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Bad News About Aardman And Dreamworks...

Idiots by Vicenzo	Jan 31st, 2007 04:38:21 AM
What were they thinking?
Twats by Steve Rogers	Jan 31st, 2007 04:42:02 AM
Aardman is genius. Wallace and Gromit rule all.
A real shame by supertoyslast	Jan 31st, 2007 04:44:55 AM
I thought we already knew this, but I guess it's only now "official". So I suppose that, in future, animated films will be even more alike than they are now.
I don't care by Gwai Lo	Jan 31st, 2007 04:48:36 AM
I know a lot of people like the guy and his stuff but honestly I have no interest whatsoever in anything he has ever made.
Yay Dreamworks by jack scagnetti	Jan 31st, 2007 04:55:38 AM
Creature comforts;shit Flushed away;turd . this is KIDDIE CRAP. Park is a cunt. GIMME WONDERSHOWZEN the movie.
Gwai Lo by Boba Fat	Jan 31st, 2007 04:56:59 AM
But you care enough to read the article and post on the talback?
Boba by jack scagnetti	Jan 31st, 2007 04:58:12 AM
only takes a second.
maybe the americans by emeraldboy	Jan 31st, 2007 05:00:07 AM
dont like whimsy. anyway I have noticed that all counties are making films for their own audiences these days. certainly the brits are doing this . british movies made by british directors with british casts, writers etc. whether thes movies are good or not is a whole different. I seem to remember Tim Robbins calling for hollwood to make american films with american crews. He may a call for the winding up of amrican films being made overseas. So maybe its a good thing that aardman will be making movies on thier home soil. Rupert murdoch has very deep pockets.
Jack by Boba Fat	Jan 31st, 2007 05:05:15 AM
I know, but it's not about how long it takes it's about how much interest you have in the story. I'm not looking for a fight but I was a little bemused by Gwai Lo's post. Why fill up a talback with a post about how you've no intrest in the talback? And yes, I'm aware I haven't mentioned Aardman in this post. Ironic isn't it?
better to be flushed away than circling the drain by newc0253	Jan 31st, 2007 05:10:17 AM
seriously, how well did flushed away do financially? or even critically? i know wererabbit was a critical hit but i have no idea whether any of the aardman flics actually made money. or is it just a case, as the email suggests, that they bought in cash but not pixar-style cash?
forget that, i just read the variety article by newc0253	Jan 31st, 2007 05:11:38 AM
and it answered all my stupid questions.
hmmm- could Aardman now team up with.. by Amy Chasing	Jan 31st, 2007 05:14:06 AM
Pixar/Disney (like Brad Bird did)? Jim Henson Productions (like Genndy Tartakovsky)? Or, and this would be freaky, if they could collaborate with Studio Ghibli, Tim Burton or even Lucasfilm. One thing's for sure, they survived the fire, they will survive this. Be interesting to see who has the wisdom to work with them next.
AMY-Studio Ghibli? by jack scagnetti	Jan 31st, 2007 05:20:31 AM
are you insane? NO FUCKING COMPARISON,a collaboration would be like mixing caviar ans shit. park is a cunt. Ray Harryhausen should kick his ass out of the fuckin universe.
sorry jack, I guess I don't know Park as well as you do by Amy Chasing	Jan 31st, 2007 05:32:59 AM
I just like the work Aardman has produced. I think they have a really good feel for kids stories (like Chicken Run & Curse Of The Were-Rabbit, haven't seen Flushed Away yet), much like Miyazaki - sure they're different, but so were Lennon & McCartney, and they did their best work together. I'm just throwing ideas out there, that's all.
Amy Chasing, I think Jack's... by Boba Fat	Jan 31st, 2007 05:38:08 AM
looking for a fight, either that or Nick Park abused him as a child
AMY; Lennon and Macca=miyazaki and park? by jack scagnetti	Jan 31st, 2007 05:41:31 AM
dude your mental.
