The problem with Sony Pictures Animation

The recent news about the upcoming Emoji Movie sored so many animation lovers that it cemented Phil Lord and Chris Miller's conviction that Sony Pictures Animation is "a place where artists are treated like paper". But... why is this? What Sony Animation has done to alienate both its creative personel and the animation enthusiasts?

The reason why Sony Animation is getting a bad rap these days is not because of the 2014 Sony Pictures hack, but because of the same reason why other studios such as Pixar, Dreamworks and Blue Sky aren't making great movies they used to make: the cancer of good art called "made-by-committee". Amid Amidi claimed on Cartoon Brew that the Sony Animation people have no bonding vision, power or magic to support the artists. They're ripping off better Disney, Pixar and Dreamworks movies, creating not an animated movie they would call it own but a mess called "frankenmovie".

Disney has their famous formulas, Pixar also has their own heartwarming and appealing storytelling formula, Dreamworks created a formula consisting of mature sensiblities and celebrity voices which helped create great movies such as The Prince of Egypt and How to Train Your Dragon, and Illumination made likeable and appealing characters the heart and soul of their movies like Sing and The Secret Life of Pets.

Sony Animation really has the same disease that killed studios such as 20th Century Fox Animation and Warner Bros. Feature Animation which used to copy 90s formulas from better studios by making variation of their tropes. These are the same internal problems that made fans hate the Emoji Movie before its release and led creative talents such as Genndy Tartakovsky and the Aardman folks abandon the Sony-branded ship.