Coward]

So they took a successful formula, interfered with it and then blamed the original formula when it didn't work? What kind of screwed up logic is that?

Re:How bad was it?

[olof_the_viking]

Hollywood Logic?

Re:How bad was it?

[Total Cult]

Their conclusion was that they didn't interfere with it enough.

It's kind of sympathetic

[bytesex]

Their liaison with Dreamworks got Aardman (write it correctly, people!) through a very difficult period after their warehouse (and workplace) burnt down. Now that they're back on their feet doing a few experimental things in the US, they can go on doing things in plasticine, using British humour. I'd say praise them both !

Re:How bad was it?

[Dunbal]

Taken at face value, that is $155m *profit*.


      Not according to Hollywood math. The poster was making a joke, but I guess that sadly it was way over your head.

Re:How bad was it?

[91degrees]

I always wonder why companies do this. Why did they partner with Aardman in the first place? Surely it was the British humour that made Chicken Run and the W&G shorts successful.

Re:How bad was it?

[lotsotech]

No they don't. When I worked at a movie theater we made $.25 from a $6.50 ticket. That's why concession prices are so high.

Re:Lost money on 'Curse of the Were Rabbit?

[Wylfing]

Apparently you are new to the field of Hollywood accounting. Surely after all the "expenses" have been deducted, Curse of the Were-rabbit will be shown to have lost $100 million or so.

Re:I say

[elrous0]

Aardman should have never been in bed with Dreamworks to begin with. Aardman has always been known for its painstaking craftsmanship and quirky sense of wit. Dreamworks turns out CGI garbage full of "forgotten 5 minutes from now" lame pop-culture references.

Maybe now Aardman can go back to focusing on the kind of stuff that made them great to begin with, now that they're free of DreamWorks' "That's great, but can we put Will Ferrell in it and parody some pop stars?" philosophy.

Was the money really THAT tempting, Aardman??

-Eric

Re:Gromit

[elrous0]

I hate doing a "me too!" post, but I would also like to chime in that there are PLENTY of us Americans who love Wallace and Gromit too (the same goes for Creature Comforts as well). And I absolutely DESPISE Dreamworks and their CGI crapfests.

-Eric