Boba by jack scagnetti	Jan 31st, 2007 05:49:46 AM
just because you vehemently dissagree with an opinion does not mean you want a fight.Nicks a cunt, not because he abused me,or your mom, because he's crap. All his technique and style were appropriated from Sproxton and Lord. They did it better,and nick is a dick.
well, if Aardman's creative ideas aren't enjoyed.. by Amy Chasing	Jan 31st, 2007 05:52:35 AM
by some, I can hardly expect mine to be. ;)
Sorry Jack by Boba Fat	Jan 31st, 2007 06:04:08 AM
I took the fact that you were calling other people a "cunt" "mental" and inviting Harryhausen to "kick Nick Parks ass out of the fucking universe" as you being agressive. I realise now it's part of your charm
Fuck Dreamworks by Shawn F.	Jan 31st, 2007 06:08:51 AM
They don't deserve to release movies like Were-Rabbitt and Flushed Away. Let them stick to 2nd tier crap like 'Madagascar'. Yeah, I know their stuff makes money, but you know what they say about a fool and his money...
aardman were oki, now we will get more of the same crap by roxyprime	Jan 31st, 2007 06:09:06 AM
oh well. anyone noticed like nearly all the animated films recently have either been shrek ripoffs or animals in odd situations??? and is anyone else a bit bored of the cgi 3d shtick? i see pretty much everything at my cinema and nearly always leave a little depressed...no wonder kids these days are all morons and brats if this is what they are subjected to.
Nintendo broke the story. by CoursinLarry	Jan 31st, 2007 06:14:16 AM
I read about this earlier on the Wii News Channel! It's sad news, in a way. But Aardman will still create what are far and away the best animated movies out there (Pixar excluded). And after Shrek 3 stinks up the joint, Dreamworks'll be wishing they'd handled things differently.
Vicenzo RE:What were they thinking? $90 million flushed by Mace Tofu	Jan 31st, 2007 06:14:41 AM
Flushed away lost $90 million, that is one hell of a bank loan to pay back is what they were thinking.
jack - I am talking about Aardman, not Nick Park. by Amy Chasing	Jan 31st, 2007 06:15:20 AM
Sproxton & Lord were producers of Chicken Run and Curse Of The Were-Rabbit. I liked those films and know it's not just the work of one guy. If the creative powers of a high quality production house like Aardman were combined with another, who knows what they could achieve. It may work, it may not - we know what they can do on their own, so I'm just toying with ideas of what they could do with other companies I like. But I think you can rest easy, the possibility of Aardman & Ghibli doing work together is about as likely as you coming up with something favorable about Nick Park. You do know it's virtually impossible Aardman & Ghibli will work together, don't you? I sure do, even though I suggested it. It's called making conversation.
Sorry Boba.. by jack scagnetti	Jan 31st, 2007 06:24:04 AM
If you confused my animosity to Park with animosity directed at you. But i do think its perfectly acceptable to lambast public figures,like Park. and i do think the comparison with Miyazaki and Park is mental. One has a catalogue of meaningful and significant work, the other does makes plasticine chickens. The charm of this site is that you can express yourself in a verbose or antagonistic manner if you so desire, and i'd love to see Ray Harryhausen kick Parks ass outta the fuckin' galaxy. Long live free speech .
I don't know what's more amazing by Amy Chasing	Jan 31st, 2007 06:24:58 AM
the Aardman & Dreamworks break-up, or that the Wii has it's own News Channel?! That's cool. Anyways, off to bed with me - shouldn't keep my lovely other-half waiting
Is it late 2006 already? by myspoonistoobig	Jan 31st, 2007 06:27:05 AM
Didn't I already know this?
Amy by jack scagnetti	Jan 31st, 2007 06:30:10 AM
Sproxton and Lord were making plasticine figures when Park was in diapers. It may have just been lord but in the 1970/early eighties they did a character called MORPH. this thing appeared on an art show and all of the charm of a fully realised character that was arguably better than anything Park has ever done, and essentially it was identical in process. and thanks for letting me know your comments were spurious.
Guess that means by Bob Muttonchops	Jan 31st, 2007 06:34:11 AM
more factory churned pixar wannabies then?
Fuck Dreamworks by Kentucky Colonel	Jan 31st, 2007 06:36:55 AM
Fuck them up their fucking asses. On the other hand, no corporate bullshit focus groups to deal with. Fewer suits and all that shit. While not in the best interest of the bottom line, I think this will be in the creative team's best interest. Love to see Aardman skewer Dreamworks!!!
about ghibli by conbarba	Jan 31st, 2007 06:42:17 AM
this is not really a strange idea. Miyazaki is an Aardman admirer and actually right now in Ghibli Museum they have a pretty awesome exhibition about Aardman. Even if you dont like them (like me) the exhibition is absolutely awesome. And Ghibli Museum is nor piece of crap either. Anyway, Aardman features are crap. Short films are better.
