We’ve got quite a fun one for you today here on Rhode Island Movie Corner. In what will ultimately be the last singular-focused installment of our DreamWorks Retrospectives series before we move on to the bulk of the studio’s filmography, we’ll be exploring the unique time in cinematic history when DreamWorks Animation briefly dabbled in the process of making traditionally animated films. Yes, it may be surprising for some of you to learn that the studio that helped spearhead the rise of computer animation to the point where it won the first-ever Oscar for Best Animated Feature also produced a couple of traditionally animated films in the late 90s and early 2000s. As we’ll soon see, however, there is, unfortunately, a significant reason as to why this was only just a ‘brief’ part of their history. As it turns out, DreamWorks and their fellow computer animation catalysts over at Pixar were a bit TOO good at revolutionizing animated films; as a result, traditionally animated films started to be seen as obsolete and, thus, began to underperform financially. Pixar’s parent company Disney experienced a few flops such as Atlantis: The Lost Empire and Treasure Planet and DreamWorks’ own traditionally animated films suffered as well to the point where, after one flop too many, CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg promptly made it clear that the studio would only make computer animated films from here on out. Nevertheless, the films that we’ll be looking at today have managed to spawn their own unique cult followings over the years, which will make it genuinely interesting to see how well they hold up. And so, without further ado, Rhode Island Movie Corner invites you to travel back to a time full of biblical heroes, smooth-talking con artists, and the fantastical adventures of one of the most famous seafarers in all of fiction as it presents its retrospective on DreamWorks Animation’s traditionally animated films.
THE PRINCE OF
EGYPT (1998)
Today’s story begins with a film that is not only arguably
the most successful of DreamWorks’ traditionally animated films, but one that
many would consider to be up there amongst the studio’s best, The Prince of
Egypt, an animated retelling of one of the most famous stories from the
Bible, the Book of Exodus. For the unfamiliar, it is the story of Moses, a
Hebrew man who, as a newborn child, was sent away by his family so that he
could be saved from an Egyptian-enforced genocide against all Hebrew newborns.
Ultimately taken in by the Royal Family, Moses grows up to become a Prince of
Egypt but, upon realizing his true heritage and the full extent of the horrors that
have been waged against his people, becomes God’s chosen prophet to save his
people from their oppression, even if it means going against the Pharaoh, his
adoptive brother Rameses. As noted earlier, the Book of Exodus is one of the
most well-known biblical narratives; as such, it has been translated to the
screen many times before, including, most famously, the 1956 epic The Ten
Commandments, directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Charlton Heston as
Moses and Yul Brynner as Rameses. It was a story that DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey
Katzenberg had wanted to adapt into an animated film for years; unfortunately
for him, any attempts to do so when he was Walt Disney Studios’ chairman were
promptly shut down by Disney’s then-CEO Michael Eisner. It wasn’t until he
formed DreamWorks alongside Steven Spielberg and David Geffen in 1994 that a
suggestion from Spielberg finally let the project see the light of day as the
first official project of DreamWorks’ animation division under the direction of
the trio of Brenda Chapman, the first woman to direct a studio-backed animated
film who would later go on to co-direct Pixar’s Brave, Steve Hickner, a
former Disney animator who worked for Spielberg’s short-lived animation studio
Amblimation, and Simon Wells, a fellow Amblimation alum who also happens to be
the great-grandson of famous author H.G. Wells.
Despite a few hubbubs with its scheduled release date due to
the controversies surrounding DreamWorks’s other animated release of the year, Antz,
The Prince of Egypt opened to solid critical and commercial success upon
its release in December of 1998, earning over $218 million worldwide and
netting positive reviews from critics. Since then, though, it has become even
more beloved, namely for being a much different kind of project compared to
what DreamWorks Animation would start to make after the success of Shrek
in 2001. Yes, despite being an animated film full of musical numbers and a few
instances of comic relief (namely by way of Pharaoh Rameses’ devious advisors
Hotep and Huy), The Prince of Egypt treats its source material as
seriously as possible. As a result, it is an emotionally driven drama that’s
not afraid to go to some truly dark narrative places, and at the center of this
epic plot is the biggest source of its emotional heft; a tragic tale of two brothers
torn apart by fate. On one side, you have Moses, the reluctant yet dedicated
leader of his people, and on the other, his brother Rameses who, despite his
mercilessly cruel attitude toward the Hebrews, is still just a man burdened
with intensely harsh expectations to be a strong ruler for Egypt and, to
paraphrase his father, not be the “one weak link [that] will break the chain of
a mighty dynasty”. This great material is all handled brilliantly by an
all-star voice cast headlined by Val Kilmer as Moses (who also serves as the
uncredited voice of God, thus resulting in a uniquely softer take on the Almighty
compared to other biblical adaptations) and Ralph Fiennes’ chillingly powerful
turn as Rameses.
