Why do studios race to make the same movie?
A Bug's Life VS Antz
Nearly 10 years ago, Noah, Devan, and I annoyed everyone around us at work by having a rigorous debate about which film better: A Bug’s Life or ANTZ. Noah and I believed ANTZ was attempting to convey something a little more interesting than A Bug’s Life, and Devan thought we were crazy.
(Apple, Spotify, YouTube, Others)
Today, we’re still having that debate. But we’re also wondering why “twin films” occur so regularly in the first place. A Bug’s Life (1998) and ANTZ (1998)…Armageddon (1998) and Deep Impact (1998)…Friends With Benefits (2011) and No Strings Attached (2011)…Madagascar (2005) and a Disney movie I’ve never heard of called The Wild (2006)…these pairs of movies, and hundreds more, all have basically the same plot and were released within a year of each other. What gives?
The good folks at the What Went Wrong podcast join us today to break down why this happens so often (and why, maybe, it’s not happening as often as we think).
To give you a sense of the sheer number of these things, here’s a Wikipedia article listing some notable examples.
And when it comes to Armageddon (1998), please enjoy this video from the movie’s DVD Extras, where Ben Affleck makes fun of the plot.
Any favorite twin films examples we didn’t mention in the episode? Leave a comment! And as always, if you like what you’re hearing, consider giving us a five-star review and sharing with a friend.
See you next week.
brb going to go and watch a bug’s life (after the episode)
Maybe a little too far apart to fit the definition of twin films, but when I think about the term, I always think about 2008's "Repo: The Genetic Opera" and 2010's "Repo Men"