A lot of studios are synonymous with childhood, such as Disney, Cartoon Network, Pixar, Nickelodeon. Maybe DreamWorks isn’t the first thing you think of when you think nostalgia, but maybe it should be.
The studio, and especially its animation division, has been responsible for many top children’s movie throughout the years, from Shrek to Kung Fu Panda to Trolls and everything in between. Whether you like them or not, these movies are everywhere.
However, for every How To Train Your Dragon, there’s a Boss Baby. Also, for every great character, scene, or line, there’s a silly trope, mistake, or oversight waiting to be picked apart by the internet.
Since the movies are practically inescapable, viewers have been paying attention to every tiny flaw they’ve managed to find in these light-hearted kiddie movies… and they certainly haven’t been shy about turning what they found into hilarious internet memes.
What would happen if these animated animals behaved like their real-world counterparts? Why are the villains always so much cooler than the good guys? Also, why do so many cartoon characters lack basic common sense?
From Megamind to Madagascar, here are the 25 Memes That Show DreamWorks Movies Make No Sense.
I Am NOT Your Father
Behind the battle between good and evil and Po finding himself through the ancient art of kung fu, Kung Fu Panda was really about a bear and his dad. Well, a bear and the goose he thought was his dad who actually wasn’t.
It’s supposed to be an emotional moment when a character’s entire being is called into question. Especially when that character is a roly-poly panda in a kids’ movie. However, the very nature of cartoons just kind of takes all the punch out of it.
When Darth Vader revealed to Luke Skywalker that he was his father it was a true shock. One of the first instances of a major plot twist in a movie theater setting. The moment was instantly cemented in pop culture for there on out.
To be fair, Kung Fu Panda probably never expected to have such an iconic moment when Po learned his dad wasn’t actually his dad.
It’s a children’s movie, after all.
However, it probably didn’t take much for even the youngest kids in the audience to realize that Po was adopted.
If any sort of surprise was meant to be present in the reveal, viewers would have had to seriously suspend their disbelief in order to achieve it.
Those Annoying Lemurs
Animated children’s movies are supposed to be catchy. Each new movie is practically required to contain one line, song, or costume that can easily translate into merchandise sales or radio airtime. Ot does work.
Everyone fell in love with Frozen’s “Let It Go” and everyone and their grandmother is likely to dress up as an Avenger this Halloween.
It’s just good business to make sure your family-friendly movie is a pop culture zeitgeist. However, it can also be awfully annoying.
Parents are frequently joking about how they can’t handle hearing some kids’ song one more time or how their child’s favorite costume is never clean because they won’t take it off.
However, if we really think about it, these characters aren’t just annoying to the parents who have to listen to them 30 times a day.
Anyone who actually knew these characters in person would never be able to get through a full conversation without wanting to ship themselves as far away as humanly possible, as this meme not so subtly points out.
If the animals of the Madagascar movies actually met all those relentlessly dancing lemurs, they probably would want to head straight back to the zoo they came from.
The Invisible Book
Probably not everyone remembers DreamWorks’ 2000 fantasy animated epic, The Road To El Dorado. However, those who do remember it as one of the most underrated movies of the era.
It’s a popular movie that many fans believe deserved more recognition and buzz than it actually got. The movie was well-loved for its writing and music.
However, the voice cast behind these characters was just as impressive. Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branaugh, and Rosie Perez all lent their talents to these cult hit characters, with Elton John pitching in on the aforementioned music.
Of course, The Road To El Dorado is still a cartoon movie, and as such, it was occasionally victim to some of the shortcuts animators often grant themselves.
So, when Tzekel-Kan (voiced by Armand Assante) makes a book seemingly disappear into thin air, fans wondered just where the tome went. Tzekel-Kan didn’t have much in the way of pockets, not for a large book, at least.
However, sometimes convenience takes precedence over logic in these types of movies– and that’s okay, from a certain perspective.
When we consider that most cartoon characters are given one style to work with and that these costumes are often not likely to be conducive to the characters’ adventures. Perhaps a little sleight of hand can be forgiven every now and then.
It’s Common Sense
Look, nobody said the characters in children’s movies were the brightest bulbs in the box. However, while we know they are likely to make some questionable decisions, it’s not too much to expect just a little common sense.
