CNN:Analysts Warn: DreamWorks Latest Blockbuster May Be the Crest of the CGI Wave

[Array]

It's about creativity, not computers
Damn straight.

I really dont think that CG movies will be going away anytime soon. Some smaller companies that will undoubtably try to cash in on the craze will tank, and probably rightfuly so. The big boys like Pixar are here to stay though.

[gmask]

PIXAR will definately stay on the wave they are on.. I don't know about the others but I seriously doubt CG films are going away but the money in them may level out... of course if the economy takes a nose dive it may be another story.

[gruvsyco]

Once moviegoers have more choices, studios may need even heftier marketing campaigns to gain an edge. ugh... nice f'n mentality from "the machine". Yeah, more marketing, that's what we need. Silly me to think it might be better stories. Next thing you know they're going to hire all these "pretty boy" actors and actresses whose face you can't even see to do voices... possibly because "name" is important. Hmmm... remember when Disney use to intentionally use "nameless" people? That was kinda cool.

[zappenduster]

Damn straight.

I really dont think that CG movies will be going away anytime soon. Some smaller companies that will undoubtably try to cash in on the craze will tank, and probably rightfuly so. The big boys like Pixar are here to stay though.i think theres also place for the smaller companies, if they try to set a niche for example cgi movies with a more mature content, cause i dont need a 5th or 6th toystory or nemo
i would like to see a horror or thriller in cgi whatever but no more childishstory (nevertheless nemo and monsters inc where wounderfull to watch)

[gmask]

i would like to see a horror or thriller in cgi whatever but no more childishstory (nevertheless nemo and monsters inc where wounderfull to watch)
Me too but so far the closest thing to an adult movie has been Final Fantasy and it was more or less a collossal flop.

[zappenduster]

Me too but so far the closest thing to an adult movie has been Final Fantasy and it was more or less a collossal flop.
but i think this movie was more some kind of a experimental thing than a real competitor and for me it worked but they shouldnt have it given the name final fantasy...

[Tom N.]

Damn straight.

I really dont think that CG movies will be going away anytime soon. Some smaller companies that will undoubtably try to cash in on the craze will tank, and probably rightfuly so. The big boys like Pixar are here to stay though.

I agree CG movies don't seem to be going anywhere. As for the smaller companies, ya never know, Blue Sky Studios only had 70 employees in 1998(99?), and look at them now, they seem to be the up n' coming big boys. Robots looks really good so far. It would be nice to see more studio successes like this but you're probably right, most that try will probably tank.

-Tom N.

[Dennik]

Damn straight.

I really dont think that CG movies will be going away anytime soon. Some smaller companies that will undoubtably try to cash in on the craze will tank, and probably rightfuly so. The big boys like Pixar are here to stay though.
I thought Pixar started out as a small company. Whats wrong with small companies? Do you need to be big to think good ideas? I'd rather say the bigger you get the easier it is to lose the meaning. Some things i still find lame about Pixar is that they often get their technogeek self out in their behind the scenes videos (Long hair are theoretical, e.t.c...). What happened to art? What happened to story? or performance?

[gmask]

I thought Pixar started out as a small company. Whats wrong with small companies?
They started small but they also started early and were innovators.. It's much more difficult now to be truly innovative.. that is except in the realm of good story telling where there is plenty of room for innovation still but if you go out on a limb with technology it can be expensive and disastrous financially even for bigger companies.. Final Fantasy for example.

[mummey]

They started small but they also started early and were innovators.. It's much more difficult now to be truly innovative.. that is except in the realm of good story telling where there is plenty of room for innovation still but if you go out on a limb with technology it can be expensive and disastrous financially even for bigger companies.. Final Fantasy for example.
Innovation is always difficult. The only part that changes is 'what' you're innovating. That only applies, though, if you're goal is to innovate.

