Dude... im a huge Pixar fan... but the way youre bashing this movie (with this and your previous post) isnt right... They have some fantastic animation choices in it, and the visuals look pretty cool...
Im not a big fan of this movie at all... for some reason the theme or voices dont really match the characters and therefore the characters dont appeal to me... but this still is no reason to completely refuse to see anything good about it...
People who still talk about Dreamworks like theyre just copying Pixar, definitely have lost track of whats going on in the industry...
As i said, im a huge Pixar fan... and always was very critical about Dreamworks... but when i look at what Pixar has in the making, compared to Dreamworks... then i really see no reason to bash a studio that does such FANTASTIC work...
And im sorry... but... one shot as evidence... lol... really dude??? :-)
@Lukas Niklaus Lukas Niklaus LukasNiklaus @LucasNiklaus um... Yeah kust becasue there are "pretty colors" doesnt mean it looks like a good movie. Dont hate on mike, but just because he said some (true) negative things he didn't "Completely refuse to see anything good about it" You idiot. Althoguh the plot doesnt look 100% like brave, it looks prett dang similar. Kind of a (badly animated) Brave meets Journey to the Center of the Earth (another failed movie.) and just one last thing, Dreamworks does not do FANTASTIC work... They do crap work. So next time before you open your mouth... Think nimrod.
Sorry Mike, I normally agree with you, but not here.
This is one small scene, and I get what you're saying about the girl rebelling against her father. But a child rebelling against their elders and tradition is as much a trope of Chris Sanders movies as anything else.
Plus, the film's been being developed since 2005, with Sanders on since 2007, so it couldn't really have set out to rip off Brave. Plus, as said, think it's going more The Incredibles route, with a family dynamic, rather than just child-parent.
I have no interest in seeing "The Croods" and I didn't like Brave.
That said, these films are in production for a long time, and sometimes similar ideas or coincidences happens. It is after all the reason was cancelled after Rio was unveiled.
I'm not sure on the whole Antz vs. A Bug's Life thing. Maybe it was on purpose, maybe it wasn't.
I'm surprised Sanders is directing this. It doesn't look like his kind of material at all.
Forgive my rudeness, but I did not come to your blog for your biased, pessimistic commentary on a movie trailer. Right now you are just adding fuel to the fire. Not to mention it's mad disrespectful to the director who brought us How to Train Your Dragon and Lilo & Stitch, both great movies. Let's not forget that Brave was wrongfully bashed for looking too much like HTTYD. It's a thing, every studio takes visual/aesthetic/thematic cues from other successful movies. But even then, the Croods looks NOTHING like Brave. Seriously, cut it out.
Well, I don't really accuse this film for this one shot, but for the overall inconsistencies and mismatches.
The girl's looks are not appealing from an animation point of view. It's even one of the 12 principles of animation, for Pete's sake!
The voice acting sounds quite unsuitable. I don't expect them to speak with "ooga booga" and such, but at least they could've chosen something more believable... Or sacrifice some dialog, just as in WALL-E. Then again, if they're into copying Pixar, they should copy the good stuff, not just the main character's hair color and some story points.
I'm not saying The Croods is the prehistoric version of Brave, but I will say it seems to share some similarities which do not feel coincidental.
And I gotta say it again. The title design is quite unfitting and the characters' eyes are too reflective.
Don't know if I say this with my Pixar-tinted glasses on or not, but I really don't buy the "these films are in production for a long time" argument for Dreamworks. Their scattergun approach in releasing films kinda makes me think they could have cared about their features a lot more. I don't believe for one second Dreamworks would let a movie stay in production for 8 years (like you claim, William Jardine. Dont know your source though). Sue me.
If you come here for non-biased animation news, you've come to the wrong place. It's toned down a bit since the full-on fanboyism of "The Pixar Blog" days, but it's still 100% a Pixar-slanted experience here.
I really think this shot is a COMPLETE coincidence. Just an examples of how great minds, in completely places, can think alike. The concept of the sun rising, and that being a metaphor for freedom, and chasing a dream is nothing new. It's just good storytelling.
Mike, I love ya man, but this is just passive consumer crap. What you're insinuating is that the Croods team saw Brave and then stole that shot to put in their movie, when even a logical person with no knowledge of how these films are made could reason that that would be an impossible feat. But com eon, you of all people know better. There's no way they "stole" the scene. Are you kidding me?
