Coraline

Laika Entertainment

Directed by Henry Selick

Download  

Based on Neil Gaiman’s 2002 fantasy/horror novella for young people, Coraline is, in my view, the overall strongest animated film of 2009. Henry Selick (The Nightmare before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach) wrote the screenplay and directed for Laika (formerly Will Vinton Studios) in Portland, Oregon.

Synopsis: 11-year old Coraline (yes, that name is spelled correctly) Jones relocates with her mom and dad to a big old house outside of Ashland, Oregon. The problem is, first of all, she did not want to leave her friends and, second, her parents are both writers who never seem to have enough time for her, especially when they are working on deadline. Left to her own devices, Coraline discovers a small boarded-up door that leads to a parallel world that almost perfectly mirrors the real one. There, she finds an “other house” and, most significantly, an “other mother” and “other father” who both have all the time in the world for her. Other Mother cooks all of Coraline’s favorite meals, and there are endless fun things to do with her Other Father. There is one thing about the other parents that is puzzling: They both have big black buttons sewn onto their faces where their eyes ought to be. In due time, Coraline is invited to stay forever with her other parents, in a home where she can have anything her heart desires. The only condition is that she must agree to have black buttons sewn onto her face also.

Of course all of this is a young girl’s imagination working overtime. The other world is literally as “real” as a nightmare, but that reality is clearly in Coraline’s mind. The story raises a serious philosophical question: What price would you pay to live in a world where you could have anything you want and where it never rains, and there are no bad days? The answer, of course, is that our real life is the best, even if it is not perfect. And in the end, Coraline banishes her other parents and looks at her real parents in a whole new and accepting way.

Analysis: The Other Mother is a powerful, legitimately frightening villain. She is acting to survive in her own way, on an eternal quest to find somebody to love other than herself. Because of the comparative complexity of this character, the movie – which also happens to be the longest stop-motion animated film to date – targets a bit older audience than, say, The Lion King or Cars.

The performances in Coraline are uniformly excellent. In particular, take a close look at the character Wybie. He is a one-character exhibition of how effective the psychological gesture can be. He most often is physically signaling self-doubt, but his sharp mind is all about confidence. Mr. Selick not only created Wybie from scratch but managed to weave him unobtrusively into Mr. Gaiman’s already concise story.

Chapter #1 “The Pink Palace” (main titles)

Once the opening titles have ended, we cut to a long shot of the Pink Palace Apartments, Coraline Jones’s new home in Ashville, Oregon. Mr. Bobinsky is doing his morning exercises on the rooftop, which is a clever place for the director to place him. Even though we do not yet know who Bobinsky is, we know right away that this person is a male eccentric, daredevil health fanatic. We would get a more muted impression if he was exercising on the front lawn. Everything – repeat: Everything – that you put on screen matters. Every acting and directorial choice reveals something about the story.

Consider the black cat that appears on screen as the movers drive away. The cat is just enough un-cat-like to strike an emotional discord. We can see its thought process, which tilts toward human abstraction rather than feline instinct. It is the kind of detail that very few people in the audience would notice, but it would still get into their heads. The cat also helps establish the parameters for the audience’s willing suspension of disbelief.

Coraline, in conflict with her situation, searches for an abandoned well that is rumored to be somewhere on the property (objective). Note how completely she gives herself over to pretending with her self-made dowsing rod. With no dialogue at all, we learn that she is a healthy child with a very active imagination. The success or failure of the story depends upon the audience seeing the world from Coraline’s perspective, and so this brief introduction signals some very important information about her.

The cat is surreptitiously following Coraline around the grounds, which is yet more un-cat-like behavior. Notice its thought process after it accidentally dislodges the stone, frightening Coraline.

Wybie rides his bike (action) into the scene, aiming to meet and impress his new neighbor (objective). Throughout the movie, whenever Wybie is involved in a social encounter, he is in conflict with his situation because he lacks self-confidence, particularly when he is around Coraline.

Coraline’s objective during Wybie’s initial appearance – even though she does not speak – is to mentally categorize him as friend or foe, smart or stupid, fun or not. She has conflict with her situation because he is really an unusual person.

After Wybie exits, Coraline’s attention returns to exploring the abandoned well. She drops a stone (action) in it to determine how deep it is (objective). Conflict is with situation. Note how her thoughts are captured with eye movement. Throughout this movie, the animators do a splendid job with character eye movement.