That's cuz Spielburg by Spandau Belly	Jan 31st, 2007 07:06:52 AM
wouldn't accept Uwe Boll's funding on ethical principle.
With Lasseter running feature animation at disney by emeraldboy	Jan 31st, 2007 07:19:14 AM
A disney owned Aardman seems like a good idea but The studio Ghibli one sounds awesome.
idiots by SaintX99	Jan 31st, 2007 07:23:26 AM
they dont know what theyre missing!
Jack Scagnetti by raw_bean	Jan 31st, 2007 07:50:40 AM
I have many fond childhood memories of Morph, but better than Wallace & Grommit? Maybe in Bizarro-world.
RAW BEAN by jack scagnetti	Jan 31st, 2007 07:58:25 AM
Give morph a break, maybe you were too young to apreciate it. Maybe Tony Hart befuddled your memory with his man mammaries.
Mace Tofu by raw_bean	Jan 31st, 2007 07:58:50 AM
Where did that "$90 million" loss for Flushed Away come from? According to BoxOfficeMojo, FA cost 149 mill, earned 63 mill US domestic and 107 mill foreign, for a total of 170 mill worldwide. Granted, that doesn't include marketing expenses, but it doesn't include DVD sales or merchandise either. Surely it's well into the black, overall (if not enough to be considered a big hit or anything.)
long live aardman! by LegoKenobi	Jan 31st, 2007 07:59:46 AM
wallace and gromit rule. that is all.
Raw: 1/2 the BO goes to the theaters by Mace Tofu	Jan 31st, 2007 08:05:33 AM
Whatever the true #'s end up I'm not the one who got dumped...they LOST MONEY on Flushed away. In other news Uwe Boll still working...
Jack by raw_bean	Jan 31st, 2007 08:07:31 AM
Or maybe the soul-destroyingly bad music from 'The Gallery' impaired my brain. Then again, I don't think so. I've seen Morph years later, and I still think it's good, but W&G win. Although they peaked in 'The Wrong Trousers', I will say.
Moriarty, you douche! by mish87	Jan 31st, 2007 08:14:15 AM
Pixar funding Aardman. Not fucking likely, aardman is every bit of a competition as dreamworks or anything else, how can you even say such nonsense....it just proves that you've no idea how the animation industry works.
Incidentally, figures for W&G Were-Rabbit box office: by raw_bean	Jan 31st, 2007 08:14:49 AM
(from the same site I mentioned above) Production budget $30 million, domestic gross $56 million, foreign $136 million, total of $192 million. Classing this as some kind of 'failure' can surely only have come from completely unrealistic expectations. ------- Just seen your follow up Mace Tofu; fair enough. W&G must still have been profitable though. Anyway, I don't really care, as long as Aardman still make some films (and they're as good as the ones I've enjoyed so far).
RAW BEAN by jack scagnetti	Jan 31st, 2007 08:17:20 AM
fair enough.
Hmm, I'm confused, Jack... by raw_bean	Jan 31st, 2007 08:25:17 AM
...this is an AICN talkback, and you and I disagree on an issue pretty strongly, and yet we've not engaged in verbal abuse. Is this one of the signs of the coming Apocalypse?
Lemming, by raw_bean	Jan 31st, 2007 08:27:23 AM
I was just thinking that, actually. Though the FA pop-culture references were a cut above the usual Dreamworks stuff, with Nemo's appearances and clever use of the Millenium-Falcon-failing-to-go -into-hyperspace-sound.
I saw Flushed Away.... by Big_Bubbaloola	Jan 31st, 2007 08:30:36 AM
and i gotta say it was a darn sight better than many of the recent cgi'd flicks. I thought it had done really well in the UK and Europe. But then I forget, if it's not popular in the US of A then it's an unmitigated failure!!!! Fucking Hollywood stiffs!!!
