The Greatest DreamWorks Animation Studios Films Ever

Posted On Mar 19, 2024 By admin With Comments Off

While Disney and Pixar are the industry giants for animated features, DreamWorks deserves plenty of respect. The studio has successfully secured a well-earned reputation as one of the foremost companies focused on producing entertaining animated films.

Compared to the more child-friendly films of Disney, DreamWorks specializes in appealing to a wider audience, crafting movies and jokes that will garner laughter from children and older viewers. On this basis, DreamWorks has become the beloved animation studio it is today, responsible for critically acclaimed hits like Shrek and How to Train Your Dragon to the most recent Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.

From DreamWorks’ first movies to its latest films, here are the greatest movies ever released by DreamWorks, ranked from best to worst.

Shrek

To get his swamp back, the cynical ogre Shrek (Mike Myers) agrees to rescue a princess (Cameron Diaz) on behalf of a power-hungry lord (John Lithgow). Traveling long distances with his talkative donkey companion (Eddie Murphy), Shrek is shocked to find he has more in common with the princess than he thought possible.

Even those who argue Shrek isn’t the greatest DreamWorks movie find it impossible to downgrade its importance. Without it, DreamWorks Animation would almost certainly never have gotten off the ground, never mind becoming the universally recognized animation giant it is today. It’s a movie that — in the wake of the Disney Renaissance — breathed new life into old stories, revitalizing tried and true fairy tale stories by openly mocking them.

How To Train Your Dragon

For ages, the resident Vikings of Berk have warred with the local population of dragons. When a young boy (Jay Baruchel) befriends one of these dragons, he learns that the creatures are docile and friendly, leading him to secretly adopt the dragon as his pet.

How to Train Your Dragon may be the closest DreamWorks ever came to a film that Disney or Pixar could’ve genuinely made. Possessing a narrative full of emotion and warmth, it still sets itself apart as a distinctly DreamWorks creation by its nonstop humor (a key characteristic found in most DreamWorks films).

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

On his ninth and final life, the adventurer Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) sets out to find a magical wish to restore his lives to their entirety.

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is not only the best sequel DreamWorks has ever produced but also one of the studio’s best movies. Utilizing the same vivid animation that made Into the Spider-Verse so wildly popular, The Last Wish is a rare follow-up that exceeds the quality of Shrek 2-4 and the first Puss in Boots — far funnier, more action-packed and features one of the strongest villains in any DreamWorks film there is.

Shrek 2

Shortly after their marriage, Shrek (Mike Myers) is invited to the kingdom of Far Far Away to meet Fiona’s (Cameron Diaz) royal parents (John Cleese and Julie Andrews), leading to an awkward family reunion.

A sequel that followed the movie that essentially built DreamWorks from the ground up was bound to be tricky. Fortunately, Shrek 2 managed to go above and beyond in expanding the world of Shrek, lampooning dozens of other fables and fairy tale tropes and still retaining a grounded narrative for audiences to follow.

Chicken Run

A group of imprisoned chickens plans to escape in a POW-style farm camp before they’re baked into a pie. As they plot out methods of running away, they receive help from a daredevil rooster (Mel Gibson), who assists the group in eluding capture.

Chicken Run marked the first major collaboration between DreamWorks and the UK-based animation group Aardman. Seeing the two team up for a single cohesive project, Chicken Run strikes a delicate balance between Aardman’s crisp stop-motion animation and both studios’ comedic sensibilities. Like Gibson’s Rocky Rhodes crashing into the chicken camp, the movie has a satisfying blend of subtle British humor and jokes that will appeal to American audiences.

How To Train Your Dragon 2

Five years after the Viking community of Berk has ended their war with the native dragons, a new threat to the island emerges. Drago, played by Djimon Hounsou, is a warlord who wants to capture the dragons and use them to conquer the world.

The standout trait that makes How to Train Your Dragon the endearing franchise it is is how the franchise tracks the progression of its main characters. Growing up from the reckless, innocent youths depicted in the first How to Train Your Dragon, How to Train Your Dragon 2 focuses on their adolescent years by showing their first real brush with the adult world, with all the heartbreak and complications that come with growing up.

Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of The Were-Rabbit

Upon becoming pest control workers, the eccentric inventor Wallace (Peter Sallis) and his dog Gromit meet their match when a mysterious giant were-rabbit menaces a small town shortly before its annual Giant Vegetable Competition.

Like many DreamWorks projects, it was a significant risk transitioning the award-winning duo of Wallace and Gromit from short films into a feature-length project. Luckily, the studio made the leap with care and precision, establishing Wallace and Gromit as heroes capable of headlining their own movie (which turned out to be just as fantastic as their earlier shorts).

Kung Fu Panda

In a version of ancient China populated by anthropomorphic animals, Po (Jack Black), a kung-fu-loving panda bear, is named the prophesized Dragon Warrior by the ancient Master Oogway (Randall Duk Kim). Trained by the strict and domineering Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman), Po tries to unlock his true potential as a martial artist, eventually coming face to face with a vengeful ex-pupil of Shifu’s, the ruthless snow leopard Tai Lung (Ian McShane).

Wrapped around the guise of a satirical kung fu movie are some profound lessons about believing in yourself and following your dreams — regardless of how others perceive you or how little support you have. It’s a surprisingly tender message for a movie featuring a martial artist panda bear buried in the film’s heart like the warm center of a delicious dumpling.

Antz

In a bustling community of ants, the anxiety-riddled Z (Woody Allen) tries to save his fellow drones when an arrogant general (Gene Hackman) launches a plan to purge the “lesser” population of ant workers.

On paper, Antz seems like a blatant rip-off of Pixar’s A Bug’s Life. But rather than stealing everything that made A Bug’s Life so enjoyable in the first place, Antz poses some surprisingly blunt questions, touching upon everything from individuality and conformity to military authoritarianism (in a children’s movie, no less).

Puss in Boots

Years before meeting Shrek, the dashing desperado Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) reluctantly joins his estranged childhood friend Humpty Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis) and his cat burglar rival (Salma Hayek) in stealing the legendary Golden Goose’s eggs.

By 2011, the Shrek franchise was at its lowest point, the final two entries in the series failing to live up to the acclaim met by the original two movies. Thankfully, a gamble on the studio’s part led to a successful revitalization of the Shrek universe, led by the suave and debonair breakout character, Puss, his love interest/competitor Kitty Softpaws, and a flat-out hilarious Humpty Dumpty.

Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie

Arriving in a small town in Ohio, the eccentric Professor Poopypants (Nick Kroll) creates a machine capable of minimizing people’s sense of humor. The only person capable of stopping him is the elementary school’s strict principal (Ed Helms), who’s been brainwashed into believing he’s the underwear-based superhero Captain Underpants.

Far and away DreamWorks’ most underrated movie, Captain Underpants is a brilliant adaptation of the influential Captain Underpants series of children’s books. Retaining most of the YA series’ signature brand of potty humor, it’s nevertheless a movie that’ll appeal to adults and kids — thanks to its gorgeous animation and talented vocal cast.

The Bad Guys

Looking to stave off a lengthy prison sentence, a gang of anthropomorphic animals poses as outstanding citizens in their community. However, their plans slowly change when the gang’s leader (Sam Rockwell) discovers that he enjoys doing the right thing.

One of DreamWorks’ most recent films, The Bad Guys is to heist movies what Kung Fu Panda is to martial arts movies. Lampooning the rapid-fire dialogue in Quentin Tarantino films like Reservoir Dogs, it’s a fast-paced, lighthearted romp featuring a massive ensemble cast (Marc Maron, Awkwafina, Craig Robinson, Anthony Ramos, Richard Ayoade, and Zazie Beetz). However, perhaps the movie’s most unique feature is its awe-inspiring visuals.

Kung Fu Panda 3

Journeying to the isolated Panda Village and reconnecting with his birth father (Bryan Cranston), Po (Jack Black) and the Furious Five train the town in kung fu before the arrival of Kai (J.K. Simmons), a yak from the Spirit Realm bent on capturing everyone’s chi.

It’s not often you see the third entry in a trilogy measure up to everything that came before — but Kung Fu Panda 3 is one such film. Doubling down on everything that made the first two installments so initially fun to watch, Kung Fu Panda 3 weaves back and forth between some well-done action sequences and lighthearted humor. Even if this were the final movie in the Kung Fu Panda series (it’s not), this movie would’ve sufficiently ended the series.

