http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/05/27/why-dreamworks-should-stop-using-celebrity-voices.aspx (http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/05/27/why-dreamworks-should-stop-using-celebrity-voices.aspx)
His justification is that they're too costly and don't add anything to the movies that non-celebrities wouldn't. But he seems to be unaware that voice acting is an actual, specialized profession, and suggests that DWA put its AwesomenessTV division to use and scout it for voice talent.
I do agree that DWA needs to shed its "star power" image, though.
While I agree with the article, Katzenberg is sadly not going to listen. He has an eye for talent, but he unfortunately doesn't seem to have an eye for anything else. After he quit Disney, he took his huge perfectionist ego with him to DreamWorks. He has been both the company's major driving force for creativity and the company's ultimate weaknesses wrapped up into one package.
If this was a DreamWorks employee making this statement, that would be amazing. Unfortunately, it's just Motley Crew--some website on the Internet whom Katzenberg doesn't give a damn about unless it feeds his bottom line for the highest profit possible, and if star talent is going to ring the loudest music of money in his ears (like all other major Hollywood studios), then by golly, he's going to milk it for all it's worth.
Dreamworks Animation is bleeding money no matter what they do. Simply scuttling celebs won't solve their problems.
I don't think a "magic bullet" would solve all of their problems by itself either, but shedding their "star power" image would help.