On the technical side of things, the film’s mix of 2-D and
3-D animation produces some incredibly beautiful imagery, especially when it
comes to its utterly captivating recreations of some of the most prominent
moments from Exodus (the burning bush, the Plagues, the parting of the Red Sea,
etc.). Then there’s the film’s incredible soundtrack, which applies to both its
score and musical numbers. The score, courtesy of the legendary Hans Zimmer, delivers
a wonderful assortment of somber emotional beats and epic orchestral pieces,
while the songs, courtesy of future Wicked composer Stephen Schwartz, do
an excellent job of being more than just your typical big, flashy musical
numbers. Instead, they feel like natural complements to their corresponding
sequences, whether it’s the poignant ballad ‘When You Believe’ that’s tied to
the moment where Moses leads his people out of Egypt (and was also the winner
of that year’s Oscar for Best Original Song) or the epic dueling duet between
Moses and Rameses that plays over ‘The Plagues’. With all this in mind, it’s
easy to see why The Prince of Egypt has evolved into being not only one
of the best films to come out of DreamWorks Animation but also one of the most
acclaimed animated films of its time. Buoyed by a strong sense of emotional
maturity that’s an appropriate fit for its biblical source material, this is a
film that works regardless of one’s religious beliefs as its top-notch
animation and strong voice cast that brings its deeply layered characters to
life produces a powerful viewing experience that can legitimately give The
Ten Commandments a run for its money as the best film adaptation of the Book
of Exodus.
Rating: 5/5!
THE ROAD TO EL
DORADO (2000)
Historical settings would turn out to be a recurring factor
in DreamWorks’ traditionally animated films as evident from the second of these
endeavors, The Road to El Dorado, directed by the duo of Eric ‘Bibo’
Bergeron, a French-born animator who got his start working on France’s Asterix
series, and Don Paul, a longtime animation visual effect artist who had
previously worked on several Disney and Don Bluth productions. Set in 1519
amidst Hernán Cortés’ journey to the New World,
the film follows a pair of charismatic con artists named Miguel and Tulio who
come across a map to the mythical lost city of gold, El Dorado. Against all
odds, the two manage to reach their destination, where they end up partaking in
their most daunting con yet when the people of El Dorado mistakenly believe
them to be gods. But unlike The Prince of Egypt and DreamWorks’ other
animated release of 2000, the Aardman-produced smash hit that was Chicken
Run, The Road to El Dorado ended up being quite a major bust for the
studio. On a hefty $95 million budget, the film only made a little over $76
million at the box office and only managed to garner mixed reviews at best from
critics. Not only that, but in the years since its release, many of those
involved with the film, ranging from Will Finn, one of the film’s original
directors alongside future Simpsons Movie director David Silverman
before the two left the project in 1998 due to creative differences with the
studio, to screenwriters Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio have expressed their
disappointment with the film due to its chaotic production. Reportedly, the
film underwent several tonal changes throughout its production,
originally starting out as a more dramatic picture like The Prince of Egypt before
Jeffrey Katzenberg opted to turn it into a buddy comedy inspired by Bob Hope
and Bing Crosby’s Road to… films.
Admittedly, a lot of the signs of this film’s various
production problems are apparent in the final product, such as the widely
debated issue about the film’s target demographic given that it features some
of the most risqué adult jokes to ever come out of a film intended for younger
audiences. But aside from that, one could also argue that this is one of those
films that would be rather impossible to redo today unless some significant
narrative changes were made since it does rely on a few heavily dated tropes
such as the infamous ‘white savior’ narrative or the fact that the film’s
female lead Chel sadly ends up getting downgraded into being a love interest
for Tulio. But when it comes to the main reason why many consider this to be a
cult classic, it's a simple answer; Miguel and Tulio. Simply put, these two are
a fantastic comedic duo and Kevin Kline (Tulio) and Kenneth Branagh (Miguel)
have phenomenal onscreen chemistry, undoubtedly helped by the fact that they
got to record their lines together rather than separately as is usually the
case in animation. And while I can’t say that this film’s animation has
particularly aged that well, it does, at least, boast a nice vibrant color
palette and this is then all paired with some fun songs courtesy of the one and
only Elton John and his Lion King collaborator Tim Rice. As a result, The
Road to El Dorado is a solidly entertaining comedic adventure that, while
undoubtedly showing its age in many places, still works thanks to its hilarious
lead duo.
