Pixar or DreamWorks?

We'll just start this post with this:  I am a huge fan of animation.  So when there are two rival companies producing animated features, of course there will be some division as to which is better.  Of course, right?  Well, this particular Panda With a Pencil is determined to come to a conclusion.

Before I get too carried away, welcome to my blog!  If this is the first post you've ever read on this blog, well, you missed one that's very important.  It isn't called "A Thorough Introduction" for nothing!  It outlines basically everything important about me -- things that I may quiz you on later ;)  But if this is the second post on my blog that you're reading, then you're right where you should be!  If this is the third post that you've read... well, then things get confusing really fast.

So, without further ado, we'll have to go into the deep subjects of animation.  

I'll start out by saying this:  Pixar has some great classics.  Up, Wall-E, The Incredibles, Ratatouille (it only took me two tries to spell that right.  Beat that -- without looking ;P), Monsters Inc. ... It has a lot going for it.  Brave was good, as was Toy Story.  When Pixar has really great ideas, they have really great ideas.  But I'm not all too satisfied with their sequels. Toy Story 2 wasn't as good as it could have been, and I felt that Toy Story 3 was kinda unnecessary... Plus, way too much gratuitous stuff to get a G rating.  I blame the MPAA ;P  

Monsters University had an okay story and decent animation, but didn't feel quite worthy (to me at least) to be considered something attached to Monsters Inc. .  It felt sort of ... under Pixar's usual standards.  So I guess what I'm getting at is this:  Pixar's sequels aren't the best movies out there, even though perhaps the first film was really good.  (The one exception, in my opinion, was Cars 2, which, despite how much I liked the first, I felt was better, because... Mater.  XD)  

I've heard rumors about The Incredibles 2, Cars 3, and perhaps another addition to the Monsters franchise, all of which I hope are really just rumors and will never amount to anything.  The Incredibles remains a really good superhero movie, but giving it a sequel will not be the best idea in the world, at least I think XD  Who knows, maybe they'll exceed my expectations.  It happened with Despicable Me 2 (which I know isn't either Pixar or DreamWorks... but still pretty good XD).

But now, we get to DreamWorks.  And now we get to my favorite animated movie of all time.

Kung Fu Panda 2.

That movie was all that a sequel should be. It improved upon the first.  (The first is my third favorite animated movie of all time, preceded by Disney's Bolt)  Kung Fu Panda 2 is my all time favorite animated movie.  And it's a sequel.  And it's DreamWorks.

Boom.

Add to the Panda franchise (maybe I'm kinda biased because... pandas, but whatever XD) the fact that DreamWorks is responsible for How to Train Your Dragon (the sequel of which looks REALLY good), The Croods, Megamind, and Puss in Boots... Well, suffice to say that with me, DreamWorks is on a rampage.  In a good way XD

True, we then must look back at how DreamWorks had way too many movies in the Shrek franchise and the second Madagascar movie perhaps wasn't wholly necessary (though the third one was my favorite of the series, and that new PENGUINS of Madagascar movie looks great), but DreamWorks sequels are getting better and better.  They seem to know what they're doing.  I also haven't seen Mr. Peabody and Sherman, but I have seen some of the older cartoons, and I'm pretty excited for that one to come out on DVD.

So, the majority of my top ten animated movies come from DreamWorks.  While Pixar has its shining moments (Up and Wall-E are the two that will forever remain classics), for me at least, it seems like DreamWorks has more shining moments.

So I choose DreamWorks.

Whoever's reading this, if you have an opinion on this very, very, VERY delicate matter, just comment and say it!  If you don't agree with me, that's fine.  Everyone's entitled to their own opinions (as long as they realize that my opinion is always right!)  ;P

Myth: the "Panda With a Pencil"