Ranking for DreamWorks Animated Films

After watching cjWriter1997's post where he ranked Pixar films, I also saw that he mentioned Kung Fu Panda 2 and how he wanted to do another post for it. I didn't want to steal his idea, but I really felt the need to do a post like that, so here it is. There are also a couple of DW animated films I haven't seen yet, so I'll list them:

Antz
Flushed Away
Megamind
Home
The Boss Baby
Captain Underpants

Alright, let's get started.

THE BAD TIER:

29: Shark Tale - This is probably the best-worst movie of all time. It has a 35% approval rating on RT, but was nominated for several accolades, including the Academy Award for Best Animated Film. The film was also a major success at the box office, earning $367 million worldwide against its $75 million budget. Frankly, the only thing that was good about this film was its huge celebrity cast and even its worldly concept. I actually liked the world build in the film, which takes place in an underwater recreation of New York and its utilization of hip-hop culture. The film's story, on the other hand, is poorly done, where the main character makes an awful amount of bad decisions and where the conclusion is outright confusing in every way. If there was a popular superhero whom everyone eventually found out lied about his powers, everyone would be pissed as hell. But that doesn't happen in this film! Everyone just forgets it all ever happened! Yeah, this movie was simply a wreck story-wise. Also, the amount of pop-culture jokes in the film were cringy at best.

28: Mr. Peabody and Sherman - This film had such a great start, but literally only one single character ruined the entire thing: a child named Penny. She started off as this complete bitch of a girl who bullied Sherman and was incredibly mean to him throughout the first half of the film. Later, she suddenly gets this magical personality change and becomes this incredibly sweet and caring person. I was sitting there trying to wonder how the hell that even happened. There was little to no eventful situation that realistically built up to that. It just happened out of the blue. Not to mention, this film did get pretty goofy down the line and ended up losing its initial charm.

27: Madagascar - The film stood out to be really funny and it had a great main cast, which is why it stayed relevant throughout the years, but I later I found it to be quite a wreck in terms of storytelling. Sure, it did have a good concept for the plot, but it was simply rushed, like, really badly. Also, the Fossa as the villains were simply terrible by all means because they were just there because the film supposedly needed a villain. They were uninteresting and provided little to no development in the film's plot. Like, you could simply erase them from the film and the main idea of the plot or even the character development process still wouldn't change.

26: Bee Movie - I honestly don't know how this film became a meme because it was just so forgettable. Albeit, the film does have some good humorous moments, but its plot is simply awkward and its execution was poor. There's really not much else to say about it. It was just... uninteresting.

25: Shrek the Third - It's easily the worst Shrek film and is even considered to be DreamWork's worst animated film in general, but I have seen worse. There are still plenty of moments in this film that amuse me to no end, like the scene where the princesses retaliate against the bad guys and the ending scene where Arthur makes his speech about being yourself no matter what anyone thinks, but the film had a shaky plot and some incredibly corny, overblown jokes, like the scene where king Herald has this ridiculous overly-dramatic death. It's honestly a passable film at best.

THE DECENT TIER:

24: Wallace and Gromit - The Curse of the Were-Rabbit: In all honesty, I totally forgot a majority of this film because I saw it in theaters when I was really young and haven't seen it again since. To say the least, it is a film from Aardman, which has had an impressive record, and it has positive rating from critics. I can't rate it any higher than this because I forgot what it was about, but I also can't say I haven't seen it at all. I'm just going by what others say about it at the moment.

23: Trolls - When I first heard about this film, I was expecting the worst because it's a film about goddamn troll dolls (look them up), but the trailers actually gave me some hope for it because the film looked both entertaining and creative. Honestly, it was both, but only in terms of its world build and musical scenes. Other than that, this film is quite basic in its plot and not really that humorous. It is worth a watch but only if you have nothing else to do.

22: Penguins of Madagascar - I was actually quite excited for this film, but the end result just left me unimpressed. I found the villain to be quite strange because he had the ability to change his appearance, like completely. He disguised himself as a human mad scientist, and it was never explained how he was able to do this because he was just a regular octopus. The film also got a bit uninteresting and basic down the line to me. It kinda disappointed me but it's not really a bad film. Just disappointing.