How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

Assuming the role of a chieftain, the now adult Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) searches for the “Hidden World,” a fabled place where dragons can live safely from the invasive humans trying to hunt them down.

If the How to Train Your Dragon series never receives another installment, The Hidden World would be a rare film that rounded out the franchise on a conclusive high note. Showing just how far the series and its characters had come, The Hidden World finds the heroes of How to Train Your Dragon in the thralls of adulthood, providing epilogues for every one of the franchise’s well-loved characters audiences had bonded with over nine long years.

Kung Fu Panda 2

When a peacock warlord (Gary Oldman) tries to use gunpowder to bend China to his will, Po (Jack Black) and the Furious Five set out to stop him, learning much about Po’s past along the way.

Kung Fu Panda 2 may be the weakest of the trilogy, but like How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, such a ranking fails to encapsulate how good the movie really is. Providing abundant flashbacks to Po’s youth, the film expands on the characters’ motivations and backgrounds, providing greater depth to their psyches and allowing for a deeper, more fundamental connection with them in the long run.

The Prince of Egypt

Chosen by God to guide the Hebrew people out of Egypt, the Pharaoh’s surrogate son Moses (Val Kilmer) abandons his princely duties, assuming the responsibilities of becoming a Prophet — much to the chagrin of his brother Ramesses (Ralph Fiennes).

An animated Biblical epic straight out of the 1950s, The Prince of Egypt could’ve been a disaster for the then-burgeoning DreamWorks team. אָבער, blessedly, while it’s far from the greatest movie the studio ever released, some incredible animation and modern characterizations of Biblical figures allowed the film to soar rather than doom DreamWorks to an early grave.

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa

Trying to fly back to New York City from Madagascar, the former animal stars of Central Park Zoo crash land in Africa, eventually coming into contact with Alex’s (Ben Stiller) long-lost father (Bernie Mac).

Madagascar is seldom singled out as the standout series from DreamWorks. But with Escape 2 Africa, the series reaches its highest peak, delivering an endless number of jokes without batting an eye. Whether the movie follows Alex as he tries to bond with his father, Alec Baldwin’s Elvis-haired antagonist, or the squad of penguins wreaking havoc on a group of tourists, you’re scarcely allowed any recovery time before you’re cackling all over again.

Mr. Peabody & Sherman

After damaging their WABAC machine, the brilliant canine scientist Mr. Peabody (Ty Burrell), his adopted human son Sherman (Max Charles), and a classmate of Sherman’s (Ariel Winter) hop from time period to time period in a bid to get back home.

Taking the titular time-traveling duo from the ’60s TV show, The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends, and adapting them to the modern era, Mr. Peabody & Sherman made for an exceptional animated film. Reinvigorating its source material, it successfully introduced the ingenious canine and his son to a new generation of audiences, reaffirming Mr. Peabody and Sherman’s place in pop culture today.

Abominable

Encountering a Yeti (Joseph Izzo) on the roof of her Shanghai home, a teenage girl (Chloe Bennet) and her two best friends (Albert Tsai and Tenzing Norgay) try to reunite the creature with his family in the summits of Mt. Everest.

Abominable treads some familiar ground regarding its main narrative, but it introduces plenty of surprises that help distance it from similarly-plotted films like Big Hero Six, Missing Link, E.T., and even Frosty the Snowman. Among the movie’s strongest elements are its strong design — its depiction of Mt. Everest alone is worthy of praise — and its lead cast’s energetic performances.

Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted

Once again, trying to return home to New York, a group of animals from the Central Park Zoo stowaway with a circus traveling through Europe, staying one step ahead of a relentless Animal Control agent (Frances McDormand).

Compared to DreamWorks’ other properties, Madagascar fails to measure up to the heights set by Shrek אָדער Kung Fu Panda, lacking the same emotional components that made those series so adored by fans. What Madagascar lacks in emotional undertones, though, it more than makes up for in its irrevocable humor, as seen with Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted. A brilliant wrap-up to the Madagascar trilogy, it’s loaded with visual gags and slapstick humor straight out of a vintage Looney Tunes cartoon or a Cary Grant screwball comedy.

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