The Worst CGI Kid Films In Recent Memory

[cuppajoe95]

Yeah, not to mention the stuff from Lionsgate, Phase 4 Films and other companies flooding Netflix, iTunes and Redbox machines. I've heard some people say that even their children lost interest in those films. Wow.

As for Legends of Oz... the TV Tropes page for animated films in the "Needs More Love" category actually listed it. A good chunk of IMDB reviews are even from people who genuinely liked it despite knowing full well that it bombed.

 

[Drtooth]

Then again, certain films that bomb and get horrible reviews tend to get Astro Turfed.

But yeah. So, Alpha and Omega has another cheap DTV sequel. And it's retailing for 10 bucks. Yeah... proof positive these things are made on the cheap.

 

[cuppajoe95]

Then again, certain films that bomb and get horrible reviews tend to get Astro Turfed.

But yeah. So, Alpha and Omega has another cheap DTV sequel. And it's retailing for 10 bucks. Yeah... proof positive these things are made on the cheap.

No kidding. I could be wrong but I think I read somewhere that it was aired on TV in Latin America months before it was released on DVD and iTunes here.

Kinda reminds me of the release schedule for Balto: Wings of Change. Waiting until a few months after much of Europe and Asia has seen it before putting it on store shelves... I'm not sure what to think of that. Does this suggest that even the studio is unsure of how well the sequel will do? Probably not.

 

[D'Snowth]

That's the way most western animation is: other countries, regions, and territories get the new stuff months, sometimes even years before they're released in North America, ala the new ALVINNN!!! AND THE CHIPMUNKS, which has been bouncing around the world for the past 2-3 years but just now saw the light of day in the U.S. a week ago.

 

[Drtooth]

I hate how that happens with cartoons, and that has a lot to do with network programmers I don't wanna get into right now.

However, it seems this is the strategy for releasing movies too. Amazing Spider-Man 2 was released in other countries before the US, for example. I wouldn't be surprised if Alpha and Omega ..what is it, like 6 now? Alpha and Omega 6 getting a TV release somewhere else before it hits DVD isn't really much of a surprise either. Darn thing was made in an animation sweatshop, after all.

Which completely baffles me. I don't even get the concept of Sony thinking Open Season did enough business to get 2 sequels. We have a movie that only did well because it was cheap to produce, and even then it really didn't seem necessary as a standalone. But to have that many DTV's? Are enough barely visual grannies buying these films for their grandkids thinking they're Pixar's latest Shrek movies to sustain these? This is going to be like LBT's enless parade of cheapquels (before the short lived TV series they should have done in the first place), only LBT is a good film.

 

[cuppajoe95]

I don't even get the concept of Sony thinking Open Season did enough business to get 2 sequels. We have a movie that only did well because it was cheap to produce, and even then it really didn't seem necessary as a standalone. But to have that many DTV's? Are enough barely visual grannies buying these films for their grandkids thinking they're Pixar's latest Shrek movies to sustain these? This is going to be like LBT's enless parade of cheapquels (before the short lived TV series they should have done in the first place), only LBT is a good film.

Say what you want about the sequels (IMO, they're only watchable up to number 10 since I grew up with the first several and enjoyed them), but even I think that the franchise should've died long ago. Not to mention that when I heard they were making another one coming out sometime this year or in 2016, I figured for certain it would suck.

Makes me wonder if Universal will do the same for the Minions... *shudder* I hope not.

 

[D'Snowth]

What's weird about the OPEN SEASON movies is you know who the mastermind is behind those? David Feiss. That's right, the same guy who gave us COW AND CHICKEN and I AM WEASEL is the one responsible for the OPEN SEASON movies, as he's apparently Sony Animation's director now.

As for the Minions, I've been asking this question for a long time now: yeah, they're cute and amusing and all, but can they really carry a movie themselves?

 

[cuppajoe95]

What's weird about the OPEN SEASON movies is you know who the mastermind is behind those? David Feiss. That's right, the same guy who gave us COW AND CHICKEN and I AM WEASEL is the one responsible for the OPEN SEASON movies, as he's apparently Sony Animation's director now.

Really?

Now that you mention it, it doesn't seem to surprise me that Feiss would try to ride off the coattails of Pixar and DreamWorks. After all, Cow and Chicken was one of many "raunchy kid's cartoons full of grossout" made to replicate the success of Ren & Stimpy.

 

[D'Snowth]

Here's an interview he gave regarding his career and how it lead up to his being involved with Sony:

And he's apparently changed the pronunciation of his last name.

 

[Drtooth]

What's weird about the OPEN SEASON movies is you know who the mastermind is behind those? David Feiss. That's right, the same guy who gave us COW AND CHICKEN and I AM WEASEL is the one responsible for the OPEN SEASON movies, as he's apparently Sony Animation's director now.

The script was supposedly written by someone who wrote Monsters Inc, I think. I know it was a VERY good Pixar movie, and I'm 90% sure that it was MI, which I think is one of the best Pixar films (Mike Wazowski is my favorite Pixar character). So there's that. Sometimes you can have a great line of directors and writers, but they still come up with something not half as good as they'd do alone. Sometimes guys you like do crappy stuff you don't. I think Dana "Master Shake" Snyder is in one of those films.

But I bet David was chief in character designs. If anything, I like the look. The look's solid.

As for the Minions, I've been asking this question for a long time now: yeah, they're cute and amusing and all, but can they really carry a movie themselves?

They do indeed, but things were a might altered. That's why the movie focused on 3 Minions and the villain characters. The huge group of Minions is still there, but they're regulated to their own parts of the movie. In other words, they stayed behind only to appear again later. My tiny complaint about the movie is that the family that helps the three minions get to Villain Con REALLY should have had a little more screen time. But by all means, it's a fun movie. Just like the second Despicable Me, it doesn't quite have the same emotional punch as the first, but it's still a fun movie. There have been much worse as far as CGI children's entertainment goes.

Universal is a special case. They've had 3 DM movies (I include Minions) with a fourth on the way. And only 2 Non-Minion films, one wasn't well received but has a fanbase, and the other didn't come out yet. And that live action hybrid abomination from everyone's favorite Children's Movie Uwe Bowl, Tim Hill. But everyone in the world forgot about it or ignored it, so...