Disney vs DreamWorks: Which is Better?
Round #1: Characters
Top 10 Disney Characters We Want to Be Friends With
A good animated family film is nothing without its characters, and Disney has some of the best. From Mickey Mouse to Elsa, the studio has created a wide array of iconic creatures, heroes, and princesses that have stood the test of time, connecting with generations of kids and adults alike. Earlier characters, like The Fab Five, appealed to the masses with their charming simplicity, while modern Disney offerings have opted for a more personal approach, creating increasingly relatable characters with moving emotional journeys. Setting the company apart, Disney has also managed to keep their creations alive in the public imagination with character-focused crossovers like the series, “House of Mouse,” and their 100th anniversary special, “Once Upon a Studio.” DreamWorks has only been in the animation game a little over a quarter of its competitor’s century-long history, but that hasn’t stopped the studio from making plenty of memorable (and layered) characters. The studio’s penchant for building franchises allows audiences to really get to know their films’ protagonists. On occasion, DreamWorks has even faithfully adapted characters from modern children’s novels - bringing pre-existing favorites to the big screen for the first time ever! Original or otherwise, DreamWorks characters are often the perfect mix of funny and heartfelt, and can offer lighthearted and fun alternatives to their competition’s more weighty dramas. As much as we love Shrek, Toothless, and Po we have to hand this one to Disney. While both studios certainly have characters that have connected to audiences on an emotional level, DreamWorks’ tendency to favor comedy over drama has ultimately led to less long lasting connections. WINNER: Disney 1 / DreamWorks 0
Round #2: Box Office Success
Top 10 Times DreamWorks ROASTED Disney
It’s no secret that Disney is one of the biggest entertainment enterprises of all time, and their animated films are no small part of that success. Although the studio definitely saw declines in profit during certain eras, innovative animation techniques and anthology “package” films helped keep them afloat into the modern era. Now, over half of the company’s box office successes are from its past ten years, with 2019’s “Frozen II” even breaking into the All Time Worldwide Box Office at #13. This, of course, is without adjusting for inflation. When considering the rise in ticket costs since 1937, the highest grossing animated film would actually be Disney’s first: “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” When it comes to profits, DreamWorks got off to a bit of a rocky start. Their first two films, “Antz” and “The Prince of Egypt,” were praised by critics, but considered box office failures. “The Road to El Dorado” failed on both fronts. Thankfully, their collaboration with Aardman Animations, titled “Chicken Run,” would go on to become their first big success story, earning the title of highest grossing stop motion film - a title it still maintains to this day! Solidifying their status as a studio to watch, they would follow up this hit with the beginning of what is now their most well-known and profitable franchise: “Shrek.” Its sequel would become DreamWorks’ highest grossing film. Numbers don’t lie! In spite of a few low points, this profits-based round objectively goes to Disney, whose films earn more on average than their competitor’s. WINNER: Disney 2 / DreamWorks 0
Round #3: Sequel & Franchise Quality
Top 10 Best Disney Sequel Songs
In 1990, Disney released its first animated sequel: “The Rescuers Down Under.” It received generally favorable reviews. Shortly thereafter, DisneyToon Studios became a hub for churning out Disney sequels, with most released direct-to-video. Generally favoring quantity over quality, the craftsmanship of these films rarely measured up to their predecessors, and some animators even speculated that they were deliberately oversaturating the market with mediocre 2D animation in order to usher in a solely CG future. Nonetheless, CG films would later become Disney’s saving grace when it came to continuing their films, with “Frozen II” and Pixar’s “Toy Story” franchise proving that the company could do sequels right. DreamWorks Animation wasn’t always a franchise studio, but after their unprecedented success with “Shrek 2,” multi-film world building became their signature. Movies like “Madagascar,” “Kung Fu Panda,” and “How to Train Your Dragon” were all created with sequels in mind, allowing the original filmmakers to lay a foundation for future installments within the first film. Sometimes these expansive stories even went beyond what was released, with the studio’s co-founder, Jeffrey Katzenberg, hinting at a yet unseen six-film arc for “Kung Fu Panda” in 2010. While any type of sequel could be good, these pre-planned follow ups felt like they had real purpose, and often received positive feedback from critics as a result. Some DreamWorks sequels are even considered to be better than their predecessors! Disney and Pixar are great at introducing audiences to new worlds and characters, but they have too often faltered when trying to bring them back for new generations in sequels, spin-offs, and midquels. In contrast, DreamWorks decades-long dedication to sequel storytelling makes them the clear winner of this round! WINNER: Disney 2 / Dreamworks 1
Round #4: Reputation
Another Top 10 Movies that Ruined the Directors' Reputation
When thinking about Disney, most associate the company with a sense of childlike joy, tied to the nostalgia they feel for the company’s films and theme parks. But let’s take off those rose-tinted glasses for a moment. While the studio’s longevity may be a point for it in other arguments, it also means they have a filmography full of dated and sometimes deeply offensive or problematic depictions.Classics like “Dumbo,” “Lady and the Tramp,” and “Peter Pan'' now carry content warnings when watched on Disney+, while other films and scenes remain entirely buried. While it’s true Disney’s gotten better about representation in recent decades, are the Mouse House’s efforts really good enough? Let’s face it: DreamWorks isn’t perfect either. While “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron” and “The Prince of Egypt” were largely praised for their representation of people of color, “The Road to El Dorado” met criticism for the oversexualization of its female lead. That said, the studio’s steps towards positive representation of all kinds has been admirable. Twenty years after Pixar’s “Toy Story,” DreamWorks’ “Home '' surprisingly earned the distinction of being the first CGI film with an African American lead. The fact that she was a modern girl kids could relate to was not insignificant. Meanwhile, the “How to Train Your Dragon” franchise not only featured a gay character, but two protagonists with disabilities learning to thrive together. DreamWorks has not been without controversy, but Disney’s long, troubled history with marginalized communities has undeniably adversely affected its reputation in recent years. It also helps that DreamWorks has a different name than its parent company, separating the animation studio from CEO decisions. This round is theirs! WINNER: Disney 2 / DreamWorks 2