Unfortunately, many children’s movie characters, and especially cartoon characters, choose to totally ignore common sense in favor of whatever action would come across as the funniest at the momen … even if nobody in their right mind would ever think to do the same in real life.
It’s hard to say whether or not that is what was going on in this meme, however. While it could be funny to see a character attempt to put out a fire with everything but fire, this gag is certainly doing its part to ignore proper fire safety.
It had been proven before this point that Po doesn’t always think things through, but it probably didn’t require much thought to realize the water around him would have been a better method for putting his the fire out on his hand.
Even if there had been a better option than the water, something tells us putting fire directly in his mouth was probably not the best of ideas.
How To Tame Your Dragon
How does a kid with few skills and a whole lot of awkward manage to tame one of the fiercest, most fearsome dragons on an island literally chock full of the formidable creatures? With a nice, big fish, of course.
That’s really all it took for Hiccup to turn Toothless, well, metaphorically toothless.
Hiccup is sort of frightened of Toothless at first, he’s face to face with the biggest threat his people have ever had to square off against, so that’s fairly understandable.
However, he quickly realizes that not only does he not need to be afraid of the black dragon, but his new friend is actually gentle and loyal, to him specifically.
Of course, not all of the Dragons on the Isle of Berk was quite so easily trained. Some took a lot more effort (and a lot more fish, presumably).
It’s likely a good amount of the dragons were resistant to the fishy treats altogether.
Still, Hiccup’s insistence that the dragons could be an asset and an ally to the Vikings was eventually enough to make his people look at these creatures in a different light.
To think it all started with one dragon and some fish.
The Wrong Kind Of Message
Look, kids’ movies are supposed to be happy affairs. Kids are supposed to learn the messages of happiness, friendship, teamwork, all that good stuff.
However, sometimes, the writers of these movies create such exaggeratedly dire situations for these characters that the typically good-natured cartoon manner of solving problems is simply not an option.
Or, at least, it shouldn’t be. It comes to matters of life and… the opposite of life, singing and dancing don’t usually help in reality.
Few people would argue that Angry Birds is a great movie, but at least, if it’s teaching kids to protect themselves, that’s not really a sentiment that could be argued with.
That’s where the happy-go-lucky nature of these movies tends to be a little bit of an issue.
This meme points out the absurdity of trying to save your own life through the power of song. A positive attitude and a friendly disposition are great.
However, at some point, people need to actually look out for their own safety. You can only hold hands and smile so much before it all comes back to haunt you.
People, and especially children, should not be made to feel guilty for protecting themselves, as this meme points out.
It’s Always Aliens
Giorgio A. Tsoukalos is infamous for two things: his crazy hair and his unending belief in aliens.
Everything that’s ever happened in the history of the world Tsoukalos can pin on aliens. From sinking the Titanic to building the pyramids, it doesn’t really matter what actually happened, he thinks aliens did it and he’s got a theory as to why.
Because of his wildcard theories, this Ancient Aliens host has become synonymous with outer space.
So, naturally, when DreamWorks created a movie that brought monsters and aliens face to face, Tsoukalos was bound to show up, one way or another.
This time it just so happened to be in meme form.
The monsters in Monsters Vs. Aliens weren’t all monsters, however. They were normal people, or tomatoes, or just ordinary animals or objects who were turned into mutants or metahumans of a sort after various events altered their DNA. We’re sure Ancient Aliens would have a theory or two about that.
However, to be fair, the aliens weren’t just aliens either.
The newly created monster heroes were chosen by the government to defend the world against not just an alien but a bunch of alien robots.
Two otherworldly threats in one big, electronic package. Talk about the end of the world.
Super Villain Fashion Statement
Why is it that supervillains always seem to be so much more flashy and cool than superheroes? Batman is cool, but he also scowls a lot and tends to stick to the shadows. The Flash has a lot of clever quips and one-liners, as does Spider-Man.
However, any time anyone other than a villain shows up, they hightail it out of there.
Superheroes aren’t known to play nice with the general public. Maybe that’s why their in-universe newspapers are constantly drumming up drama about them.
