Is there an animation overload in Hollywood?

Laura M. Holson / New York Times
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Mike Hernandez has had it with the new offerings of animated movies.
Other than "Cars," the summer hit from Pixar Animation Studios, he would rather watch the re-released older animated classic "The Little Mermaid" with his 4-year-old daughter, Alicea.
"They had a good message," Hernandez said of "Cars" and "The Little Mermaid" after attending a recent afternoon matinee of "The Little Mermaid." Of other, newer films, he said, "I don't pay too much attention."
With more than a dozen computer-animated movies being readied for release by next summer, Hollywood is facing viewer fatigue worthy of Sleeping Beauty. Analysts and industry executives have long warned of a coming glut of computer-animated movies. That time has come. Now, with so many movies for audiences to choose from, some are failing to meet expectations or flopping outright.
This summer's "The Wild," from the Walt Disney Co., proved anything but for moviegoers, bringing in only $37 million at the domestic box office. The bigger disappointment was "The Ant Bully," produced by the actor Tom Hanks and distributed by Warner Brothers Entertainment. That movie could only garner $27 million.
Over the last five years, almost every major film studio has sought to make or acquire the type of movies pioneered by Pixar, which was recently acquired by Disney. At the same time, independently financed animators have ratcheted up production. But while animation continues to be popular with families, audiences complain it is suffering from too much sameness, with movie plots and characters looking increasingly alike.
"I think audiences are saying, 'I've seen a lot of computer animation and it's not so special anymore,"' said Julia Pistor, an executive producer of the recent "Barnyard," which was a modest hit, bringing in $69 million domestically. "In that case it's a lot harder for a movie to break through."
Both Pixar and its main rival, DreamWorks Animation, continue to dominate the animation genre because their brands are widely known and highly regarded. But even those studios are feeling the pinch. Though "Cars" was a hit last summer, bringing in $243 million domestically, it failed to live up to prerelease expectations.

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