21: Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa - I have to give some props to this film for being outright hilarious, but what sends it downhill is its goofy plot. The story was just all over the place down the line and it ended up making me very uncomfortable. Still, I can't deny that this movie is funny as hell.

20: Puss in Boots - This film was pretty much the equivalent to Madagascar 2. It's a hilarious film but the story's conclusion just took a wacky turn. Not much else to say about this movie except for the fact that I was underwhelmed.

19: Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas - This may be the most forgotten DreamWorks animated film in their lineup, and its quite easy to see why. Being one of their early 2D animated films, Sinbad had really great potential with its stunning animation and quite exciting action scenes, but its plot was a bit underwhelming. It's still a decent film and worth watching once.

18: Rise of the Guardians - By concept, this film looked crazy cool. Seeing a bunch of fairy tale characters in one film seemed awesome, but I think the execution here was a bit downsized. The action scenes looked cool but felt watered down in terms of grit and pacing, and the story's conclusion was also a bit underwhelming for me. This could've made it to my GOOD TIER if some of these aspects were worked out.

THE GOOD TIER:

17: The Croods - This makes my GOOD TIER by a hair. I honestly felt that this was one of the more forgettable animated films in DreamWorks's collection, but reminiscing on it, I did enjoy this film because of its conclusion. I felt some other parts of the film needed work with its pacing, but the way it ended pretty much saves the film altogether. Definitely worth a watch.

16: Shrek Forever After - While Shrek the Third was a disaster, this film actually impressed me by all means. The twist of Shrek not ever being born is what really drove it towards success and is what kept the film intense and interesting. In comparison to its predecessor, the comedy was also clean. There are quite a few people who didn't like it, but to me, I found this to be an impressive installment.

15: Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron - I found this film to be very underrated. A lot of critics disliked it because of the way it portrayed white Americans in the early years of the country, which was their cruelty towards animals in comparison to the loving attitude given from Native Americans. It's basically the same way the Disney film Pocahontas was criticized. Honestly, I can care less about how politically correct or incorrect a film is. If a film is making a statement and giving a positive message to viewers, then that's all that matters. This movie is good.

14: Monsters vs. Aliens - This film eventually spawned another meme from the scene where the president plays the keyboard, but other than that, this entire film is pretty much what you want: a good story, great characters, and clever humor. It played out nicely.

13: Over the Hedge - This film's most positive aspect was its characters. They were all diverse and lovable by all means, but the film's story was probably its most impressive aspect. By all means, this movie is hilarious and the story is great. It's not the best, but it's definitely worth watching.

12: Kung fu Panda 3 - It goes without saying that DW is milking Kung fu Panda now, which they will continue to do because it was planned to have 6 films altogether, but even with a third release, it remains to be a fantastic animated series. The storytelling here is still great, the comedy is still great, and the characters are all still great. This is the weakest release in the series but it's still a really good movie.

11: Turbo - This film takes the overused "underdog" plot. It's the story of a motorhead snail who accidentally drinks nitrous oxide and gains the ability to move around very fast (weirdly, he also gains novelty features that an actual car has, like radio music bursting from his mouth and headlights beaming from his eyes). He soon attempts to accomplish his dream of racing in the Indy 500. It sounds like a wacky plot, but I was very amused by this film because of its pacing, action, and wonderful comedy. I loved it.

10: Kung fu Panda - This film really was a first of its kind where we see martial arts violence and anthromorphic animals work so well together in a children's movie, but what really makes this film great was its storytelling, and it would only get even better in the second film.

9: Shrek - It's among one of DW's best animated films, yet I put it just under the EXCELLENT TIER because Shrek 2 overshadows it so much that this film eventually dropped in the ranking. Still, I can't deny that this film is creative not only in its concept, but also its plot, and even utilized the "beauty is on the inside and not the outside" moral so effectively.

THE EXCELLENT TIER:

8: Shrek 2 - The best thing that Shrek 2 did in its storytelling was utilizing commentary of tensions in a romantic relationship. Not only can kids enjoy this film, but parents can definitely relate to it because I'm sure they've all had that awkward experience where they first introduced their significant other to their parents. This film gives an important life lesson for any family, and that is to accept and love one another no matter what you may perceive. By all means, this film is excellent.