Round #5: Relatability for Adults
Disney may make films for a young demographic, but that doesn’t mean they’re just for kids! Disney has always strived to make films that appeal to all ages and, as such, mature themes are common in some of their best works. The slower paced “The Fox and the Hound” depicts the heartwrenching crumbling of a doomed friendship, while “Lilo & Stitch” features an unconventional family structure subjected to scrutiny by Child Protective Services. Devoid of much narrative focus, experimental films like “Fantasia” pushed the limits of what a children’s film can look and sound like. Add in the studio’s occasional adult jokes, and its tendency to give parental figures the spotlight, and its fervent adult fans should come as no surprise! “The Prince of Egypt” was DreamWorks second feature, so they are certainly no stranger to delving into mature subject matters. The 2023 “Puss in Boots” film was even praised for its frank depiction of a panic attack. Nonetheless, the studio is more strongly associated with its kid friendly comedies that contain overt adult humor. Unlike Disney, whose jokes for an older crowd are typically more subtle, DreamWorks rarely plays it safe. And their fans love them for it. Between Boss Baby’s bottle cocktail and Marty’s almost swears in “Madagascar,” DreamWorks offers plenty of gags specifically aimed at the adults in their audience. While both studios have films that adults can both relate to and appreciate on a different level than younger fans, Disney’s tendency to tackle complex subject matter in a way that is approachable for children is admirable. This round goes to them! WINNER: Disney 3 / DreamWorks 2
Round #6: Faithfulness to Source Material
When looking through Disney’s vast filmography, you will find that the majority of their features are based on pre-existing works. The fairy tales are pretty obvious in this regard, but some may be surprised to learn that films like “Bambi,” “The Rescuers,” and even “Meet the Robinsons” are also adaptations. The studio often takes a lot of liberties with these works, sanitizing the reality of stories like “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” and “The Little Mermaid.” Even “Hercules” makes the Gods out to be far more likable than their mythology suggests. This has gotten Disney into trouble when they adapt real life stories, such as “Pocahontas.” Their decision to make the movie into a love story is still baffling, to say the least. Not wanting to simply mirror the sensibilities of Disney, DreamWorks strayed away from conventional fairy tales and primarily looked to modern literature to inspire their works. The exception, of course, being “The Prince of Egypt,” which adapts The Book of Exodus. “Shrek” and “How to Train Your Dragon” take a few liberties with their source materials, particularly in their sequel films, but movies like “The Bad Guys” and “Captain Underpants” serve as more straightforward adaptations. Because their sources are both easily accessible children’s novels, it made sense to translate them more literally, as the studio’s target demographic might already be familiar with the characters and story. Thankfully for DreamWorks, these careful considerations have led them to facing fewer criticisms for their adapted works. If you ever want to see your work immortalized in animation, DreamWorks seems like a far better option than Disney. While the changes Disney makes to the source material of their films work in their favor more often than not, the times they haven’t worked have been… not good. For playing it safer with other peoples’ stories, DreamWorks undeniably wins this round. WINNER: Disney 3 / DreamWorks 3
Round #7: Animation Innovation
The Amazing Evolution of Disney Animation
In regards to animation innovation, Disney presents a bit of an unfair fight. The studio is, after all, credited with making the first feature length cell animated film, and helped Pixar in their development of the first entirely computer animated feature film. Without these releases, animation as we know it today might look a lot different. But Disney didn’t stop there! Throughout their history, they have developed the multiplane camera, xerography, and a post-production digital program known as CAPS which made scenes like “The Lion King”s wildebeest stampede possible. Films like “Elemental” continue to push boundaries in animation, challenging animators to create a whole new kind of character look and feel. DreamWorks may not have been able to make as big of a mark on the animation industry as Disney in their two decades of existence, but they’ve still made some considerable contributions. “Shrek” is by far their most revolutionary film. Not only did it inspire the Best Animated Feature category at the Academy Awards, but it laid the groundwork for all of the CGI films that would come after it. The most recent entry in its franchise was similarly innovative. Stylistically, “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” was a shocking departure from the film series’ previous style - but it worked! Its painterly effects and expressive animation worked perfectly for its action-packed story. DreamWorks’ contributions to animation cannot be dismissed but, for the time being, Disney comes out on top in this category. Only time will tell if this will remain the case, as DreamWorks continues to experiment with style and story. WINNER: Disney 4 / DreamWorks 3 DreamWorks put up a good fight, but Disney ultimately takes the prize for us! Their contributions to the animation medium, and culture as a whole, are just too great to ignore.