Supervillains, on the other hand, revel in the spotlight. You would think that they would want to keep themselves hidden away as much as possible. Having an entire city trying to thwart your evil plans doesn’t seem like it would be very helpful for world domination.
However, these guys just seem to love the attention.
In Megamind, this supervillain is more than aware of how much his personal brand matters to his villainous deeds and he does all he can to foster that popularity.
He’s in good company. The Joker is constantly crashing TV news broadcasts and big Gotham City parades.
In the original live-action Spider-Man movies, the Green Goblin similarly crashes a live event. These actions may alert the good guys quickly, but they certainly help to raise the villains’ buzz.
Friends Of A Feather
Children’s movies aren’t actually very realistic– and that’s okay because if they were, they would be even more traumatizing than they already are.
Everyone has a movie they saw as a child that impacted them very deeply on an emotional level.
Maybe it was when Bambi’s mom was taken out by a hunter. Maybe you lost it when Simba’s dad was hurled off that cliff at the claws of his own brother. Maybe you saw Up. Whatever scene happened to etch itself into your memory, it was likely depressing and existential.
Despite all the misery and sadness often present in children’s movies, they don’t have anything on the horrors of real life. Kids’ movies love to promote friendship, no matter how different the characters may appear at first.
That’s great, in theory, inclusivity and acceptance are good things to promote in young children.
It’s just a little uncomfortable when you really dive into the reality behind some of these characters, especially when you know they would literally be at each other’s throats in real life.
This meme explores how Alex the lion would have reacted the second he got hungry around Marty the zebra… and the results are more than most kids could probably handle.
Opposites Attract
Movies frequently explore the star-crossed lovers angle. Two characters who love each other with all they’ve got, but their differences keep coming between them.
Maybe their jobs put them at odds. Maybe their families refuse to let them see each other. Maybe one of them is a gentle giant and the other is one of the most violent creatures in the river. Because whether or not people actually realize it, hippos can be super mean.
Looking at this couple in real life makes it obvious that this adorable cartoon couple just wouldn’t work.
Aside from the obvious differences that would get in the way, real-life Melman would be far, far taller than his real-world Gloria. These animals’ temperaments would not really line up all that much.
Giraffes can be a little violent with each other out in the wild, but they are mostly just gentle creatures that eat leaves all day.
Hippos, despite constantly being depicted as cuddly and adorable in cartoons, are actually quite vicious in reality and contain one of the strongest bites in the natural world.
This meme points to both of these issues, showing how inconvenient it would be for Melman to come down to Gloria’s level, and how scary Gloria would actually be in person.
Pacific Rim Uprising
This meme pretty much hits the nail on the head. It’s a classic monster movie theme that fans have seen again and again.
The giant, Tokyo destroying monster squares off against the giant robot. It’s the Kaiju and the Jaegers all over again.
These two giant foes are even shown near the iconic Golden Gate Bridge, the number one most frequently destroyed landmark in America. This bridge has probably been destroyed more times than the Statue of Liberty, in movies, anyway.
There is one key difference in DreamWorks’ Monsters Vs. Aliens that really sets this scene apart, however.
In the Pacific Rim franchise, the giant robotic Jaegers are used by the government to bring down the intergalactic invaders, the Kaiju. However, in DreamWorks’ movie, Insectosaurus, the little grub turned Godzilla style monster.
The enlargened grub caused quite about of its own destruction before the alien invasion. However, it was able to redeem itself, offering its services to help protect the monsters as they battle the alien robots invading Earth.
The result is very similar to Pacific Rim, just with the characters swapping places.
It’s still a super cute meme that’s instantly recognizable thanks to years of well-loved monster movie tropes.
Too Old For This Stuff
Cartoon kids’ movies are fast-paced and high energy. So high energy it’s actually pretty hard to tell just how these little creatures can possibly keep going at such a frenzied pace all the time. It seems like these guys just won’t quit, especially the tiny ones.
The smaller the animal in an animated children’s movie, the more frantic they seem to be.
Honestly, a life like that, or even just being constantly with a friend like that, seems totally and completely exhausting. We would be looking for a chance to take a break the first chance we got.
This meme points out how unrealistic it would be to constantly be on the move… and how tiring it would have to feel after a little bit.