[DAZZAN]

I saw Boo Zoo & the Snurks,I thought it was very good for a non pixar movie,I hope they get a bit more investment and dont tank! kids i went with loved it as well.
I would have been interesting what would have happend to that ILM cg Frankenstein project if it would have been made,perhaps it was just a myth?
I think its a massive hard sell to investers to go into a Horror/Thriller Genre,I mean almost 95% of student stuff ive seen on cg talk comes out with a pixar or games kids look.Its a rare thing for a 3d artist to do a pure horror theme.

[zaam]

Speaking of smaller companies, what happened with that copany out of Atlanta that was putting together the project Delgo? They sort of came from nowhere, enlisted some big name voices, and disappeared from the radar.

[alivegy]

As long as the stories are good, and the characters are good I dont see it happening. I'm sure there will be a few bombs, it has to happen.

[gmask]

Speaking of smaller companies, what happened with that copany out of Atlanta that was putting together the project Delgo? They sort of came from nowhere, enlisted some big name voices, and disappeared from the radar.
Looks like they are still around http://www.delgo.com/

I'm not sure but I think they were having some internal issues there..

[KDJ_73]

This is just the beginning for cg in the theatres. I too am waiting for more adult cg content. Final Fantasy I think scared that off for awhile. If they had just paid half the attention to the story as they did the visuals....

[richcz3]

Katzenberg and all did the right thing for themselves. They essentialy cashed in while the going is good.

The bigger and more notable a company gets the more it conforms. The more it is forced to operate within conventional business models the less creative risks it will take. Any company that goes public is faced with share holders and meeting quarterly expectations.


richcz3

[hobbes17r]

PIXAR will definately stay on the wave they are on.. I don't know about the others but I seriously doubt CG films are going away but the money in them may level out... of course if the economy takes a nose dive it may be another story. Actually movies can be a remarkably stable - even thriving - business during economic downturns. As a prime example, take the 1930s, the time in which animated features were born.

Successful adult-oriented CG will happen, but will take a while to gather steam - even in some of the interviews that have recently been conducted regarding 'The Incredibles', it has been noted that animated films are seeing a growing popularity among adults today as opposed to ten years ago.... People are starting to become more interested in the potential of CG as a very unlimited storytelling medium. This is why I think the business as a whole is still on its way up, though child-oriented films are looking at saturation within the next few years (lots of bad films will find their way in, but the great ones from the best studios will still stand out and do well).

Agreed, this is the perfect time for dreamworks to cash in - Right now even critically slammed work like "Father of the Pride" or "Shark Tale" is making money; in five years audiences will have a lot more options...

[CelticArtist]

I have to agree with the general consensus on this topic, CG is here to stay, the catch, is that the allure of CG, the shinyness so to speak, will wear off, i don't believe Shrek2 or Shark Tales is the last big profit movie out there. I'm hoping that 10 years down the line, there will be more diversity in the type of CG, as people have talked about, more mature content, etc. I'm sure the public will get tired of CG in general in time, but that doesn't mean they'll hate it, they'll just start to pay more attention to the story instead of the fact that it's CG, animation encountered the same thing at every divergent point in it's history, the public gets fascinated by the new application, the new media, whatever, and is entranced by it for a while, then they grow tired of it and start to want more actual content from the films. Thats where companies like Pixar will win, because while they're technically beautiful, they're also creative and good stories. There will always be a place for good storytelling, no matter the market or time.

[FloydBishop]

You can't type the word "analysts" without typing "anal", and there is a reason for that. This guy is talking out his arse (the analyst, I mean).

[Joe_H]

PIXAR will definately stay on the wave they are on
At one time, I imagine a number of people said the same thing about Disney. Sooner or later, Pixar is going to make a stinker and it's going to bomb. Eventually, they will hit a rut. As the old saying goes, no matter how hard you try, the sun doesn't shine on the same dog's butt forever. Pixar is riding a wave, just like Disney went through 2 or 3 times. Then they hit a rutt. Pixar's time is coming at some point. It may be 2 years from now, it may be 10 years from now. But it's coming.