Rating: 4/5
SPIRIT: STALLION
OF THE CIMARRON (2002)
Prince of Egypt story artists Kelly Asbury and Lorna
Cook would team up to direct DreamWorks’ next traditionally animated feature, Spirit:
Stallion of the Cimarron. Set across the untamed vistas of the American
frontier in the 19th century, the film follows the titular Mustang
as he finds himself separated from his herd when he is captured by members of
the United States Cavalry. Eventually bonding with a young Lakota man named Little
Creek and his mare Rain, Spirit begins his long journey to not only escape from
his cruel captors but to also protect his home from the Cavalry’s attempts to take
control of the land. The film did relatively well with critics upon its release
on Memorial Day Weekend in 2002 and even managed to garner an Oscar nomination
for Best Animated Feature. And while its $122.6 million haul was seen as
underwhelming (unlike The Road to El Dorado, however, it did, at least,
surpass its $80 million budget), it would eventually go on to spawn a computer-animated TV spin-off in 2017, Spirit Riding Free, which would then go on
to spawn a feature film adaptation in 2021, Spirit Untamed. This was
also notably the first of the films we’re covering today that I did see in
theaters; in fact, I still remember going to see this with my mom at our local
drive-in. However, I will also fully admit that one of the main reasons why I
still remember that showing is because, all throughout the film, I frequently
took a glance over at the film that my brother and dad were watching on the
adjacent screen… which, for the record, was Sam Raimi’s first Spider-Man film.
That, folks, should give you an idea of just how big of a deal that
film was at the time.
But what about the film that I was supposed to
be seeing that night? Well, for starters, of all of DreamWorks’ traditionally
animated films, this may potentially be the one that has arguably aged the best
when it comes to its animation thanks to some incredibly beautiful visuals that
wonderfully highlight the natural beauty of its Old West setting. And unlike a
lot of animated films centered on animals, this film makes the wise decision to
have its animal protagonists remain silent throughout, thus resulting in it not
having to rely on a celebrity voice cast; something that, admittedly, is quite
commonplace in DreamWorks films. Matt Damon does provide some reflective narration
in the role of Spirit, but thankfully it’s not overused that much even if
Damon’s narration is almost entirely made up of matter-of-fact statements. Instead,
the film lets its visuals speak for themselves, for the most part, all while
being accompanied by a solid soundtrack. That said, though, this statement
applies more to the rousing score by Hans Zimmer (in his third appearance in
today’s retrospective; he also did the score for Road to El Dorado)
rather than the songs by Bryan Adams. To be clear, Adams’ songs aren’t ‘bad’,
but whereas songs like the main theme ‘Here I Am’ and ‘I Will Always Return’ are
pleasantly tranquil tunes, the more rock-heavy tunes like ‘You Can’t Take Me’
and ‘Get Off My Back’ (AKA the ones that weren’t co-written by Hans Zimmer) feel
a bit out of place or even a little unnecessary. In other words, this is
basically the equivalent of those who aren’t fans of the songs that Phil
Collins wrote for Tarzan and Brother Bear… it’s just that I think
that Collins’ songs, as polarizing as they are, were integrated into their
respective films much more efficiently.
My history with Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron can
best be described as complicated at best. While I did own this film on DVD, I
didn’t rewatch it as much as I did with the likes of other DreamWorks films at
the time such as the first two Shrek films and Madagascar. And,
of course, as I noted earlier, when I saw this in theaters... I was largely
preoccupied with the era-defining superhero film that was playing next door. Despite
all this, however, having now rewatched this film for the first time in years
to give it the full attention that it deserves, I was pleasantly reminded of
how quite arguably the best thing that this film has going for it nowadays is
how effortlessly cute it is, which I do mean in a positive manner. Animal
lovers will undoubtedly find a lot to love about this film, not only because of
all the immensely satisfying instances where the clever Spirit gets to overcome
any of the obstacles that are thrown at him by his cruel oppressors, but because
the film’s non-reliance on a voice cast helps to complement the simple yet satisfying
experience of watching its animal protagonists in their natural environment. As
such, the film is admittedly less successful at all this when it tries to incorporate
some narration and songs into its proceedings that frequently run the risk of
being utterly superfluous, but that doesn’t stop Spirit: Stallion of the
Cimarron from being a beautifully animated addition to the DreamWorks canon.