I love this blog. I do. And why I love it (and why I was extra excited when you announced you would be expanding to all aniamtion, and not just Pixar)... is because you seemed to never focus on YOUR opinions too much. You'd throw in a little quip here and there, but basically stay out of the way, and just us, the fans, a glimpse into the world of upcoming animated storytelling. If you're gonna just rant, then do that, but don't do both. Honestly, I couldn't care less what YOU think about the animation industry. I care about the industry itself, and I love how YOU report on it. Keep doing that. Please. Leave this juvenille crap at the door. For everyone's sake.
OK, it looks similar. Good for you Mike, you've earned your gold star for recognising a film won't be any good based on a teaser because it's a lesser clone. Well done, now move on otherwise you're just playing the Pixar fanboy in an irritating way when that isn't (and shouldn't be) your remit. If you're willing to go that way, you might as well call it The Pixar Blog again, have the guts to stand behind your true convictions.
I will give you this though, given The Croods has been in development for years under different people, are we any bit surprised by this melange of concepts being bad?
hahaha. The thing that stood out to me in the trailer was the voices. They sound so out of place. It felt like they were affluent current-day Americans who went bankrupt and now hide in a cave where the banks can't find them.
I had the same reaction when watching the trailer; when it got to this point I just said "You've gotta be kidding."
The "rebellious teen with wild red hair conflicts with strict parent and inadvertently puts her whole family in danger" premise is rather suspicious (granted it changes in the second half of the trailer.) Dreamworks has been doing a lot of good work lately, but this one just doesn't seem all that interesting.
Let's suppose Brave featured the first time ever footage of a girl climbing. So here a girl climbs again, big deal.
Besides the VERY SLIGHTLY similar images, when you compare films, you should focus in the dramatic function of said scene.
In The Croods, it's obvious that the climb is an important plot point that unleashed the film's conflict, while in Brave, it's an unimportant bit from a musical montage that only functions to show us Merida's personality.
Besides, as an animation expert, you should know the long time a production like this takes, so obviously ripping Brave was out of the question.
I think you should rest your case at least until the films release.
Actually the whole thing is like a mash-up of Brave, Secret of Kells, and Ice Age meets Avatar. Not planning on seeing this one for sure. Also agree the voicing is strangely off-putting. Don't know what it should be exactly, but something isn't working.
But whatever your opinion is, Mike, kudos to you for sparking some lively debates into the blog. Nothing can beat a good ol' crap-stirring one-liner, right? :)
This is clearly not a rip-off of Brave. Just because a girl is climbing a big rock doesn't mean it's automaticly a rip-off. The plot has nothing to do with Brave's and it looks more like Ice Age 3 than anything. This movie was most likely in production before the shot of Merida climbing the wall was even shown. Even though I love PIXAR better than any other flim animators, you really should show DreamWorks some respect.
I just want to put something out there in accordance to dream works ripping off pixar. These animated moves take years to produce and the companies producing them are normally pretty good at keeping quiet about what there working on. I seriously doubt no matter how similarities may be between the two, seing how they both came out this year, or are coming out in less then a year of each other that it was an intentional rip off. Animators and story writers get inspired by many things and sometimes if that inspiration comes from the same place, similar works are made. I think the inspiration comes from us, a generation learning to make new choices on there own, and learning to embrase there independence, with the hopes that the ones we love will accept us for it. That with in each generation thorough out time there have been those who will rise up and be strong. And lead the world forward for the better of the future. They are similar ideas not because one is stelling from the other, but because they are inspired from the same source. And the list of these individuals in animated movies alone is longer the most would think. So factoring in all cinema and all forms of media, every way to tell a story. There is ripping off or shared inspiration. Animators grow from knowing our history and our past like all artist, we get influenced by other styles we try to produce and the end product is a new style all together. Dream Works is really beginning to show there true colors and as much as I love pixar, as an animator, I really hate to see these things be spred around with out thought.
I think some of you are missing the point. It's not just the "girl climbs rock" part that makes it similar. The whole idea of both scenes is the character celebrating their independence from their overbearing parent. THAT is what is so similar, not just the shot.
Sorry Mike, but you can't really call it a rip-off of "Brave", or even say it's highly derivative of "Brave". I only see a few similarities.
#1. It's only one shot, plus Merida's rock climb was just part of a montage showing Merida's adventurous spirit. Here, it's simply the daughter finally seeing what the outside world is like.
