Why is Dreamworks So Inconsistent?

Last week, I watched The Wild Robot, and it was amazing! Now, I'm sure a bunch of other people have said that already. So my opinion isn't really surprising. What is kind of surprising though is this movie is from the same studio that made Kung Fu Panda 4 and Ruby Gillman which were rather mid, underwhelming films tbh. Except it's not that surprising given Dreamwork's track record of making mid to bad movies in one year to excellent movies in another year. But why is this the case compared to other animation studios like Pixar and Illumination which have consistently maintained the quality of their movies?

Credit to @Kalamity_Music for the background music:

[MarngelRambles]

For anyone wondering why the audio sounds a bit off, I was, and still am, sick from the flu when I recorded this lol

[MrBrineplays_]

Dreamworks works like a dream

Some dreams are peak masterpieces that you tell your parents all day long

Some dreams are mid and you just kinda forget them after you wake up and eat your breakfast

Some dreams are so awful and terrifying that it wakes you up sweating

[revelare_xvii]

Dreamworks doesn’t always make peak movies. But when they do, they become immortalized.

[jangorook]

In case you didn't realized DreamWorks was like this from the start. Like literal start. In there very first year they give us Antz and Prince of Egypt. They perfectly represnts studio as a whole. One is mid, forgetable movie with solid animation, while the other one is story with complex themes, a dark tone, a multi-layered villain, a great sense of epicness and great animation. That is what DreamWorks is, it's constant battle between "do it for more money" and "do it for good movie".

[markgill]

What I love about DreamWorks is that they ain't perfect. When they hit, they hit, when they miss, they miss. But even some of their mid or bad movies I can still find enjoyment in, like how badly good they are or find the good in them that no one else seems to see but me.

[ramirocaorlin]

In only 1 year, Dreamworks made:

_A good/decent movie (Orion and the dark)
_A bad sequel (Kung Fu Panda 4)
_A Shit sequel (Megamind 2)
_A Masterpiece (Wild Robot)

[bowserbreaker]

I'm glad this studio is so inconsistent. That's because you know that they can only get in a slump for so long. When a Dreamworks movies looks good, it usually is. I don't think Dreamworks has a quality over quantity problem. How To Train Your Dragon, Shrek 4, and Megamind all released in one year.

[MrAwsomeness]

Here's a better question? Why do people have this unrealistic expectation that a studio can rapid fire golden eggs without ever thinking that said studio can possibly produce some stinkers in between? It's not inconsistency, it's just the way it is.

[LiterallyMe]

dreamworks : "let's make a mediocre movie that can make us a lot of money and then use that money to make a good movie"

[potatoboi]

They need the cash grabs so they have the money to make masterpieces

[LightningW]

This is why DreamWorks is the best. They don't use the exact same formula for every movie which would make it consistent but not that great after a while. This is a good thing.

[hazelgrunts]

I watched The Wild Robot with my mom yesterday and both of us cried. Such a beautiful movie.

[GabsARV]

"Say it with me, kids: DreamWorks is an inconsistent studio." I get that they're inconsistent, but I like to think that they’re like an artist's sketchbook—you flip one page is a masterpiece, and then the next is a rough sketch. While I'd love for DreamWorks to match Disney or Pixar’s consistency, they've always operated this way, with a few gems surrounded by mid-tier films. It’s basically their identity. I get that business is business, and DreamWorks needs a steady income to compete with giants like Disney. If that means producing some average films to stay afloat, I’m okay with it—as long as every now and then, they deliver a groundbreaking, life-changing movie that leaves a lasting impact.

[TrioLOLGamers]

Disney: we need films to make money
Dreamworks: we need money to make films.

That's the key: they've decided to ruin my Kung Fu Panda franchise to make that beautiful film of The Wild Robot.

I have one good example:
Zootopia was meant to be a big analogy of the human racism with the use of the tame collar and the protagonist was wilde the fox, but Disney decided that it was "too dark".
I mean, if you look online it was not: as a kids I loved more cartoons like the Couarge the Dog.
Dreamworks isn't scared. It is like Spiderman Into not scared of giving artists freedom.

[Red_Bed]

Here’s the thing tho, Dreamworks has been inconsistent from the start, their debut movie was literally Antz, which I didn’t care for at all, but then would make The Prince Of Egypt, which I honestly liked

[olleselin]

3:50 I sure do miss that era of DreamWorks when they were practically born. We had such beautifully animated feature films like "Thr Prince of Egypt" and "Spirit"

[silynes]

In case you don't know, The Wild Robot is based off of a book, which is why the budget was lower when compared to other movies that they've made: they already had a baseline story and just needed to tweak it a little.

[kingratawhiz]

It’s kinda like how dream works pulled out puss in boots last wish, and then ruined the vibe they had with megamind 2

[theguyfromtsukihime]

DreamWorks inconsistency is weirdly their biggest strength as a studio as it keeps the audiences expectations for any of their movies at a reasonable level compared to Pixar where the moment they have a movie that isnt a masterpiece its immediately branded as "pixars biggest failure" or god forbid illumination where they have more shitty and mid movies than they have good movies

[AloAwesome]

“People’s nostalgia”
*nostalgia from inside out 2 appears on the screen*