The Worst CGI Kid Films In Recent Memory

[cuppajoe95]

Oh, and here's a film that (despite coming out just yesterday) I did not know about until I was on Cartoon Brew that day.

http://www.cartoonbrew.com/feature-film/disney-will-release-ozzy-spain-tomorrow-143862.html

Needless to say, it doesn't look good.

 

[Drtooth]

I don't really see this as such a bad film. It's low budget and made for a specific part of the world, sure. It doesn't look nearly as terrible as Robinson Caruso 3-D (The Wild Life over here, not released in 3-D) or that awful Puss in Boots thing from France they dubbed with William Shatner. Even if this was supposed to be a mockbuster of Secret Life of Pets, it doesn't nearly look as crap as most European mockbusters look. What can I say? It's a decent looking film. And no poop, fart, or dated slang terms in the trailer? Hey, it's at least passed the low bar Trolls couldn't.

At worst, it's like a pre-Pixar buyout Disney film. Dinosaur sucked, Meet the Robinsons and Chicken Little are actually pretty good films...this seems like something we would have seen from them 10 years ago, only without celebrity VA's. I like the concept and the plot. Can't think of a really negative thing to say about it.

 

[Luke kun]

What's more abysmal: Last Flight of the Champion or THIS:

I mean, Mainframe Entertainment is WAY better than the weirdos at Omnipulse, but seriously... this image... I can't stop laughing at it... THAT FACE.

 

[MikaelaMuppet]

What's more abysmal: Last Flight of the Champion or THIS:

I mean, Mainframe Entertainment is WAY better than the weirdos at Omnipulse, but seriously... this image... I can't stop laughing at it... THAT FACE.

That picture from ReBoot.

 

[Drtooth]

What's more abysmal: Last Flight of the Champion or THIS:

I mean, Mainframe Entertainment is WAY better than the weirdos at Omnipulse, but seriously... this image... I can't stop laughing at it... THAT FACE.

You're basically comparing primitive, for television CGI from the mid-late 90's to a 2014 supposed movie studio that forced its employees to work all hours of the night for years to make something far less acceptable than a 22 minute a week for 13 weeks TV show did when the technology started up.

The difference is palpable. And at least Mainframes characters from Reboot to Beast Wars look like they belong in the same project.

That said, the Last Champion studio is guilty of the same thing Sausage Party has been revealed. But at least with Sausage Party you have a decent movie and the internet knows about the shady background of that one. Plus, LFOTC was also accused of being abusive to workers, but that's what you get from a "right to work" state.

 

[Luke kun]

You're basically comparing primitive, for television CGI from the mid-late 90's to a 2014 supposed movie studio that forced its employees to work all hours of the night for years to make something far less acceptable than a 22 minute a week for 13 weeks TV show did when the technology started up.

The difference is palpable. And at least Mainframes characters from Reboot to Beast Wars look like they belong in the same project.

That said, the Last Champion studio is guilty of the same thing Sausage Party has been revealed. But at least with Sausage Party you have a decent movie and the internet knows about the shady background of that one. Plus, LFOTC was also accused of being abusive to workers, but that's what you get from a "right to work" state.

Yeah, I said that Omnipulse will be no match for Mainframe. But I swear, Bob's face in that pic makes me crack up. It's like they accidentally left his default expression on. Come to think of it, why's his name "Bob"?
Don't get me started on when Enzo's mouth drops open and he has this "happy-I-sh*t-my-pants" expression on his face.

ReBoot and Beast Wars are lightyears better than The Last Flight of 1980s CGI.

So what's the deal with Trolls, is this going to flop or what?

 

[Luke kun]

And I remember that TV series-didn't Cartoon Network take it off after a month or two and replace it with Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends reruns or something? I only watched it once when I had off from school because Little Einsteins (don't judge me, I didn't know better back then-it wasn't until I got into Pokemon that I snapped out of the toddler show phase) was replaced by a movie I had already seen, as part of a block that also included Baby Looney Tunes, Krypto the Superdog and The Mr. Men Show. If CN were to show it today, they would not even have it on for a week so that they can show more Teen Titans Go! (Ugh...)