DreamWorks Animation had to take writedowns by Mace Tofu	Jan 31st, 2007 08:37:41 AM
FTA: "DreamWorks Animation had to take writedowns due to the weak performance of the two recent pics." They took out a BANK LOAN for $140 million. The LONGER it takes to pay off the loan the MORE it cost you in the long run in xtra finance cost to the Bank. Using the old 3X the cost to profit FLUSHED AWAY would of needed to make $447 Million (3X $149) worldwide for everyone to be happy. Dreamworks is not happy...
People like saying 'Ghibli' by performingmonkey	Jan 31st, 2007 08:48:35 AM
I've realised people like typing and saying the word 'Ghibli'. I guess it makes them feel special, like they're more than just a loser who happens to have seen Spirited Away (or that one with Adama doing a voice in the English dubbed version).
monkey by conbarba	Jan 31st, 2007 08:49:55 AM
glad we have you.
Aint it boring news? by Motoko Kusanagi	Jan 31st, 2007 08:58:02 AM
zZzZz
This is not bad news, actually by Onomaki Forp	Jan 31st, 2007 09:03:13 AM
According to the BBC, Aardman's differences with Dreamworks were based on Dreamworks insistance on moving to computer generated animation whereas Aardman wished to maintain their identity through the claymation process and their very distinctivly English sense of humour. I'd rather see Aardman remain Aardman even if this means they won't be funded by Dreamworks.
Flushed Away got totally ignored by StovetopStuffin'	Jan 31st, 2007 09:07:17 AM
I can't believe that it didn't get nominated for an academy award. It should even WIN! It's the best one I saw all year. And I'm usually really loyal to Pixar and Anti-Dreamworks. I would love it if Pixar swooped in and helped them out and made Dreamworks eat it. DW should have been promoting the hell out of Flushed Away the way they did for Happy Feet and Over The Hedge and shit like that
Studio Animation is stuck in the horse latitudes by Pound Sand	Jan 31st, 2007 09:24:22 AM
The formula is totally stale and needs a good kick in the arse. Think about how many animated films (all comers, Pixar, Dreamworks, etc.) use essentially the same formula. Lite comedy, cute-sified anthropomorphic animals/monsters/toys/machines , B-list celebrity voices, and a few poop/fart jokes. Voila. Instant millions. Add in a video game tie-in and merch. and it's been a sure-shot. The problem comes when there are 6 mediocre movies like this a year. It's hard to generate much of a movie-boner for Happy Feet, or Flushed Away because, well, the same things been done to death at this point. Somebody needs to think different within this industry and find a new path for the big event computer/convetional/clay animated films. I'm exempting Miyazake out of this discussion for obviious reasons..
Good for Aardman by jimmy_009	Jan 31st, 2007 10:08:49 AM
They don't need that soulless, creatively bankrupt studio. They'll find someone to pick them up.
Sounds like good news for us. by Reelheed	Jan 31st, 2007 10:43:40 AM
Hopefully aardman will concentrate on putting out more quality tv and less second rate movies. I mean, c'mon, wererabbit and flushed away? really? Is that all you've got? Underwhelming.
Holy Shit by dogstar69	Jan 31st, 2007 11:06:13 AM
am i really reading this type of feedback towards animation "park is a cunt" is that the best anyone can say. when will they're be any kind of properly critical posts. seems people have nothing better to do than flame in the talkback. i think a few people just need to be hugged more by their parents
For the love of god... by PwnedByStallone	Jan 31st, 2007 11:08:48 AM
change the flash animation in the corner. It's almost fucking February and I'm tired of seeing Harry's oily obese body sliding down a pole!
RE: "Idiots" by jorson2	Jan 31st, 2007 11:10:54 AM
Easy to say when it's not YOUR money being lost.
dreamworks sucks, aardman is better of without them by Evil Hobbit	Jan 31st, 2007 11:33:32 AM
Dreamworks was never respectfull to the gems like Wallace or Chicken Run. Instead they market every fucking film as if it is made by the creative minds of Shrek and fucking Shark Tale. Disney/pixar had a nice distribution deal. Disney 'presents' a 'Pixar Animation Studios film'. The difference is in those little parts. Oh well, I think Disney will be eager to make a deal with them, they tried it before and now with Lasseter at the helm, who knows.
