5 Best DreamWorks Movies Ranked Ahead of Forgotten Island

(Photo Credit: DreamWorks Animation)

DreamWorks Animation has been making some of the biggest animated movies ever since the company’s first feature in 1998.

The studio’s next movie, Forgotten Island, is set to release on September 25 and features a star-studded cast that includes H.E.R., Liza Soberano, Dave Franco, Jenny Slate, Manny Jacinto, Dolly de Leon, Jo Koy, Ronny Chieng, and Lea Salonga. The movie debuted on Rotten Tomatoes with a stellar 100%, but while the movie looks to be another hit for DreamWorks, it’s a bit too early to stack it up on any lists just yet.

In celebration of the movie out this week, though, we’re taking a look at some of the best movies from DreamWorks’ history, ranging from some of its earliest movies to one of its most recent. Several movies, including huge hits like Kung Fu Panda and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, just barely missed the cut, but are still worth mentioning.

Five best DreamWorks movies ranked

5) Chicken Run

Aardman Animation are some of the best out there when it comes to showcasing the talent and skill of animation. Specifically, the company’s use of Claymation remains unparalleled, and while the studio might best be known for Wallace & Gromit and its many spin-offs that it produces on its own, Chicken Run is a special movie made in partnership between Aardman and DreamWorks.

The movie is essentially a Claymation version of 1963’s The Great Escape, and it somehow works. The movie follows a group of chickens as they look to escape from an oppressive egg farm. The group looks to an American rooster, Rocky Rhodes, for help in doing so, with the movie taking a ton of wacky turns throughout the way. The movie features Aardman’s signature style of slapstick humor and dry jokes, and remains the highest-grossing stop-motion animated film in history to date.

4) The Prince of Egypt

DreamWorks’ second-ever feature is one of its best, and for a number of reasons. The Prince of Egypt, as its name suggests, adapts the Book of Exodus from the Bible, and details the life of Moses as he goes from the prince of Egypt to a prophet chosen to lead the Hebrews out of Egypt. While the grand story and visuals are always something that draws in people, DreamWorks’ ability to convey it in animation resulted in a striking visual style for the movie.

As far as animated movies go, The Prince of Egypt also remains one of the more emotional ones ever made from the studio. Its cast of stars include Val Kilmer, Ralph Fiennes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sandra Bullock, Jeff Goldblum, Patrick Stewart, Helen Mirren, Steve Martin, and Martin Short, and they all turn in stellar performances. The soundtrack to the film, with songs written by Stephen Schwartz and a score composed by Hans Zimmer, also remains iconic to this day.

3) The Wild Robot

One of DreamWorks’ most recent movies, The Wild Robot is based on the 2016 novel of the same name by Peter Brown. The movie follows the story of a service robot that becomes shipwrecked on an island. After adapting to learn the ways of the island and its many critters, the robot becomes the adoptive mother of an orphaned goose, and must then protect the animals and island when the robot’s company comes back for it.

The Wild Robot features an absolutely star-studded cast, led by Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal, Kit Connor, Bill Nighy, Stephanie Hsu, Matt Berry, Ving Rhames, Mark Hamill, and Catherine O’Hara. All of them put forward an incredibly touching, heartfelt performance in a movie that pulls at the heart strings and touches on love, family, and standing up for one another.

2) Shrek

2001’s Shrek arrived on the scene and immediately made a name for itself. The movie, which follows an ogre that lives in a swamp in a world filled with fairy tale creatures, was a breath of fresh air. Shrek presented the world of fairy tales in a satirical manner, showcasing them as real-life beings who were very far from the loving and magical beings we think of them as.

Despite the satire, Shrek actually presents a great fairy tale in and of itself. The movie follows Shrek as an onerous ogre who just wants to be left alone. However, after befriending a talking donkey, the pair embark on an unlikely quest that leads to friendship, love, and some absolutely hilarious moments. Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy helped make the movie iconic, and its since spawned off a number of sequels, including a fifth one coming next year.

1) How to Train Your Dragon

2010’s How to Train Your Dragon is a special movie for many reasons. For one, the film expertly takes the excitement and fun visuals of the world of Vikings and puts a mythological twist on it. The movie follows a Viking village that has been at war with dragons for generations, only for Hiccup, the scrawny, not-built-for-war son of the village of Berk’s chieftain, Stoick the Vast, to suddenly befriend a dragon that’s unable to fly due to a torn tail fin.

The dragon, named Toothless after his retractable teeth, and Hiccup soon become fast friends. At its heart, How to Train Your Dragon is all about finding friendship despite your differences, and not letting said differences get in the way of it. Like many of DreamsWorks’ films, How to Train Your Dragon features a stellar cast, amazing action sequences, and some of the most heartfelt storytelling in any of their films, and deserves a spot atop the list.

The post 5 Best DreamWorks Movies Ranked Ahead of Forgotten Island appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More.