Please read PART ONE before you read this.

Going on to the other two of the four franchises I mentioned in Part one…

Monster vs. Aliens was a bitter disappointment to me as a movie. It was actually a great idea for a plotline. Monsters kept under strict watch of the government, a girl who’s unwillingly turned into a monster, and an alien invasion sounds like a good plan for any blockbuster movie. Sadly, though, it was soiled by pop culture and completely unnecessary (and stupid) comedy. Plus, I cannot stand cartoons that depict adults as idiots. This needs to stop. I drew the line when the president was depicted as some kind of crack pot lunatic. So, am I looking forward to the tv series airing on Nickelodeon this year? No, not really. The first movie didn’t win me over, and seeing how tv series based off of already stupidly comedic movies are usually just as stupidly comedic, I don’t think I’ll be able to take it seriously. The bright side: at least they’re not making a sequel.

Now, How to Train Your Dragon…this is probably the best thing to come out of Dreamworks. Like Kung Fu Panda, it’s mature and focuses more on plot than making you laugh. Although, I think I take this movie a little more seriously than Kung Fu Panda as a first movie, just because I feel the steaks were raised a lot more. Plus, Dreamworks has managed to pull off something that even Pixar hasn’t managed to do yet. Having an organic world with humans that don’t have powers, the animals don’t talk, and no one’s getting into outrageous adventures. But wait, BlackRose…dragons aren’t real! No, they’re not, but for any moment in the movie did you not believe that they’re just a natural part of that world? Cause I sure didn’t. I loved this movie, it was well done, had a point, a plot, and the main character was an actual human! He acted human and he was human. He got sad, depressed, and believably angry, which is a lot for a Dreamworks movie since for the most part their characters have emotions but they’re not believably executed.

Now, two sequels are being produced, and so is a tv series, which seems like a good and bad idea at the same time. Since the first movie was soooo good, why mess with it, right? Well, in a company’s point of view, the first movie was a critical success, was nominated for two Oscars, and had an open enough ending to continue…so why not continue? I, have no problem with the continuation as long as it’s not turned into a potty humor, pop culture, kiddy mess of a show. If they’re able to keep a mature flow to the tv series and the movies…why not? Cause now that we have Vikings riding on Dragons, the possibilities are kind of endless for what new worlds and stories can be unveiled. Plus, the tv series isn’t airing on Nickelodeon, but on Cartoon Network—a channel that openly supports mature cartoons—so I’m happy. And given the promo that aired two months ago, the tv show is gonna be rated TV-PG, so that another huge plus!

The two in-continuation short films that aired were both good and bad. “Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon” short was pretty pointless. It was a perfect example of a good and mature movie ruined by stupid comedy. This short is the dark spot in this franchise, but, luckily, I think Dreamworks’ learned their lesson by all the bad reviews this short film got. The next film was a holiday short—more like an episode—called “Gift of the Night Fury” and it was wonderful! Mature, well scripted, and heartwarming. As long as they stay down that road, I have no doubts for the trilogy and tv series!

So, personally, the franchises I think will prevail the most is the Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon franchise because they actually have a mature point to them as well as being humorous, this is golden way to make a family franchise, Dreamworks. Though I can see Kung Fu Panda being more of the family franchise, I hope to see How to Train Your Dragon perhaps dump it’s “let’s please kids too” act and just be the mature franchise it was meant to be. The characters are teens, after all…so make it for teens.

Another movie not mentioned, though, was MegaMind, this is another good movie alongside Fun Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon. I think this has the potential to be a good superhero/crime fighting tv series. But, it can stand alone just fine. Although this movie had it’s fair share of funny moments, they were actually funny for one thing, and it was also serious at the same time. Once again…the golden way.

Anyways, that’s all I’ve got to say right now about it. I hope Dreamworks has learned from it’s most recent movies that being serious with a side of comedy will get them Oscar nominations at the least.