Mix it up by instant_karma	Jan 31st, 2007 12:12:16 PM
I think Aardman should try and move out of their comfort zone a little bit and try different types of material. After Team America, I reckon that Parker and Stone could come up with a great claymation script.
Barnyard was fucking painful. by Big Bad Clone	Jan 31st, 2007 12:12:48 PM
I never saw Flushed Away but after seeing what Nickelodeon movies has to offer, I have to believe that anything from Aardman (even w/o Nick Park) has to be far better. Jesus, did you see the fucking plastic udders they put on the bulls? And the dialoge had none of the wit of anything spoken by Gromit.
Re: Blarneyman by Rendell	Jan 31st, 2007 12:14:00 PM
I think you completly missed the point, its quaintness is a big part of its appeal for most people.
If your are looking for someone to blame for the by emeraldboy	Jan 31st, 2007 12:41:53 PM
parlous state of animation. blame eisner, studios dont understand the animation process. They never have. Animation takes years. It is not something that can be created in six month time frame. I wish Lasseter well in his attempt to Disney 2D. But like 300, which is hollywood's final stab at the Sword and Sandal epic, they only have one shot left.
I wager that few have seen ealing comedies by emeraldboy	Jan 31st, 2007 12:43:09 PM
in the US so of course Wag are going to come of as quaint.
If Lassiter is smart... by Zarles	Jan 31st, 2007 12:48:20 PM
...he'll snap up Aardman and integrate them into his plan to bring back more traditional animation movies for Disney. Aardman has an ENORMOUS following in the UK, and they can be a profitable entity if managed properly. If DW wants to keep pumping out Pixar-wannabe bullshit, let them.
Good- for a sec I thought it was going to be Flushed 2 by finky089	Jan 31st, 2007 01:05:14 PM
a sequel would have been bad news for moviegoers who didn't really like the film to begin with...at least, not so much in the States.
ah well, aardmans flushed away was fucking awful by misnomer	Jan 31st, 2007 02:04:27 PM
I think thats the reason.
Dogstar69 by jack scagnetti	Jan 31st, 2007 02:19:36 PM
Critical posts? this aint CSPAN.You want real criticism on Aardman? Theres nothing to crit, it's just plasticine chickens voiced by mel gibson.It's like asking for a crit on gumby or stewart little.VIVA la WONDERSHOWZEN
I reckon if they had any by dr_buggerlugs	Jan 31st, 2007 02:19:51 PM
I reckon if they had any sense, Aardman would just go independent for a little while, start another feature and then shop it around...free from interference, free from having to abide by studio quotas and their notes and let them make the kind of film they're known for...any studio exec with half a brain would snap that fucker up in an instance.
performingmonkey is kinda right by Amy Chasing	Jan 31st, 2007 02:37:46 PM
people do like saying "ghibli" - especially the people who formed the studio. There's a documentary around that shows one of the main reasons they chose the word "ghibli" was because they liked the way it sounded. But is it pronounced jibli or gibli? They think jibli, but whatever the case it's ghibli, ghibli, ghibli. [begin_stupid] say, I wonder if Spirited Away's on cable somewhere {chews gum} yeah, and I hope it's got English voices, cause who wants to _read_ a movie. Those Chinese sure do know how to make a good cartoon. But they should remember there's more people speaking English than Chinese. [/end-stupid]
I felt bad until I read this whiny quote... by tonagan	Jan 31st, 2007 03:05:31 PM
Arthur Sheriff, a spokesman for the film's British makers, Aardman Animations, said Wednesday it had been "extremely hard" for their films to crack the United States. "It seems that in the US market, Wallace and Gromit are incredibly popular in the main cities but it's more difficult when you go to middle America," he said. "The humour is a bit more subtle." "We want to stay with our English quirkiness and I think the fans want us to as well."
Ratatouille = "I have a bad feeling about this" by finky089	Jan 31st, 2007 04:15:22 PM
Pixar can only afford to try and fail so many times. Cars was better than I thought it would be, but it failed to connect with mass audiences as well as Incredibles (I liked) or Finding Nemo (I wasn't particularly endeared with). If "Ratatouille" doesn't connect better than Cars, increasing numbers of people will admit the Pixar "gold" is beginning to tarnish. That doesn't make them "bad", but it will be an undebatable end to their "streak" of hits, which is more and more what's defining them from their competitors who are catching up, technologically. Storywise, they're proabbly still a good leap ahead of the other guys, though. "Ratatouille" still looks better than Disney's own "Meet the Robinsons", but who can tell...?
