DreamWorks Layoffs as HTTYD 2 continues to Underperform.

[Jahona]

Original article cited from Cartoon Brew

The studio gave no prior warning to the employees that it laid off and demanded that they leave the studio that day. There are reports that employees weren’t even allowed to return to their cubicles to pack their belongings. “I get that the company needs to be cautious,” one person told the Animation Guild, “but I talked to one employee who said she wasn’t allowed back to her desk. She was kind of upset.”

DreamWorks’ stock has plummeted 35% since the beginning of 2014. How to Train Your Dragon 2 suffered another steep decline in its third U.S. weekend, dropping 46% at the box office. The first film in the series, by contrast, dropped just 14% in its third weekend.

Personally I thought HTTYD 2 was one of DreamWorks best animated films in over a decade. It kept my attention, broke my heart, and told a story with out the need for the crass humor that permeates most of their other films. The quality of the animation was also so much better than what it was a few years ago.

I wish good luck to those that have lost their job. It is getting increasingly harder to find a job in feature animation in the US.