In the past few decades, animated films have triumphed in the box offices and, on occasion, the Oscars, with many hailing from the production company Dreamworks. Although many great movies have come from Dreamworks, there are plenty of flops mixed in between.
Perhaps some of these are great films on their own but simply fail to compete against the company's more well-known films like How To Train Your Dragon or Kung Fu Panda. Regardless of what these films have done well, each of them is lacking in some way that has dropped them to the bottom of the animated film barrel.
10 Kung Fu Panda 3: The Kung Fu Panda Trilogy Ended In A Disappointing Way
With how iconic and well-written the first and second films were, fans were expecting Kung Fu Panda 3 to be even better, but the magic that the writers had before was gone in this final film. While the animation, sound effects, and martial arts choreography were on point, the film's writing was incredibly lackluster.
The general idea of Po training his people to fight an approaching enemy was perfect, but the execution, along with horribly written comedy, was what brought the film down. That's not to say it's such an awful movie, but compared to what came before, it is a huge disappointment, and a film that many prefer to forget.
9 Turbo Is A Stellar Film That Everyone Forgot
In spite of its beautiful animation and unique plot, Turbo fell short when released in theatres and is still forgotten to this day because the competition has been too tough. Although parts of the plot are a little on the ridiculous side, the overall heart in this film was looked over, unfortunately.
Released in 2013, Turbo had to face the competition of Monsters University, Frozen, The Croods—which is another greatly successful DreamWorks film—and even a couple of Ghibli films. With competitors like that, it's no wonder this film was left in the dust.
8 Flushed Away: Jackman & Winslett Did Their Best In This Forgotten Film
The film Flushed Away doesn't compare to DreamWork's other masterpiece movies; however, it is still a decent one to watch every now and then. The story follows the pampered pet rat Roddy, who is flushed down the toilet and struggles in London's pipes to return back home above ground.
The plot and characters at times feel a little childish, which works fine for the demographic that the production team was aiming for. Overall, it is a decent film to watch, but is constantly overshadowed by other movies. The only way that it stands out is through Hugh Jackman's and Kate Winslett's amazing voice acting.
7 Mr. Peabody & Sherman Didn't Do Enough To Stand Out
At first glance, the film Mr. Peabody & Sherman seems like it was made only to resonate with adults who watched the Hannah-Barbera cartoon. However, the film had a surprising amount of well-planned details that created a story full of heart and a love of history.
That being said, the heartwarming story of an adoptive father and his son is overshadowed by the film's terrible humor and uninspiring ending. The history bits are only briefly enlightening and more so turn the historical figures into jokes. It's another cute animated film for children, but nothing all too memorable.
6 Shrek The Third: Shrek's Third Adventure Was Ruined By Poor Writing
The Shrek franchise is one of the few to have a sequel beat out the preceding film, but consequently, that wouldn't happen again with Shrek The Third. One of the greatest parts about this franchise was the original characters, especially the main characters. Both the first and second films had scenes that touched the audience deeply and that's what made it a success.
With the third film, that genuine touch was tossed away for too many cheap laughs; the plot was also unnecessary. Bringing back Prince Charming as the main antagonist when next to no one could take him seriously and his fiendish plot was not well-thought-out in the slightest. It's a decent film to laugh at, but not worth enough people's time.
5 Shrek Forever After Didn't Have To Exist At All
With the train wreck that was Shrek The Third, it's an enigma as to why Shrek Forever After was ever even produced. Surprisingly enough, it managed to gross $753 million, but even with all those riches, the film itself didn't strike gold.
Fans and critics are split with their feelings on this movie, some accepting it as being entertaining enough, while others put it down for paling in comparison to the first two films. Whatever magic Shrek had, it lost after the sequel, which is why no one really talks about the final fourth film, let alone watches it.
4 Monsters Vs Aliens Comes With Pretty Great Laughs But Is Overall A Silly Film
The movie Monsters Vs Aliens is one of those films to watch when there's nothing else on. At first glance, it looks like a disappointment, with its shoddy animation, but worth at least one watch. The humor is probably the only thing to really take from this film as it can be pretty funny, depending on one's sense of humor.
The plot is average, nothing much to expect there, which is another reason for its lack of rewatchability. At the end of the day, it just manages to succeed at entertaining, but hasn't brought anything new to the table.
3 Home Has A Plot That Goes In All The Wrong Directions
Aside from the excitement from hearing voice acting from Jim Parsons, Steve Martin, and Rhianna, there's nothing much else that Home has to offer. The story starts out with planet Earth's alien takeover by the Boovs, with the situation worsening after the protagonist—a Boov alien named Oh, who's so desperate to have friends—invites an enemy alien race to join him for a party. Why he has the enemy under his contacts is never explained, but alas, their oncoming arrival spells doom for everyone.
In the end, the danger turns out to be nothing more than a ridiculous misunderstanding, which begs the question of why anyone would watch the film in the first place. It's a cute movie for kids, but doesn't hold up to the great animated films that have been seen in the past decade.
2 Bee Movie Is A Gem To Meme Lords Only
Across the internet, there's no escaping the Bee Movie memes, to the point that they've become their own separate entity from the actual film. Now when it comes to the film itself, the conversation changes drastically, especially when talking to critics.
From poorly timed jokes that aren't funny to awful animation that makes people cringe to this day, Bee Movie lives in infamy as the greatest joke that DreamWorks has made to date. However, it's not DreamWorks' worst film.
1 Shark Tale Is A Nightmare For Anyone Who Loves Animation
Though every single voice actor in Shark Tale should be commended for their stellar performances, that can never make up for the rest of the cinema sins that the film commits. Granted, the characters were decently written and come with their own charm, but the overall plot is rather bland and doesn't hold up well throughout the entire film.
Worst of all, the look of the film is unsightly and hasn't aged well in the slightest. The issue doesn't just end with terrible animation, the designs are awkward to look at and even some of the color choices are painful for the eyes. Even children wouldn't care for this movie today just for the animation alone.