Tim Robbins should just shut up and throw strikes by RKDN Del Sol	Jan 31st, 2007 04:49:21 PM
Tim Robbins supports social programs that are funded out of neccesity by increased taxes. Want to know why American films and American Tv shows are now being filmed and taped in Canada? Canada doesn't tax them - the United States does. So Mr Robbins should shut up his yapper about 'American Films in America' and maybe reconsider the tax burdon he continues to ask the rest of the country to bear.
Liberals are some of the most illberal people by emeraldboy	Jan 31st, 2007 05:02:17 PM
I sometimes wonder with robbins and sarandon is the whole liberal thing an act. The best perfomrance robbins ever gave was as a terrorist. an american terrorist. Arlington Rd was a great film. Really great. Really scary. The ending of that movie was awesome stuff.
This is not bad by FlipTheFrog	Jan 31st, 2007 05:26:35 PM
I think Dreamworks was holding Aardman back. This is a win. Aardman can secure distribution through other channels without the heavy creative interference from JK.
It's really quite clear by jegoing74	Jan 31st, 2007 06:38:58 PM
Dreamworks was a struggeling studio then and made partnerships, and was absorbed by the VIACOM giant. Now it's merely a subsidary of Viacom and part of Paramount pictures. It's only a name now. SKG bailed out of that sinking ship.
AQUA TEEN HUNGER FORCE TERROR ATTACK ON BOSTON! by Mace Tofu	Jan 31st, 2007 06:39:42 PM
City of BOSTON shut down for 4 hours today due to attacks by ATHF promotional items left hanging near bridge. LOL funny and ATHFCTM gets some free press ( unless they have to pay the city for the bomb scare cost)
They're currently making a Wallace & Gromit short by performingmonkey	Jan 31st, 2007 06:41:49 PM
To be aired next Christmas. Also, I believe they restarted the Tortoise and the Hare flick they shelved pre-Curse of the Were-Rabbit. They fucking don't need Dreamworks ruining them.
I'd say it was simply conflict of interest. by bioforge	Jan 31st, 2007 06:56:49 PM
Let's not forget the leads of Shrek are a bastard ogre and a loser donkey. The cute and friendly leads are better left for the rest of the animation world. It's all about the image they want to portray.
When movies about talking pieces of shit are playing... by Doc_Strange	Jan 31st, 2007 06:57:41 PM
That's a sure sign that there's absolutely nothing showing in theaters. Yes, Flushed Away had what looked like brown and green pieces of talking shit. That and some mice. I'm sorry, I don't feel like paying ten bucks to see pieces of talking shit crack jokes on a Friday night. I don't care how genius your studio is. If anything, such genius is wasted on small-minded fare like this.
Flushed bombed with a cinema full of kids under 10... by quantize	Jan 31st, 2007 07:22:03 PM
..when i took my newphew and niece to it..it just wasn't hitting the right marks at all.The kids laughed only a handful of times...they told me they didn't think it was too good..any they're big Wallace and Grommit fans..I think there's an unique english eccentricity in that universe that felt missing or watered down for an international audience in Flushed Away..This news doesn't surprise me at all..
Mace Tofu, here's the latest on that... by Uncapie	Jan 31st, 2007 07:32:44 PM
Boston P.D. made an arrest in the marketing department an hour ago. Granted, we do live in some paranoid times(Two plus two is five, Winston!)and I'd rather be safe than sorry, but these guys should have at least cleared it with the cops, a radio station or the city before doing something like this. Then again, I don't think Boston P.D. spends their time watching the Cartoon Channel.
Aardman: Features suck, shorts awesome by turk128	Jan 31st, 2007 07:37:18 PM
Pretty much, their high point was Chicken Run and even that doesn't compare to their shorts. Don't know why they don't STAY with shorts since that's where they clearly excel.