You were around 8 when it came on. You still watched toddler shows at 8, that's fine, heck I still watch Boohbah and I'm 14 (although for a different reason). Remember Toonami? The TOM 3 era had great CGI, lightyears better than all the movies on this thread.

 

[Drtooth]

I have to admit this. The TV spots for Trolls make it look slightly less awful. Still, you can tell that Dreamworks wants to establish this as a franchise, at least as far as merchandising goes. I still have no desire to see it, Dr. Strange or no Dr. Strange. It's clearly a kid's movie for the youngest in the audience. And who knows, they might just pull it off. I'd rather see it tank or be a slight disappointment. Somehow I see China bailing this thing out.

 

[Luke kun]

I have to admit this. The TV spots for Trolls make it look slightly less awful. Still, you can tell that Dreamworks wants to establish this as a franchise, at least as far as merchandising goes. I still have no desire to see it, Dr. Strange or no Dr. Strange. It's clearly a kid's movie for the youngest in the audience. And who knows, they might just pull it off. I'd rather see it tank or be a slight disappointment. Somehow I see China bailing this thing out.

And yet you had problems with the YOLO thing?
Anyway, it's what DreamWorks does: making something that hasn't been relevant in 20 years suddenly relevant again. With the merchandise, they're subtly bringing back the Troll dolls.
Why did B.O.O go into the can, though?

 

[Drtooth]

Trolls have been in and out of fashion since the 60's. They're like Frozen Yogurt. They come back every so often and then disappear within a few months. I got suckered into the fad in the early 90's and regret the crap out of it. And I'm a grown *&& man with several Smurf T-shirts. So you know when I regret something I liked it means something. If I ever find the ones I had, I'd toss them in a heartbeat. Aside from that, it looks like ever since the movie was announced, companies have been trying to make Trolls a thing again. Didn't exactly take.

As for the movie, well... I'm trying to be careful here. I've seen trailers of movies I outright hated, but liked them fine once I gave them a chance and felt idiotic for hating on them. I did still think they had massive flaws to them, but overall not as bad as I thought. On the one hand I don't want to say this movie's going to be utterly horrid and then wind up finding it on Netflix and liking it. On the other hand, the marketing and gross overabundance of merchandise is very garish. If it wasn't for them making the movie look so annoying, I'd have a more ambivalent attitude about it. And the fact it isn't a "wacky characters running around in the 'real world'" Chipmunks/Smurfs/Yogi Bear type movie when it totally was supposed to be is a plus in my book.

What I can say I dislike about the trailers thus far is that it's the same "oh them kids need their movies to be hip" crap that out of touch 50 year old execs make their movie trailers look like. Usually exaggerating the worst scenes in the movie that even in context are at best eye rolly. The story so far doesn't look too good and feels exactly what an 80's cartoon show revival as a movie would look. It definitely looks to have the worst qualities of Dreamworks films, especially early on before KFP and HTTYD showed they can do something really good without kiddy film pitfalls. It still look better and less cynical than Sharktale did. And frankly, when a movie created because they bought the rights to a toyline with the express desire to make it a toyline isn't the most cynical film they've ever made, it's telling. I actually like Dreamworks and rout for them usually, but I really think that they've taken such a step backward. Plus that little Troll with the deep voice that speaks only in 4 year old white tweenage girl speak looks to be their worst character since the shrimp from Sharktale.

Yet, there are a couple things I like about this film. The character designs are just that level of not cloyingly cute and kinda quirky. It looks to be a better Smurf film than the actual Smurf films, showing that a medieval setting (though with a crapload of Shrek style anachronisms) can work. It doesn't look saccharine like 1980's Smurf/Care bears knockoffs were, so that's a plus. And Ron Funches seems to be in it. He's always fun. This doesn't look to be the worst film they did, but it doesn't look anywhere near as good as their output since KFP, the big turn around film for them.

But yeah. The fact Trollhunters is a Netflix cartoon and this is a movie is a little turned around. I could see this, Smurfs knockoff as it is, working better as a TV cartoon. And yeah. What the crap happened with B.O.O.?