The Worst CGI Kid Films In Recent Memory

Drtooth

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Yeah, I never really believed the whole "Pixar is in decline" thing. Sure, they haven't made a movie as raw emotionally as Up, but it's like it's a bad thing. I remember some snobby little story on CBS This Morning that was whining about why they don't make films about real people with real emotions... even though they totally still do and they're just as cliche ridden as the very same blockbuster films they whine about... and they pointed out that you could only find that sort of thing in Up. And, frankly, Up did it a LOT better in 10 minutes than any Dame Judy Dench in India movie does in it's entire 2 hour run time.

But seriously... look back at how the Disney Pixar films started... Toy Story was followed by Bug's Life. It was good, but not the huge indie film quality emotional ride they'd be famous for. And Dreamworks kinda screwed them on that one with Antz, which used the concept better and less Three Amigos-y. Followed by a sequel to their first film only a 4 short years later. To be fair, that was a mandate by Disney and Pixar made the film better than it needed to be. Then a long escalation of indie film themes and emotional plotlines... and I swear that this point, the Oscar Awards they were accruing, some jerks were just hoping for them to fail because they felt they were "overrated." Then Cars 2 came out and everyone got all snotty about it because HOW DARE THEY make a sequel of something that sold toys. Something they don't bat an eye at with any other animation studio. Seriously. If Cars was developed by Dreamworks or Blue Sky, they'd be well into their 4th movie by now, with a fifth to come (especially if it's Blue Sky). Then everyone was all ticked off at Brave for some reason, because, you know... it won a pity Oscar for the behind the scenes crap, and here we are.

Meanwhile, 4 friggin' Ice Ages with a fifth on the way, and Rio 2 as a kiddyfied Meet the Parents knockoff.
 

Mynameisdean

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You have a point. Pixar is still beating everyone else. Am I the only one who thinks WALL-E is their best movie?
 

mr3urious

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I still haven't lost faith in Pixar. One serious dud that's still better than a lot of other third-party movies at the time, one troubled production that I admire more for what it tried to do than what it actually did, and one prequel with a wonderful message that still turned out far better than the Pixaren't sequel Eisner threatened to make still can't shake my love for them.

Besides, they have at least three original IPs in the pipeline now. I'm looking forward to those. Heck, even Incredibles 2 and Finding Dory have promise. :smile:
 

Muppet Master

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Where do I begin, I mean as much as I like CG Kids Films, TONS fall flat everyday, maybe 1 out of 5 each year are good, here's my list. First, some good ones to even out the field.

GOOD
  • Kung Fu Panda 1&2
  • Shrek 1,2 & 3
  • Madagascar 1,2 & 3
  • Ice Age 1 & 3
  • The Lego Movie
  • Monsters Vs. Aliens
  • Robots
  • Despicable Me 1&2
  • Megamind
  • Puss in Boots
  • Rise of the Guardians
  • Megamind
BAD
  • Frozen
  • Shrek 4
  • Ice Age 4
  • Planes
  • Planes:Fire and Rescuce
  • Surf's Up
  • Open Season 1,2&3
  • Astro Boy
  • How To Train Your Dragon 1
  • Turbo
  • Free Birds
  • The Nut Job
  • Monster House
  • The Nuttiest Nutcracker
  • Brave
  • The Ant Bully
  • Igor
  • Space Chimps 1&2
 

Drtooth

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Where do I begin, I mean as much as I like CG Kids Films, TONS fall flat everyday, maybe 1 out of 5 each year are good, here's my list. First, some good ones to even out the field.

GOOD
  • Kung Fu Panda 1&2
  • Shrek 1,2 & 3
  • Madagascar 1,2 & 3
  • Ice Age 1 & 3
  • The Lego Movie
  • Monsters Vs. Aliens
  • Robots
  • Despicable Me 1&2
  • Megamind
  • Puss in Boots
  • Rise of the Guardians
  • Megamind
BAD
  • Frozen
  • Shrek 4
  • Ice Age 4
  • Planes
  • Planes:Fire and Rescuce
  • Surf's Up
  • Open Season 1,2&3
  • Astro Boy
  • How To Train Your Dragon 1
  • Turbo
  • Free Birds
  • The Nut Job
  • Monster House
  • The Nuttiest Nutcracker
  • Brave
  • The Ant Bully
  • Igor
  • Space Chimps 1&2

I hate when people confuse Good and Bad with "I like it" and " I don't like it." All I'm saying. Quality is not indicative of personal taste. Often, what makes something genuinely bad is a general consensus of something that's actually wrong with the film.

As far as CGI kid's films go, not looking as low quality as Foodfight, Guardians of the Highlands, or that Russian Planes knockoff is basically the not crapping themselves standard. Everything that at least looks like they spent money on it at least gets a pass. Even "Chuck E. Cheese Saves Thanksgiving."

I still haven't lost faith in Pixar. One serious dud that's still better than a lot of other third-party movies at the time, one troubled production that I admire more for what it tried to do than what it actually did, and one prequel with a wonderful message that still turned out far better than the Pixaren't sequel Eisner threatened to make still can't shake my love for them.

Besides, they have at least three original IPs in the pipeline now. I'm looking forward to those. Heck, even Incredibles 2 and Finding Dory have promise. :smile:
Oh the horrible world of Eisner's Pixar film sequels. We really don't know how good we have it until we read some of the horrible concepts behind some of those films. And as I've said, the films Pixar sequelled were all films Eisner was threatening to make. The product recall Toy Story 3 premise was idiotic. It would have worked as a special or comic book story at best. Family Guy did the concept better. It's like they were trying to make, not only a bad Toy Story movie, but a very bad Brave Little Toaster movie as well.

But seriously. I love the hate they get for having movie sequels (again, 4 freaking Ice Ages) yet they hated original film Brave as well. I really wish they still did Newt, though. Too bad that Wolf crap beat them to it. I wonder if Book of Life is going to have them stop production on the Dia De Los Muertos film. Seems like they aren't even doing that much with it, since it still doesn't even have a title.
 

AquaGGR

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Anyone remember Delgo? That boring fantasy flick with animation akin to those DTV Barbie movies?

Oh yeah, and the biggest CGI box office bomb of all time?

 

Drtooth

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Hate double posting... but is the jury out on those Goodtimes DTV RedBox Jungle Book movies? The ones that I've never heard of until Burger King kept giving it kid's meal prizes (which I'm sure they use whenever they run out of things because no one actually wants them)?
 

Muppet Master

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Hate double posting... but is the jury out on those Goodtimes DTV RedBox Jungle Book movies? The ones that I've never heard of until Burger King kept giving it kid's meal prizes (which I'm sure they use whenever they run out of things because no one actually wants them)?
Are those really movies? They are just knockoffs of recent big-studio kiddy films.
 
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