It was never going to work by kevred	Jan 31st, 2007 07:39:29 PM
This is probably good news for Aardman at the end of the day. What they do just can't be made into the next American bubblegum empty junk. They're not Shrek. Shrek is what sells, it's what makes big money. And it's dumb, and it's made for dumb people, and the humor is easy and cheap. Best not to try to be affiliated with that. It's so rare that British quality is compatible with big American mainstream excess. (I'm still a bit flabbergasted that Hugh Laurie is a hugely successful mainstream TV star here. But that's the exception.) Aardman, Ghibli, all the rest can only be corrupted and diluted by association with Hollywood. Here's hoping they can be successful and happy without the poison of the mainstream industry.
No big deal... by Ecto-1	Jan 31st, 2007 07:47:04 PM
No big deal, I wouldn't be too worried about this. Aardman have been around a loooong time before Dreamworks and they'll be going strong for a long time after. I've been a fan of Aardman's work for a long time and I love what they do. Curse of the Were-rabbit was a classic, but I'll admit I wasn't too fussed on Flushed Away.
so was flushed away... by occula	Jan 31st, 2007 09:20:49 PM
...a result of aardman being nervous about their future and maybe being approached by dreamworks, and they were probably reeling a bit from the fire (my time frame may be screwed up here) and thought a bad idea was a good one? i could see a small company with charm getting swallowed by a big company with clout and cash. happens all the time. i for one applaud any effort to keep claymation alive and kicking. go grommit!
Now Listen by ThoseArentPillows	Jan 31st, 2007 11:06:40 PM
The influences of Dreamworks was so obvious on all the Aardman features. The bunnies tested well, add more bunnies. The slugs got laughs, add them ad nausiem. The charm of Aardman has been diluted and compromised by an American studio who could never truely understand it's charm. They try to package it and sell it but they couldn't even do that. In the end it was Dreamworks who rushed through Flushed Away, and forced Aardman to shoot Wererabbit without a proper ending. They tried to consume them and absorb them into their own corporate ideology. The fact that Wererabbit broke even wasn't good enough for them either. Not suprising then that the results were mixed, as was the box office. Aardman are truely a great studion and one where creativity and commerce sit(delicately) hand in hand. They will go from strenght to strength with Dreamworks out of the way. Ironic though. Dreamworks films are truely bad. Ps Jack Spaghetti, you know for certain Nick Park's a cunt? It's so true isn't it? After all, look at the way he reacted when fire destroyed so much of the studios heratage...he responded by saying "there are more important things going on in the world at the moment" (paraphrase). Yeah what a cunt. He has more talent, grace and humility than you will ever know. Go play with yourself some more.
hooray! by CornsilkSW	Jan 31st, 2007 11:25:32 PM
Dreamworks makes inferior movies to Pixar anyway, so now that Pixar is free from the house of mouse's iron deathgrip, maybe Pixar will team up with Aardman and make the greatest animated adventure movie ever.
Question... by theonecalledshoe	Jan 31st, 2007 11:28:14 PM
Was flushed away a good movie by any standard??
Mish87, You Douche! by TheRealMoriarty	Jan 31st, 2007 11:57:48 PM
I didn't say anything about Pixar. Just goes to prove you don't know anything about reading comprehension.
Aardman doesnt need em. by imageburn13	Feb 1st, 2007 12:10:22 AM
Were-rabbit was a wonderful culmination of all things approached earlier by W&G. I was captivated from beginning frame to last. Good thing Dreamworks didn't poison the Aardman well earlier. Someone else who respects the english-ocity of W&G tenfold more than DW will bankroll future projects, and Aarman will continue to prosper, not be hindered.
Mori's right, Mish87. by Uncapie	Feb 1st, 2007 12:45:24 AM
Every independent animation house needs a major distributor. Without one, they don't get a major release and they don't get the major push. If you're lucky, you can book an independent theater chain to show your film, but you won't see any major returns. Gone are the drive-in theater circuits and the second run houses where there was a market for the indie and they would be dependent on these movies. Aardman is talented and can strike up a deal with another studio, so its not the end of the world for them. They just need better story ideas. Quite frankly, I don't know why Dreamworks is in such a hurry to get rid of them. Dreamworks did create "Prince Of Egypt" which was nothing but, "Ben Hur" that we all saw with Charleton Heston in the lead and the only thing that I remember about "Prince Of Egypt" was the promotional soda cup that Lawrence Tierney took a piss in at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood during the q&a on Robert Wise's "Born To Kill" he starred in! Otherwise, that movie was a tuna. A big one.
