Kids beware.

Rating: 2/10 (15 January 2006)

I take a vested interest in what we feed our children's minds. They deserve to be challenged to think. They need abstraction. Levels of thought. Something to exercise their brains and help cultivate their own senses of creativity. That said, Dreamworks should be ashamed of marketing this dreck to children.
The whole world knows by now that if one has the 80 million dollars worth of backing, he can produce any half-presentable CGI animated feature, aim it at children and produce a profit of at least 5 times the investment, apparently even if the film is laced with primarily adult content, as displayed in this film. (How many 8-year-olds had a clue what the 'American Beauty' sequence was all about?)
The Dreamworks formula is a simple, 2-faceted approach. First (and foremost), adults first. More energy is spent in attempt to entertain the 30-something demographic than any other. That way, parents are more willing to accompany the kids into the theater, doubling ticket sales. After all, the ultimate choice whether anyone will see the film lies with the parents. That's why these things are packed with campy disco hits and references to old films and TV shows, none of which the kids have a clue about.
Second, inject just enough vacuous slapstick and physical comedy to appease the kids. It only takes a few laughs to make a child expect the DVD upon release.
Oh, and if you have time, slap in any old excuse for a moral, in this case the thin statement about not giving up on friends.
That's all there is to this, folks. Another Shrek, just a lazier version. Downright insulting to a child.
Look no further than this observation: There is a scene in which the film's main characters gaze at the heavens, aghast of the universe's limitless possibilities. Oddly, this very film seems oblivious to that notion.
Dreamworks can't escape from their zoo.