In the Madagascar movies, the lemurs are easily some of the most energetic in the entire cast. They are constantly singing and dancing around.
Of course, their outgoing nature helped to make the first movie’s song, “I Like To Move It” a smash pop hit. However, all of that hype has to be a lot to live up to, right?
After a while, we wouldn’t blame King Julien one bit if he just wanted to take a quick break… and maybe a nap.
Best Friends Forever
Alex and Marty are two of the cutest friends to ever grace the silver screen. They know they are very different and probably wouldn’t be friends out in the wild.
However, they love each other too much not to give this thing a real try. So, they keep at it, even when Alex sometimes gets in touch with his deeper, wild side.
These two don’t give up on each other, and they never will. It’s sweet, and inspiring, and not at all realistic. At least not if you look the real world counterparts to these adorable cartoon creatures.
Obviously, in reality, these two characters would constantly be at odds with one another– and they wouldn’t just politely disagree.
They wouldn’t even just fight all the time. Alex would absolutely try to eat his best friend if they ever met in real life. Marty is a zebra, basically a meal on four legs for his predator buddy.
However, this is a children’s movie and nobody wants to see an innocent zebra wind up on somebody’s dinner table.
Also, hey, at least the power of friendship, overcoming adversity, and accepting diversity are all great morals to teach to kids. And there isn’t anything wrong with that.
The Most Interesting Villain In The World
When you really think about it, Megamind could actually be the most interesting man in the world– or at least in the DreamWorks world.
He’s a genius, a rather successful villain, and he’s got lots of cool toys. Like his super awesome car that comes with its own invisibility mode.
How neat is that? Except, well, there’s big downfall to having an invisible car. When it’s parked in invisibility mode, you’re never going to find it.
Most people have a difficult time locating their vehicle after going into a shopping mall for a couple of hours. Trying finding an invisible one after fighting a superhero for half a day.
Megamind’s signature accessories were no accident. He’s got a very Alice Cooper-like sense of style.
His silly Space Dad persona rings of Superman’s father, Jor-El. Also, of course, he’s clearly a spin on Clark Kent’s nemesis, Lex Luthor.
Perhaps that invisible car is a take on the Batmobile and Wonder Woman’s invisible jet. It makes you wonder whether or not Diana Prince ever lost track of her jet from time to time.
Shrek And Fiona Fighting With A Tree
Some couples in animated movies are sort of problematic.
Maybe the princess was promised into a relationship she didn’t even know about, only to realize she’s kind of okay with marrying this prince after all. Maybe a young girl was held prisoner by a burly captor only find the sweetness underneath. These stories are considered romantic, or sweet, or timeless.
However, they are also kind of weird. The relationship between Shrek and Fiona in the Shrek movies is very, very different.
For starters, these two didn’t really start in the typical romantic way.
They grew together and apart, they went through ups and downs just like real couples often do. Oh, and they like to rough house a lot.
Fiona isn’t your typical delicate princess, she can give her ogre boyfriend a run for his money, which she often does.
This meme points out how much fun this couple has when walloping each other with giant tree trunks. It’s all fun and games, though.
In the end, they support each other through thick and thin. It may seem like a weird way to spend your downtime with your crush, but it’s got to be more entertaining than ballroom dancing, that’s for sure.
Borrowing Art Work
In Turbo, the titular snail decides he wants to be super fast. That, unfortunately, causes him to be outcast by the rest of his snail friends.
Snails are supposed to be slow, not fast, and the rest of the snails just don’t know how to deal with Turbo’s goals.
He goes after his dream anyway, participating in a race and winning despite a few setbacks, a cheating competitor, and one major crash.
In the end, Turbo’s fame helps to revitalize the economy in a dying town.
Cars follows a different track, but both movies end up at the same destination. While Lightning McQueen also puts a lot of emphasis on racing and winning, he ends up sacrificing his win to when he finally learns empathy and loyalty.
McQueen also has to deal with cheaters and a really bad crash, but it’s his friend, idol, and mentor, Doc Hudson, who needs help getting over the end of the track.
Just like Turbo, McQueen’s notoriety helps to revive the long-dormant Radiator Springs.