Also, people keep beating these drums about how it's always about characters and story, not the medium. That may be true, but there is something to this CG animated craze. Shark Tale was not all that original, nor was it's story or characters all that good. In fact, it got assaulted by critics. I mean, it's at 34% on RT.com. Yet it still made 225+ million dollars, and is climbing. Ice Age, while better than Shark Tale, but still far from Pixar's quality, made quite a chunk of change as well. So there is an allure to CG animated films, even though it is about story and characters.

[SheepFactory]

I think the only reason shark tale saw those numbers is because they timed the release perfectly. There was literally nothing else to see in theatres.

[matty429]

Are these the same analysts that failed to predict the .Com crash?
I don't understand how a 3D bubble would burst? Has the 2-D bubble bursted? sure, it's not in the theaters that mutch, but it owns T.V. Simpsons , family Guy etc.

I'm thinking the whole film industry bubble has to burst to affect 3D.
But here's what I'm guessing is the up coming problem. There will be too many big budget 3D animations in the theaters all at the same time...but not every fan will see them all . so they will have to share the profits, cut costs , and end up with less stellar films. My guess is you will see a few big mergers. and more work shipped away to places that get underpaied.

So the end result is projected on to fans and people trying to break into the industry.
Not Dreamworks I'll tell you that. 3D is still a baby.

[kevb3d]

Fellow CGers,

How many of us can count the amount of 2D animated features that have been produced since the 1930's?

I ponder that question every single time I hear or read about some "analyst" predicting doom and gloom for 3D. 3D is simply another medium used to produce animated content, and that medium is still in its infancy. Animation as a whole experienced the same sort of "wow...would you look at that" factor when it was introduced last century. Yet years later, Lion King blasted audiences worldwide with it's story AND animation, and made millions.

I don't think 3D is at a crest, but it will level off and become simply...animation. People will still go to see animated movies, as content and story will start to drive the market once the glitz wears off a bit. People will still want to see an alternative to live action every once in a while.

That's just what I think though.

Kev

[JuanAntonio]

When, in the history of all mankind, did a financial analyst ever predict anything correctly, except by sheer luck? Sheesh... why do we even listen to these guys?

[peanuckle]

I survived the Dot com crash. I think I could survive another one.
Tanner

[ArcticWolf]

I think the analysts are looking at this from the point of view that people go to see a piece of CG imagery, which is rubbish, people go to be entertained. As long as movies are entertaining, movies will be popular, no matter if they are CG, live actors or 2D animation.

And I think adult content will hit home soon. It took quite a while for 2D animation to go mature (ala Anime) and so I think CG will have the same process. Of course, this is made a lot easier by the number of mature games around and the tie ins possible. A Blizzard movie, for instance?

And what's with the beef on Ice Age? I liked the animation. It was edgier than the rest, but that was cool. It set itself apart.

[Kion]

take a hint of whats happening in the 2d animation world from the late eightys to present, it can happen in cg too.

[Bentagon]

I thought Pixar started out as a small company. Whats wrong with small companies? Do you need to be big to think good ideas? I'd rather say the bigger you get the easier it is to lose the meaning. Some things i still find lame about Pixar is that they often get their technogeek self out in their behind the scenes videos (Long hair are theoretical, e.t.c...). What happened to art? What happened to story? or performance?You'll see those in the movie. When you're watching a making-of of a live-action movie, you seem them talking about all the challenges too, don't you? It's probably something like the famous restaurants have. There, you should never say it was good food, because they'll feel insulted. Of course, it is good food! It's why they have that chef. You should say that it was incredibly fantastic, or just keep your mouth shut. I think movie companies work in the same way. Of course it is good acting! That's why they casted this actor, or hired this or that animator.

CG won't die off. When the market gets oversaturated, the public'll find its way to the good films, which will lead to less but better films overall. Or am I just being too optimistic?

- Bentagon

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