7: Madagascar: Europe's Most Wanted - How rare is it that a third release in a series is better than all of the other films before it? Walking into this film, I was expecting some great comedy, but I was not expecting a fantastic story and heavily diverse characters to add to it. Man, was I completely caught off guard. This movie is crazy good.

6: Chicken Run - This movie is the definition of a classic, and it was fuel for Aardman's ultimate success. One thing I thought that stands out the most as far as Aardman's films are concerned is their humor. Their films are just funny as hell. The Shaun the Sheep film made that very clear, and from the beginning, it was no different, because Chicken Run was a widely clever and hilarious riot of a film. Not to mention, Aardman's claymation style is beyond perfect and every movement is incredibly smooth. Don't ask me how they do it because I will never know.

5: The Road to El Dorado - This has to be one of the most underrated animated films of all time. It holds a 48% rating on RT and the film was a flop at the box office. If you haven't seen the film yet, don't let that deter you from watching it because there are a ton of people who agree with the fact that this film was very underrated. It is simply a full-fledged, fun adventure with a hilarious plot, fantastic characters, and probably most importantly, awesome music (Elton John killed it). You gotta see this movie.

4: How to Train Your Dragon - What really makes this film so good was its story and pacing. The concept of the plot is, indeed, unoriginal, but its execution was excellent. It's one of the most heartwarming and adorable films DreamWorks Animation has created, and it's definitely something that should never be missed. Watch it if you haven't.

3: The Prince of Egypt - The fact that a lot of people recommend this film to people who are or even aren't Christian says a lot. This movie is that good. While the biblical story of Moses was interesting enough, this film takes that story and intensifies it with beautiful storytelling, great music, killer animation, and great character development. All of it blended so well together and made for one of the best film adaptions of the story of Moses.

2: How to Train Your Dragon 2 - It seems like DW has a knack for creating sequels better than the original. This movie was completely wondrous and action-packed throughout, with a lot of surprising scenes that caught me off guard. It's simply a heartfelt and powerful experience of a film that outdid the first in every way. That's really all there is to it.

1: Kung fu Panda 2 - Yeah, its time for me to be completely real here. This is the best storytelling DreamWorks Animation had to offer. No doubt, it's simply gorgeous. What really drove this film's plot was the tension between Po and the villain, Lord Shen. Unlike most animated villains, Shen wasn't physically big, strong, or even highly skilled in combat, but he was smart. Unlike Tai Lung, who tested Po physically, Shen tested him mentally. Shen stripped Po of his would-be life, which heavily affected Po's concentration and it stressed him out to no end, but he eventually grew to make peace with himself regardless of the scars of his past. For such a goofy character, this was all executed perfectly. Add the frantic action and hilarious comedy, and you have easily my favorite DreamWorks animated film of all time.

I hope you enjoyed this post, and by all means, feel free to comment YOUR rankings of these films :)

Comments

Great post, and you totally did NOT rip me off. While I did place Turbo and Shark Tale low on my list, it was only because I have guilty pleasures for those films. I honestly respect Dreamworks because no matter how good or bad their movie is, they are always interesting no matter what. I mean, 2001 is a better movie than Shark Tale by all means, but if I had to watch one of them, I'd choose Shark Tale because it isn't boring. - 445956 (7/2/2018)

Um
I did not like Turbo - iliekpiez (7/2/2018)

Yeah, I know a lot of people didn't, but that's alright - visitor (7/4/2018)

Where is Boss Baby? - Drawbox (7/8/2018)

I listed the DW films I haven't seen at the beginning of the post - visitor (7/8/2018)

I would definitely think you should see Flushed Away. It's one of mu personal favourites - iliekpiez (7/22/2018)

Home is the worst Dreamworks film of all time and it is also one of the worst films of 2015. - Badabooo2 (3/15/2019)

I could see you as a legit movie critic, the reviews you wrote for each movie is pretty good: well-written and concise! - theGreatGeekGamer (6/18/2022)