Kung Fu Panda

I'm one of the biggest critics of Dreamworks Animated films, and a self confessed Pixar fanboy. Kung Fu Panda is the only movie released from Dreamworks Animation that I'm proud to own on my DVD shelf, and I've found most of their other productions to be  filled with unfunny pop culture-infused jokes and uninspired designs/story. And while I was impressed by the concept art for their latest film, How To Train Your Dragon, the teaser trailer left me disappointed (something just didn't gel with the voice acting). Ain't It Cool head geek Harry Knowles has seen a very early cut of the film, in 3D, and says that the movie is "every bit as emotional, thrilling and fun as Kung Fu Panda" but at the same time, "completely different." And he assures us that is it "very much a story over gags film, with no potty humor." I'm glad »
- Peter Sciretta

Read the full article on slashfilm.com

I’m sure many of you are of the same mind as me that Dreamworks Animation pales in comparison to the daddy of animation studios, Pixar. What Pixar does so well in terms of character development, legitimately funny gags (without relying on tired slapstick) and an actual good story (whether animated or not), Dreamworks Animation seems unable to emulate (sometimes they appear to not even try), and instead we get a flurry of un-funny pop culture references (a la Shrek the Third).
The latest from Dreamworks Animation is the admittedly fun-looking How to Train Your Dragon, which features the voice acting talents of Jay Baruchel (Tropic Thunder), Gerard Butler (”that bloke from 300,” as Ricky Gervais said at the Golden Globes the other night ) and America Farrera (Ugly Betty), amongst others. Of course I my opinion that this film looks fun isn’t too popular, as many of you have said »
- Ross Miller

Read the full article on screenrant.com

Release Date: May 21 (in 3D and conventional theaters)
Studio: Dreamworks
Genre: Animation
Director: Mike Mitchell
Writer: Josh Klausner and Darren Lemke
Cast: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, Julie Andrews, Justin Timberlake, Jon Hamm, Amy Sedaris, Maya Rudolph, Craig Robinson, Eric Idle
Studio Description: A bored and domesticated Shrek (Myers) pacts with deal-maker Rumpelstiltskin to get back to feeling like a real ogre again, but when he's duped and sent to a twisted version of Far Far Away-where Rumpelstiltskin is king, ogres are hunted, and he and Fiona (Diaz) have never met-he sets out to restore his world and reclaim his true love.
Watch the Trailer
Analysis: The first Shrek movie turned in to a monster hit in the summer of 2001, grossing $267.7 million and establishing DreamWorks Animation as the anti-Disney/Pixar. Three years later, Shrek 2 became the highest-grossing animated movie of all-time, banking over $440 million. Since then, »
- Raymond Subers

Read the full article on boxofficemojo.com