#2. "The Croods" grew out of a cancelled DreamWorks/Aardman co-production called "Crood Awakening". Work on that began sometime in 2004 or 2005, but since the two split, the rights to the story diverted back to DreamWorks. In fact, "The Croods" was at one point scheduled for release in March 2012. This was back in 2011, before the first "Brave" teaser even showed up.
#3. This "teaser" only gives us a small dose of the plot. There's a love interest in this story too, and he's all about the future while the father is content with sticking to tradition. This is different from "Brave", since Merida is simply trying to be something beyond tradition, more than just a princess who has to stick to rules and marry a suitor. The daughter in this film simply wonders about that "dangerous" outside world and falls in love.
Pretty different if you ask me.
Wait till the next trailer. I think this "Brave" vs. "Croods" thing is kinda silly. I've been reading this blog since last year and I enjoy it very much, and like someone else here said, it's a great source of animation news. I certainly get my animation news fix here and a few other places, but I have to disagree with you here. Hopefully you like the next trailer better.
I think you're just being picky there D= Seriously how many films have used this shot already? It's not illegal xD And they most definately aren't hiding anything
Probably this was not an intended similarity or rip-off. But generally DreamWorks does copy Disney and/or Pixar. 'Antz' (rip-off of 'A Bug's Life'), 'Madagascar 2' (rip-off of 'The Lion King'), 'Shark Tale' (is it a coincidence that the only underwater Dreamworks film was made one-and-a-half years after Finding Nemo?). Also, it's quite easy to use old fairytales because you can't create your own interesting characters (see 'Shrek', 'Puss in Boots').
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31 comments:
That's one bloody shot.
I agree with you. That was my first thought when I saw the trailer too. — solidified undeniably by the cliff climbing sequence.
Oh, wow. Because that exact shot in Brave is so incredibly original and never done once before ever in the history of cinema.
Definitely agree, I immediately thought of Brave when I saw this sequence, however I think the Croods is more going to focus on a "family's" journey.
Also, Nick Cage should never ever do voice acting...
Dude... im a huge Pixar fan... but the way youre bashing this movie (with this and your previous post) isnt right...
They have some fantastic animation choices in it, and the visuals look pretty cool...
Im not a big fan of this movie at all... for some reason the theme or voices dont really match the characters and therefore the characters dont appeal to me... but this still is no reason to completely refuse to see anything good about it...
People who still talk about Dreamworks like theyre just copying Pixar, definitely have lost track of whats going on in the industry...
As i said, im a huge Pixar fan... and always was very critical about Dreamworks... but when i look at what Pixar has in the making, compared to Dreamworks... then i really see no reason to bash a studio that does such FANTASTIC work...
And im sorry... but... one shot as evidence... lol... really dude??? :-)
@Lukas Niklaus Lukas Niklaus LukasNiklaus @LucasNiklaus um... Yeah kust becasue there are "pretty colors" doesnt mean it looks like a good movie. Dont hate on mike, but just because he said some (true) negative things he didn't "Completely refuse to see anything good about it" You idiot. Althoguh the plot doesnt look 100% like brave, it looks prett dang similar. Kind of a (badly animated) Brave meets Journey to the Center of the Earth (another failed movie.) and just one last thing, Dreamworks does not do FANTASTIC work... They do crap work. So next time before you open your mouth... Think nimrod.
This is as ridiculous as the claims Brave ripped off The Hunger Games/ How to Train your Dragon.
Sorry Mike, I normally agree with you, but not here.
This is one small scene, and I get what you're saying about the girl rebelling against her father. But a child rebelling against their elders and tradition is as much a trope of Chris Sanders movies as anything else.
Plus, the film's been being developed since 2005, with Sanders on since 2007, so it couldn't really have set out to rip off Brave. Plus, as said, think it's going more The Incredibles route, with a family dynamic, rather than just child-parent.
I have no interest in seeing "The Croods" and I didn't like Brave.
That said, these films are in production for a long time, and sometimes similar ideas or coincidences happens. It is after all the reason was cancelled after Rio was unveiled.
I'm not sure on the whole Antz vs. A Bug's Life thing. Maybe it was on purpose, maybe it wasn't.
I'm surprised Sanders is directing this. It doesn't look like his kind of material at all.
