DreamWorks Animation.
Jeffrey Katzenberg, one of the DreamWorks Three Amigos and the head of DreamWorks Animation, was leading his team in producing the animated film "The Road to El Dorado."
A month ago, he also received an invitation to the premiere of Waterworld Animation, but he was busy today.
"Everyone, let's push a little harder."
"We're aiming to finish the film by the end of October so it can be released on time for the Thanksgiving holiday."
"The media and our peers keep saying we're not as good as Pixar Animation, right? Well, this time, we'll compete during Thanksgiving, and we absolutely won't lose."
Jeffrey Katzenberg was holding his breath;
The employees of DreamWorks Animation also wanted to prove themselves, as most of them had previously come from Disney Animation.
Katzenberg himself was once the head of Disney Animation.
However… they were all ruthlessly swept out by Michael Eisner, known as the "Tyrant of Disney."
They were, of course, unwilling!
They wanted revenge on Disney, to defeat Disney in the animation field!
And Pixar Animation, as a long-time partner of Disney, was even put on their priority hit list.
"Guys, do you remember our animated film 'The Prince of Egypt' that was released last year?" Katzenberg asked again.
"We do!"
Everyone present nodded with solemn expressions.
The shame, they dared not forget!
"Our animated film 'The Prince of Egypt' took nearly two years to complete, and hundreds of our workers put in tremendous effort and sweat. It achieved a total box office of 270 million US dollars worldwide, making our DreamWorks Animation instantly famous!"
"But!"
"But what did the media reporters and our peers say?"
"They said: DreamWorks animation lacks soul!"
"They said: 'The Prince of Egypt' is a product of sheer industrial accumulation, a craft, a work of fast-food culture!"
"They said: 'The Prince of Egypt' rode on the coattails of Pixar Animation; without the market opened up by the excellent 'Toy Story' before it, 'The Prince of Egypt' would be lucky to achieve 50 million US dollars at the box office."
"To hell with them…"
"They're all full of it!"
From then on, in addition to his long-standing feud with Disney, Katzenberg had completely grown to hate Pixar Animation.
"Forever second best!"
This was the definition countless media reporters gave to DreamWorks Animation.
How could Katzenberg and the DreamWorks Animation staff under his leadership be convinced?
"Ding ding ding ~"
Just then, Katzenberg's private phone rang.
The caller was none other than Steven Spielberg, one of the DreamWorks Three Amigos and one of the world's most famous directors!
"You ask what I'm doing?"
"What do you think I'm doing? Of course, I'm working on 'The Road to El Dorado' animation. Don't worry, I have confidence in it. I'm not saying we'll definitely beat Pixar Animation's 'Toy Story 2,' but we won't lose to it either. I have confidence!"
Katzenberg kept expressing his determination over the phone.
However… Spielberg's next words made Katzenberg stand frozen on the spot, even doubting reality.
"Jeffrey, I just attended the premiere of 'Finding Nemo,' jointly hosted by Page Pictures and Waterworld Animation. Do you know? It's a very clever and imaginative film, and the visuals are so beautiful that just for the visuals, it's worth anyone watching a second time."
"Your absence today is absolutely a huge regret."
"In fact… I feel it's much better than 'Toy Story'!"
"Yes, you heard me right!"
"This 'Finding Nemo' from Waterworld Animation is definitely going to be a huge hit ~"
After being stunned for more than ten seconds, Katzenberg decisively hung up the phone.
"Impossible!"
This was Katzenberg's assessment.
Although he was extremely hostile towards Pixar Animation, he also had to admit that Pixar was very powerful at this stage, and "Toy Story" was an exceptionally excellent animated work.
He didn't believe Waterworld Animation could surpass Pixar.
"What a joke?"
"Director Spielberg must be exaggerating, right?"
"What does Waterworld Animation have? Haven't they just released two animations with poor visuals, 'Peppa Pig' and 'SpongeBob SquarePants'?"
"Can they compare with us? Can they compare with Pixar? What a huge joke!"
The DreamWorks Animation team immediately became indignant.
If "Finding Nemo" surpassed Pixar's existing animated works, then what were they, DreamWorks?
What did the efforts of hundreds of them over these years amount to?
Since its inception, DreamWorks Animation had one goal: to defeat Disney Animation, crush Pixar Animation, and become the king of the global animation industry!
But… what was this now?!
At this moment, if Kyle were here, he would surely say: "Little brother, you're too attached to appearances."
In 2007, the well-known American newspaper "USA Today" published an article.
It claimed: "'Finding Nemo' is the best of all Pixar films, and 'all' here includes 'Toy Story' parts one and two, 'A Bug's Life,' and 'Monsters, Inc.' Nemo offered family audiences a sweet, delightful, resonant feast and a visually stunning enjoyment."
This article highly praised "Finding Nemo."
And the claim of "best" was affirmed and recognized by many prominent figures.
Well, at least before 2007, "Finding Nemo" was Pixar's best animated film!
...The next day.
Golden Dawn Entertainment Group.
As soon as Kyle entered the company and arrived at his office, he saw more than a dozen newspapers neatly arranged on his desk.
They all featured special commentary articles on "Finding Nemo," which had its premiere yesterday.
There was no need to mention "California Entertainment News" and "Los Angeles Entertainment News."
As loyal partners and staunch sycophants of Golden Dawn Entertainment Group, they had never published a single report refuting or slandering Golden Dawn Group or any of its subsidiaries; their articles were always flowery and full of praise for Kyle and Golden Dawn Group.
"California Entertainment News" published an article titled: "Great Animation Company—Waterworld Animation!"
"Los Angeles Entertainment News" published an article titled: "'Finding Nemo'—The Best Gift for Children!"
As for other American media outlets, although their words were not as fawning and blatant as "California Entertainment News" and "Los Angeles Entertainment News," they were still full of praise.
Clownfish Nemo;
Father Marlin;
Touching father-son affection;
Humans and animals;
Magnificent ocean;
...These terms constantly appeared in newspapers and then quickly caught the eyes of many people who bought them.
Even some overseas merchandise licensors and distributors couldn't stand idle and directly contacted Waterworld Animation, wanting to secure merchandise rights in advance, like the domestic distributors in the United States, before the movie was even released.
However, the shrewd Kyle refused.
The explosion of "Finding Nemo" was imminent!!!