I thought that the CGI was pretty good. It actually looked like the dogs were talking, and their facial expressions were good too. And the dancing at the end actually looked pretty real. I mean, in Santa Buddies, when the pups were dancing, it looked totally fake. Just an example.
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Are you kidding?! The flappin' mouths were distractingly awful!
When he was knocking the cat in the park with his paw, it was obvious bad CGI!
Well, that's your opinion, man. I was just expressing my own opinion. Hey, try watching Santa Buddies and then Marmaduke and then criticizing the CGI afterward. You'll see then. I mean, compared to the pups dancing in Santa Buddies, Marmaduke knocking Carlos with his paw looked pretty realistic. And the dogs' moving mouths in Marmaduke looked better than the ones in Santa Buddies. But like I said, I was just giving my opinion.
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Okay, so it's better than Santa Buddies. But it's still bad CGI. That's like comparing a D student to an F student. One may be better but he is still below average.
Don't knock D students. I had a 1.7 gpa and have gone on to have a successful career life. :)
Having said that, this movie sounds bad. I was thinking of letting my 9 y.o. daughter watch it, but I was wondering if they CGI-ed out the dog's humongous testicles. My kid doesn't need to see that stuff.
I can't say I understand complaints about CGI anyway. They're usually complaints about something not seeming realistic. But why are we only looking for something realistic? It seems like many people have forgotten how to use their imaginations. Traditionally, when experiencing theatrical arts, we've had to use our imaginations. I think that's a good thing. Minimalist theater especially makes this the case, as there are often no sets, props, etc. whatsoever. And some films, like Dogville have taken that approach, too. You also have to use your imagination if you're watching a puppet or marionette show, a mime, etc. We don't complain there that something is fake. In one sense, a talking animal can't appear real, anyway, because it's not something that animals can do.
I have no problem with the CGI in Playstation2 games. You can tell an excellent story that way. I have no problem with the animation in "South Park" or "Beavis and Butthead". It doesn't have to look real for me to feel that something is excellently done.
I wouldn't say that the CGI looks "real" or "not real" in Marmaduke. I couldn't care less either way, and never thought about that when I was watching it. What I would say is that the CGI and everything else in the film was done in a way that was attractive to me.
http://www.rateyourmusic.com/~JrnlofEddieDeezenStudies
Well, thanks, JfnlofEddieDeezenStudies. At least one other person here agrees with me. And as for myself, I agree with you as well, that it seems a lot of people have indeed forgotten how to use their imaginations.
shareRemember the Taco Bell Dog? It's mouth moved with CGI and that was back in the mid 90's. It looked more real, than a slobbery Great Dane. At least Marmaduke's movements looked better than the buddy movies.
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These filmmakers don't even try! All they do is a half-assed job because all they care about is kids dragging their parents to it and spend lots of money!
But that's not fair to the kids! Why should they be spoon-fed dumbed-down crap just because they're kids and don't know any better. Heck, Beethoven and Homeward Bound never resorted to using crappy cgi dancing dogs; they used real dogs! It takes you out of a movie when you know that the thing in front of you is not inhabiting the same universe as its live-action counterparts. Homeward Bound never needed fake flapping mouths for the animals in order for them to talk!
So bad CGI does make a difference! Oh, by the way, you wanted to know what live-action movie had realistic talking animals? How about Narnia?
@JRLilyNeil, That is not true at all. Of course they try. They probably just wanted to make a movie that kids and families would like. And they did their best to do it--to both pull off the effects and to make a family film.
Don't believe me? Well, there's a cool video on YouTube called "Marmaduke Behind the Scenes" that I think you should check out. It was posted by BeyondTheMovies. It shows you just how the filmmakers pulled off the scene with the dog party. It's not a behind-the-scenes look at everything about the movie, it just shows you how much work they put into making a scene like that. It shows specifically how they pulled off that dog jumping into the pool and how they managed to get the party scene down. It proves that the filmmakers DID try. I challenge you to watch that video and see for yourself. Don't skip a word of it, it is all true.
You can find the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3F1rP1WhVjA. It's just in case you're interested.
Wanna know what the dancing fake dogs reminded me of? When the guy in Kangaroo Jack had that drea.. the Kangaroo spoke, then all the kangaroos danced, talked and rolled in money.
That's what it reminded me of.
Please. If they actually tried, they would have made a better script with actual funny jokes for kids and adults, actual heart-warming moments, actual cgi instead of this half-assed attempt.
The video shows them about making a dog movie...period. If they did try, why do the jokes suck? Why do they resort to the lowest common denominator to milk endless gags out of lame dog puns and stereotypical humor? Why did they not try harder on the CGI?
What you SAY and what you DO are two different things!
Just because you SAY you're trying to make an enjoyable film for kids and families doesn't mean they actually made an enjoyable film for kids and families!
They couldn't have really tried to make a good family film; the proof of awfulness is on screen!
Suit yourself, JRLilyNeil. After all, you've got your opinion and I've got mine. You think one way, I think another. I really don't want to argue or anything; I was just expressing my own personal opinion, like I said before.
shareThe CGI stunk because the dogs mouths weren't synched right to their voices.
shareYah, first thing I noticed was the lousy animal mouth action. I've enjoyed the CATS AND DOGS movies, the talking pig movie, I like the Geiko ad's. Not going to say those s#!tty Santa buddies movies work for me, but as a talking animal fan who's been watching talking animals since Francis the mule, I require decent mouth articulation.
"Pffft, my suspension of disbelief has higher standards than that"
The CGI in Cats and Dogs was better than this movie.
I've never fooled anyone. I've let people fool themselves.