“Kung Fu Panda 2” is DreamWorks Animation’s 22nd film. The studio’s first film was “Antz” back in 1998. Pixar’s first film was “Toy Story” in 1995 (3 years earlier), but “Cars 2” will only be their 12th movie. Why has DreamWorks made more movies in a shorter amount of time? It makes sense once you realize that DreamWorks Animation has two (or in the case of 2010 – three) movies come-out almost every year. There have been years when the studio has produced only one new movie, such as 2009 (“Monsters vs. Aliens), but that’s rare. Pixar has only released one film a year, and some years none! 2005 was the last time that happened it won’t happen again (at least until 2014).
Here’s my list of 10 all-time favorite DreamWorks Animation movies (pre-“Kung Fu Panda 2”):
Honorable Mention: “Chicken Run” (2000)
10. “Over the Hedge” (2006)
9. “Monsters vs. Aliens” (2009)
8. “Shrek 2” (2004)
7. “Flushed Away” (2006)
6. “Shrek Forever After” (2010)
5. “Shrek” (2001)
4. “Madagascar” (2005)
3. “Kung Fu Panda” (2008)
2. “How to Train Your Dragon” (2010)
1. “Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit” (2005)
I’ll have my Pixar list in June when “Cars 2” opens.