Lemming by jack scagnetti	Feb 1st, 2007 04:28:51 AM
Morons? Who you calling moron, moron.
this isn't bad news by filmcoyote	Feb 1st, 2007 04:38:50 AM
this is great news. Now Aardman can wrest back creative control and make quality movies not crap like Flushed Away which had all the hallmarks of a typically rushed and unimaginative DreamWorks animation and almost none of the originality and inventiveness of Aardman. This news can only be a good thing for Aardman, now i might be able to look forward to a new movie from them. If they need backing though I hope Pixar - where the animation talent in Hollywood really lays - give them support.
I am not normally one who supports eisner by emeraldboy	Feb 1st, 2007 06:40:53 AM
but i think he might have been on to something when he kicked katzenburg the talking skull out of the disney kingdom. All of Dreamworks movies have been moribund morality tales with brief flashes of wit here and there. Shrek 2 was a terrible film and Sharktale was an abonimation, unfunny, dull, heavyhanded. Princes of Egypt was a snorefest a dull history lesson. It wasnt a fun film. Dreamworks animation has failed and maybe just maybe Eisner, who ran disney into the ground, was justified in firing Katzenberg. Afterall, Pixar now runs disney animation and Katsenberg cant run an animation studio to save his life.
Park was never Katzenburg's bitch and that's why... by workshed	Feb 1st, 2007 07:32:42 AM
...the relationship never truly flourished. Aardmann was always the antithesis of Disney and Dreamworks so one could never expect a meeting of minds (as was patently obvious during the promotion for W+G:TCOTWR. Katzenburg looked lost during interviews trying to explain his admiration for Aardmann's ethos. Could the split also be due to the fact that Aardmann has had to rebuild massively due to the terrible fire at their studios (perhaps Jeffrey had purchased a box of matches that day). Whilst i believe that Flushed Away was the worst movie Aardmann has ever been associated with the comparisions with Dreamworks other animated features this year leaves me in no doubt as to which was the most imaginative. 'Happy Feet' mad me want to wretch and 'Over The Hedge' was the final nail in the career of Garry Shandling imho. Let's face the facts - it's Dreamworks that is in trouble. Devoid of new ideas/innovations they stumble back to make another Shrek (also the end of Mike Myers credibility) to fill the coffers which then allows them to carry on making rubbish time and again. Park, on the other hand, is a perfectionist (as his shorts flicks attest) and no amount of money, big or little, has ever influenced the outcome of his intentions as a filmmaker. I do hope that somewhere (in a dark corner of Nick Park's attic) there is an unfettered version of 'Curse' replete with all the subtle references to Northern English life that made him such a joy in the first place. And, at the end of the day, Katzenburg can never say 'I wrote and directed that movie' whilst Park can shout proudly, for the rest of his life and beyond, "I made 'The Wrong Trousers'" - the only animated film in the latter part of the Twentieth Century that stands beside King Kong, Snow White , Buster Keaton and the best work of Harryhausen as the pinnacle of modern animation. It may be a bad day for Dreamworks' shareholders but it's a great day for lovers of Cinema.
workshed... by emeraldboy	Feb 1st, 2007 09:49:23 AM
I nearly fully agree with what you say. The wrong trouser remains the finest animated short film to come from anywhere, even as i looked at it the christmas, the scene where Wallace and gromit pursue feathers McGraw, still made the hairs stnd up on the back of my neck. the whole thing is utter brillance anyway but that scene makes it a masterpeice. Parks talent puts the entire puts the entire british movie industry and for all barry norman crowing about britains lack of oscars, there is at least one guy in bristol who would beg to differ. My brother brought his two children to see Happy feet in spain where he lives and he hated every minute of it demolishing it as utter garbage. Enough with the penguins. I liked it But cars is the best animated film of the year.
Aardman have just annouced a sequel by emeraldboy	Feb 1st, 2007 01:36:26 PM
to wallace and gromit. But whether it is a short or a full movie. no one knows.
that should read They have just announced a by emeraldboy	Feb 1st, 2007 01:43:24 PM
sequel to Wallace and gromit curse of the were-rabbit.

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