Rating: 4/5
SINBAD: LEGEND OF
THE SEVEN SEAS (2003)
Finally, we have Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas,
directed by the duo of Tim Johnson, co-director of DreamWorks’ first
officially-released endeavor Antz, and Patrick Gilmore, who was known more
for his work as a video game producer who worked on several games based on
Disney’s animated films and a few Spielberg-backed productions such as the Lost
World: Jurassic Park video game and the Medal of Honor series. Based,
of course, around the famous mariner of Arabian folktales, Sinbad the Sailor,
the film follows the swashbuckling rogue as he journeys to the dangerous realm
known as Tartarus to retrieve a mythical artifact known as the Book of Peace
when it is stolen from the city of Syracuse, thus putting Sinbad in a time-sensitive
situation when his old friend Proteus takes responsibility for its abduction. However,
as we’ve hinted at throughout this entire retrospective, this film ended up
having the unfortunate distinction of being the one that was most responsible
for the end of DreamWorks’ era of traditionally animated films. Sure, it had a relatively
modest budget of only $60 million compared to the more expensive Road to El
Dorado and Spirit, and it did end up performing more like the latter
rather than the former by at least making its budget back. But with a final total
of only $80 million at the worldwide box office, this led to one of the heftiest
financial write-downs that any film studio had ever experienced at the time,
with DreamWorks being hit with a loss of over $125 million. The studio nearly
went bankrupt as a result and CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg effectively shuttered any further
plans to make a traditionally animated film.
But just like The Road to El Dorado, this is a film
that has managed to amass its own unique cult following over the years, and
like Spirit, I am one of those who did see this in theaters. This time
around, I remember this particular screening due to the
theater I went to handing out free copies of an interactive CD-ROM that told
the story of the then newly opened Shrek 4-D, with the back of the CD
case featuring a big teaser ad for the upcoming Shrek 2 and a smaller ad
for the other DreamWorks Animation release of 2004, Shark Tale, back
when it was known as Sharkslayer. But I’m getting off-track here; Sinbad:
Legend of the Seven Seas, above all else, does succeed in being a solidly
thrilling seafaring adventure full of fun action sequences and solid visuals
that wholeheartedly emphasize the fantastical elements of its premise and setting.
That said, though, the film’s animation can, admittedly, be a bit hit-or-miss
at times, mainly due to the blending of traditional and computer animation that
was apparent in all of DreamWorks’ traditionally animated films. In other
words, a good chunk of the film’s computer animation hasn’t exactly aged that
well, whether it’s most of the mythical monsters that Sinbad and company face
off with or even something as simple as having its characters (both primary AND
secondary) be portrayed by 3-D models whenever they’re far off in the
background. At the same time, though, the film’s primarily bluish color palette
helps to give it some enjoyably atmospheric vibes.
Ultimately, though, this film’s biggest shortcoming is the
overall portrayal of its titular hero, Sinbad. Part of this is due to one of
the biggest controversies surrounding the film in that many felt that it underplayed
the character’s Arabian heritage (quite arguably to the point of whitewashing) which,
apparently, was due in part to the aftermath of 9/11. But aside from that, despite
being voiced by Brad Pitt, Pitt’s well-established screen presence and charisma
is impeded by the fact that Sinbad is a generally unlikable protagonist for
most of the film’s first half because of his selfish tendencies to the point
where he seems almost entirely unwilling to save his friend Proteus from his
impending execution. At the very least, he does shed that persona as the film
goes on, especially thanks to his various interactions with his love interest,
Proteus’ fiancé Marina (voiced by Catherine Zeta-Jones), who tags along with
him and his crew and is immediately established as being just as capable as he
is (and quite arguably even better in some of the most critical areas) when it
comes to sailing the open sea. The film also features an incredibly memorable
antagonist in Eris, the sinisterly seductive Goddess of Discord and Chaos voiced
by Michelle Pfieffer in her second appearance in a traditionally animated
DreamWorks film after playing Moses’ wife Tzipporah in The Prince of Egypt.
And so, with all this in mind, Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas is a
film that’s certainly more than what its reputation of being ‘the film that
flopped so hard it killed DreamWorks’ traditionally animated output’ may imply.
Sure, there are a few parts about it that haven’t aged all that well (including
the fact that it doesn’t give us much of a reason to like our main protagonist at
first), but at the end of the day, it does do its job in being a good
old-fashioned swashbuckling adventure full of fantastical sights.
Rating: 4/5
That concludes today’s
retrospective on DreamWorks’ short-lived run of traditionally animated
features. It was quite fun to go back and rewatch these; I may not have as much
of a history with them as I do with the likes of Shrek, Madagascar,
and Kung Fu Panda, but at least when it comes to the latter two films
that we discussed today, Spirit and Sinbad, I still fondly
remember going to see them both when they were in theaters and it’s clear that
I’m not the only one who enjoyed these underrated gems of the studio’s
extensive filmography back in the day. On that note, as I noted in today’s
intro, this will be the last singular-focused DreamWorks Retrospective that I’m
going to do; from this point on, I’m just going to run through the rest of the
studio’s filmography. Full disclosure, though, we’re going to be taking a brief
break and move on to other projects before we return to our DreamWorks Retrospectives
series. That said, though, when we do eventually continue our journey through
this studio’s cinematic resume, it goes without saying that we’ve still got a
whole bunch of interesting films to talk about.