Forgive my rudeness, but I did not come to your blog for your biased, pessimistic commentary on a movie trailer. Right now you are just adding fuel to the fire. Not to mention it's mad disrespectful to the director who brought us How to Train Your Dragon and Lilo & Stitch, both great movies. Let's not forget that Brave was wrongfully bashed for looking too much like HTTYD. It's a thing, every studio takes visual/aesthetic/thematic cues from other successful movies. But even then, the Croods looks NOTHING like Brave. Seriously, cut it out.
Well, I don't really accuse this film for this one shot, but for the overall inconsistencies and mismatches.
The girl's looks are not appealing from an animation point of view. It's even one of the 12 principles of animation, for Pete's sake!
The voice acting sounds quite unsuitable. I don't expect them to speak with "ooga booga" and such, but at least they could've chosen something more believable... Or sacrifice some dialog, just as in WALL-E. Then again, if they're into copying Pixar, they should copy the good stuff, not just the main character's hair color and some story points.
I'm not saying The Croods is the prehistoric version of Brave, but I will say it seems to share some similarities which do not feel coincidental.
And I gotta say it again. The title design is quite unfitting and the characters' eyes are too reflective.
Don't know if I say this with my Pixar-tinted glasses on or not, but I really don't buy the "these films are in production for a long time" argument for Dreamworks. Their scattergun approach in releasing films kinda makes me think they could have cared about their features a lot more. I don't believe for one second Dreamworks would let a movie stay in production for 8 years (like you claim, William Jardine. Dont know your source though). Sue me.
Hey guys, why so serious?
I think mike meant this as a joke...
If you come here for non-biased animation news, you've come to the wrong place. It's toned down a bit since the full-on fanboyism of "The Pixar Blog" days, but it's still 100% a Pixar-slanted experience here.
I really think this shot is a COMPLETE coincidence. Just an examples of how great minds, in completely places, can think alike.
The concept of the sun rising, and that being a metaphor for freedom, and chasing a dream is nothing new. It's just good storytelling.
Mike, I love ya man, but this is just passive consumer crap. What you're insinuating is that the Croods team saw Brave and then stole that shot to put in their movie, when even a logical person with no knowledge of how these films are made could reason that that would be an impossible feat. But com eon, you of all people know better. There's no way they "stole" the scene. Are you kidding me?
I love this blog. I do. And why I love it (and why I was extra excited when you announced you would be expanding to all aniamtion, and not just Pixar)... is because you seemed to never focus on YOUR opinions too much. You'd throw in a little quip here and there, but basically stay out of the way, and just us, the fans, a glimpse into the world of upcoming animated storytelling. If you're gonna just rant, then do that, but don't do both.
Honestly, I couldn't care less what YOU think about the animation industry. I care about the industry itself, and I love how YOU report on it. Keep doing that. Please. Leave this juvenille crap at the door. For everyone's sake.
OK, it looks similar. Good for you Mike, you've earned your gold star for recognising a film won't be any good based on a teaser because it's a lesser clone. Well done, now move on otherwise you're just playing the Pixar fanboy in an irritating way when that isn't (and shouldn't be) your remit. If you're willing to go that way, you might as well call it The Pixar Blog again, have the guts to stand behind your true convictions.
I will give you this though, given The Croods has been in development for years under different people, are we any bit surprised by this melange of concepts being bad?
hahaha. The thing that stood out to me in the trailer was the voices. They sound so out of place. It felt like they were affluent current-day Americans who went bankrupt and now hide in a cave where the banks can't find them.
I had the same reaction when watching the trailer; when it got to this point I just said "You've gotta be kidding."
The "rebellious teen with wild red hair conflicts with strict parent and inadvertently puts her whole family in danger" premise is rather suspicious (granted it changes in the second half of the trailer.)
Dreamworks has been doing a lot of good work lately, but this one just doesn't seem all that interesting.
Bring on exhibit 'B', 'C', 'D' ...
Sorry, Mike, this time I can't agree with you.
Let's suppose Brave featured the first time ever footage of a girl climbing. So here a girl climbs again, big deal.
Besides the VERY SLIGHTLY similar images, when you compare films, you should focus in the dramatic function of said scene.
In The Croods, it's obvious that the climb is an important plot point that unleashed the film's conflict, while in Brave, it's an unimportant bit from a musical montage that only functions to show us Merida's personality.
