Welcome to the Weekly Movie Thread, your place on the Avocado to discuss films with your fellow commenters. Want to make a recommendation? Looking for recommendations? Want to share your opinions of movies, both new and classic?

Thirty years ago, a Disney executive named Jeffery Katzenberg was smarting after getting passed over for a promotion. After all, was he not the man who singlehandedly saved Disney as head of the animation division during the Disney Renaissance? After resigning from Disney, Katzenberg approached record executive David Geffen and director Steven Spielberg about forming a new film company. That would be the origin of Dreamworks SKG, with the “SKG” being the initials of the last names of the three founders.

The first movie releases would be the George Clooney/Nicole Kidman action film The Peacemaker, which has been mostly forgotten. It would be followed by the slightly better remembered Amistad (with Steven Spielberg in full socially conscious mode) and the fun family film Mouse Hunt.

Over on the animation side, Dreamworks would kick things off with Antz, a movie best remembered for not being A Bug’s Life. The movie featured Woody Allen and Sylvester Stallone as creepy-looking ants.

The animation studio would experiment with different styles — the traditionally cel-shaded Prince of Egypt and the stop-motion Chicken Run — before hitting a solid home run with Shrek. The following Dreamworks projects would be heavily indebted to Shrek, from the celebrity casting to the 3D style to the irreverence. Even though “Dreamworks face” became a meme, the division was responsible for truly well done and beloved film franchises such as Kung Fu Panda, How To Train Your Dragon, and Puss In Boots. It was also responsible for Bee Movie, so… you know.

DreamWorks was also involved in some of the finest films of the 90’s and 2000’s. Saving Private Ryan provided a harrowing glimpse into the horrors or war. Gladiator would seemingly come out of nowhere to make Russell Crowe a star and win all the Academy Awards. The Ring made J-horror mainstream in the West. Old School and Anchorman introduced an ensemble cast of comedians that would define a decade.

Like every film studio, there’s been a lot of garbage as well. But for me, DreamWorks has been responsible for some of the best original content in the last few decades.

Today’s bonus prompt: what is your favorite DreamWorks film?