DreamWorks Animation reviews

The job stability means glass ceilings for people who start in junior positions. There's so little turnover that it takes forever to work up the ranks. At the same time, outside hires ware often overvalued and not as good as more junior people already at the studio. As transparent and inspiring as Katzenberg can be, many of the managers he surrounds himself with are idiots and savage political animals. I knew a couple of production people who were pushed out because they were too willing to speak up for the artists and TDs. The pervasive and irrational fanboy hatred of DreamWorks gets tiring. But then it's not that hard to stop reading Cartoon Brew and similar echo chambers. Extremely hierarchical studio structure. People in different departments have no contact with each other, and tiny issues can become big problems. In 10 years there I never got to know a single lighter, modeler, or rigger except to nod at a few of them in the lunch line.

The films are beautifully crafted with respect to the look, but the stories and projects chosen to go into production are a clear indication of how out of touch the upper executives are with the average moviegoing family. The strong corporate culture is often not conducive to making the most compelling artwork possible. This is a culture of fear that rewards people of clinging to established workflows and ideologies at the peril of innovation. Artists need innovation and the ability to try new things without fear of reprisal.