The posters for both films are awfully similar, but the movies themselves are really only similar in their endings and in the fact that the main characters possess a need for speed.
The Fastest Hedgehog Alive
A snail possessing the speed of a racecar doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. However, then again, neither does a super speedy hedgehog.
However, these are children’s movies and sometimes the fact that they aren’t totally realistic is just part of the fun.
In the case of Turbo, the little snail gains his powers after an accident causes his nitrous oxide to fuse with his DNA. He becomes the fastest snail alive and helps to revitalize the economy of a town thanks to his newfound fame.
Sonic, on the other hand, is speedy at literally everything they do. He’s got a quick wit, always ready with a one-liner or a clever retort. He’s got a quick temper, too, however.
This hedgehog isn’t long on patience. However, he is a good friend and a kind of a hero, saving poor animals from Dr. Wiley all the time.
Still, despite any of his positive attributes, Sonic is definitely a little bit of a narcissist.
He thinks he’s the fastest hedgehog around. So, when Turbo started showing up, we’re sure Sonic’s reaction would have been similar to the one in this meme.
He would have let the little snail know what he was up against.
They Don’t Make Them Like They Used To
Antz, Shrek, The Road To Eldorado, and The Prince Of Egypt– DreamWorks animated movies used to be totally iconic and in many ways, genre changing.
They are often regarded as some of the best-loved and most underrated children’s movies in recent memory.
However, all good things must come to an end, and this meme indicates that DreamWorks’ streak of great kids’ movies definitely did just that.
Shark Tale is debatable, many people claim it was a classic, others say it was forgettable. Madagascar was huge, but it also ushered in the era of DreamWorks’ kids’ movies as inescapable pop culture phenomena with the lemurs’ catchy song and dance routine.
While the music may have been everywhere for a little bit, some parents lament what they consider to be a drop in quality between Shrek and Trolls.
This meme pokes at that change in public opinion, using none other than Princess Poppy herself. Others point to Boss Baby as a clear sign of the company’s apparent backslide.
These two movies did enjoy success, but viewers seem to be a lot more averse to these than, say, How To Train Your Dragon, which was applauded for its emotional storytelling and kick-butt female characters.
Becoming The Hero
There are two main schools of thought of what it means to “Neville Longbottom.” The first of which has everything to do with how attractive the character is.
Fans of the Harry Potter franchise like to say that Longbottom actor Matthew Lewis began his run in the fantasy franchise looking rather awkward.
As he grew, many fans believe that Lewis became quite attractive. This created the “Longbottoming” meme, which involves someone who was previously considered unattractive suddenly becoming attractive.
Maybe that is what this meme is trying to say about Hiccup. However, it doesn’t really seem likely, as he mostly looks the same at both 15 years old and 20 years old.
The second definition of the meme encompasses a character who was formerly bumbling and meek. Perhaps they were cowardly or not very smart.
Whatever their issues were, the character was just generally not very useful. In order to “Longbottom” the character later pulls off a pivotal action that saves friends, colleagues, or just the entire day.
As Neville Longbottom did when he faced off against Voldemort.
Hiccup began as a scrawny teen who wasn’t a very good Viking. However, he’s grown into his leading man status, radicalizing his island home and proving his worth to his peers.
We’ve Heard This Story Before
This meme seems to indicate that DreamWorks’ Shark Tale is basically a rip off of Disney and Pixar’s Finding Nemo. But really, the only similarities these two movies have is the fact that they are both about ocean creatures.
Yes, Shark Tale came out only a year after Finding Nemo. However, the story is so completely different it would be hard to really say that DreamWorks was trying to steal Disney and Pixar’s ideas.
This meme indicates that DreamWorks simply changed a few small details, but the whole movie is drastically different.
Finding Nemo is all about a forgetful fish and a worried dad attempting to track down a missing baby clownfish. It’s a sweet story that many people know very well, while Shark Tale has an intense cult following, it likely isn’t as well-known as Finding Nemo.
Maybe that’s why so many people don’t realize the differences in its plot. Shark Tale is more of a mobster story, telling the tale of a fish who gets in hot water with the shark mob before becoming rich and kinda famous.
It’s really nothing like Finding Nemo at all, it’s simply a second fish movie that came out not long after.