Besides, as an animation expert, you should know the long time a production like this takes, so obviously ripping Brave was out of the question.
I think you should rest your case at least until the films release.
Actually the whole thing is like a mash-up of Brave, Secret of Kells, and Ice Age meets Avatar. Not planning on seeing this one for sure. Also agree the voicing is strangely off-putting. Don't know what it should be exactly, but something isn't working.
But whatever your opinion is, Mike, kudos to you for sparking some lively debates into the blog. Nothing can beat a good ol' crap-stirring one-liner, right? :)
This is clearly not a rip-off of Brave. Just because a girl is climbing a big rock doesn't mean it's automaticly a rip-off. The plot has nothing to do with Brave's and it looks more like Ice Age 3 than anything. This movie was most likely in production before the shot of Merida climbing the wall was even shown. Even though I love PIXAR better than any other flim animators, you really should show DreamWorks some respect.
I just want to put something out there in accordance to dream works ripping off pixar. These animated moves take years to produce and the companies producing them are normally pretty good at keeping quiet about what there working on. I seriously doubt no matter how similarities may be between the two, seing how they both came out this year, or are coming out in less then a year of each other that it was an intentional rip off. Animators and story writers get inspired by many things and sometimes if that inspiration comes from the same place, similar works are made. I think the inspiration comes from us, a generation learning to make new choices on there own, and learning to embrase there independence, with the hopes that the ones we love will accept us for it. That with in each generation thorough out time there have been those who will rise up and be strong. And lead the world forward for the better of the future. They are similar ideas not because one is stelling from the other, but because they are inspired from the same source. And the list of these individuals in animated movies alone is longer the most would think. So factoring in all cinema and all forms of media, every way to tell a story. There is ripping off or shared inspiration. Animators grow from knowing our history and our past like all artist, we get influenced by other styles we try to produce and the end product is a new style all together. Dream Works is really beginning to show there true colors and as much as I love pixar, as an animator, I really hate to see these things be spred around with out thought.
I think some of you are missing the point. It's not just the "girl climbs rock" part that makes it similar. The whole idea of both scenes is the character celebrating their independence from their overbearing parent. THAT is what is so similar, not just the shot.
Maybe Pixar should follow in Apple's lead and patent a girl climbing on a cliff side.
Sorry, Brave wasn't that good.
Lol.
Long-winded post comin':
Sorry Mike, but you can't really call it a rip-off of "Brave", or even say it's highly derivative of "Brave". I only see a few similarities.
#1. It's only one shot, plus Merida's rock climb was just part of a montage showing Merida's adventurous spirit. Here, it's simply the daughter finally seeing what the outside world is like.
#2. "The Croods" grew out of a cancelled DreamWorks/Aardman co-production called "Crood Awakening". Work on that began sometime in 2004 or 2005, but since the two split, the rights to the story diverted back to DreamWorks. In fact, "The Croods" was at one point scheduled for release in March 2012. This was back in 2011, before the first "Brave" teaser even showed up.
#3. This "teaser" only gives us a small dose of the plot. There's a love interest in this story too, and he's all about the future while the father is content with sticking to tradition. This is different from "Brave", since Merida is simply trying to be something beyond tradition, more than just a princess who has to stick to rules and marry a suitor. The daughter in this film simply wonders about that "dangerous" outside world and falls in love.
Pretty different if you ask me.
Wait till the next trailer. I think this "Brave" vs. "Croods" thing is kinda silly. I've been reading this blog since last year and I enjoy it very much, and like someone else here said, it's a great source of animation news. I certainly get my animation news fix here and a few other places, but I have to disagree with you here. Hopefully you like the next trailer better.
Mike, no madda wit deez fools say, you blog is da best! Haha :) And just kidding with the whole horrid grammar and spelling thing. :)
I think you're just being picky there D= Seriously how many films have used this shot already? It's not illegal xD And they most definately aren't hiding anything
Probably this was not an intended similarity or rip-off. But generally DreamWorks does copy Disney and/or Pixar. 'Antz' (rip-off of 'A Bug's Life'), 'Madagascar 2' (rip-off of 'The Lion King'), 'Shark Tale' (is it a coincidence that the only underwater Dreamworks film was made one-and-a-half years after Finding Nemo?). Also, it's quite easy to use old fairytales because you can't create your own interesting characters (see 'Shrek', 'Puss in Boots').
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