Chapter #2 “A Little Me”

Coraline asks her mother (action) for permission to plant seeds in the garden (objective). Conflict is with situation: It is raining and Mom is too busy to talk (obstacle).

Acting note: Young children almost always have conflict with their situation because a child is relatively powerless in a world of adults.

I urge you to study the eye movement of Coraline, her mother and her father in this chapter. Mom and Dad both have the same objective, to complete their book manuscript. Coraline is interrupting, and they therefore have conflict with their situation. You can see in the eye movement that each parent is trying to multi-task.

The introduction of the Little Me Coraline doll is expository.

After failing to get her parents’ attention, Coraline wanders into the parlor and tries to open (action) the little sealed-up door (objective). She cannot open it by herself (obstacle), and so she calls her mother (action) to come and help (objective).

Mom’s objective remains the same – namely, to complete the manuscript. Coraline interrupted her train-of-thought again, so dealing with her is an action in pursuit of the larger objective.

Chapter #3 “Your Other Mother”

Dinner table scenes, regardless of whether they take place on stage, in live-action or animation, are effective devices for highlighting the dynamics of family relationships. In this sequence, we learn that Mom is the no-nonsense authority-figure and that Dad is sort of a good-natured goof.

Coraline pushes her food away (action) because she knows this will get her sent straight to bed (objective). Her conflict is with her situation.

Once in her bed, she cuddles (action) her teddy bear in an effort to fall asleep (objective). Conflict is with situation – she is agitated and hungry, and the poison oak rash on her hand is itching.

The action now shifts into Caroline’s dream. Her POV (point of view) is our POV.

There is an acting lesson in the way that she discovers the tunnel into the Other World. The rule is that a character should act on expectation, not anticipation. Coraline’s mom showed her the brick wall behind the door and so that is what she expects to find now. When she sees the tunnel, she at first distrusts her own perceptions. Am I dreaming? Yes, definitely, she is dreaming. But she doesn’t realize it. Now we in the audience know something that Coraline does not, and this knowledge will influence all of our emotional reactions throughout the story.

Coraline emerges (action) from the tunnel into the parlor of the “other house”, which looks almost exactly like the parlor in her real house. Again, her thought is “I must be dreaming,” which is conflict with the situation. She follows the aroma of food (action) into the kitchen, hoping to get something to eat (objective).

Acting note: We humans have five senses, and a smart storyteller will use them all.

Other Mother, intent on entrapping Coraline (objective), is happily cooking Coraline’s favorite dish (action).

Frightened by the sight of Other Mother’s button eyes, Coraline gingerly seeks (action) an explanation (objective).

The production number in Other Father’s office is lots of fun, an interlude. In terms of story, the only thing it accomplishes is nudging Coraline just a little bit further into Other Mother’s clutches.

Chapter #4 “Incredible Dream”

During the dinner table scene, note that other mother does not eat. That is because she does not eat this kind of food. Attention to that kind of detail is one of the key reasons the movie is so good.

Other Mother is becoming over-anxious (obstacle – note fingers drumming on table) and creates a too-frightening instant thunderstorm (action). Instead of moving Coraline one notch closer to entrapment (objective), she causes the child to back away. Coraline is scared by the spooky happenings here, so she heads for bed (action), hoping to fall asleep and return to her real home (objective). Note that Other Mother’s over-anxiety causes Other Father to crowd into Coraline’s personal space in the kitchen. That is because Other Mother is really the puppet master for the entire Other World.

Coraline goes to sleep (actually, re-entering her dream) in her other bed and other home while Other Mother comforts her. Then she wakes up back in the real world, no longer sleeping. Notice how the audience’s perception of reality shifts right along with Coraline’s.

Her poison oak rash has vanished. Once again, note how carefully the animator captured the character’s thought process. (1) The poison oak rash is gone! (2) Oh, I remember, Other Mother put some medicine on it. (3) Other Mother? I thought for a minute I must be dreaming! (4) The little door and tunnel leads there. I’ll go double check! She then rushes (action) to the parlor and opens the little door (action) to verify the reality of the tunnel (objective). Instead of a tunnel, there is of course a brick wall behind the door. Coraline is now equally committed to both worlds – this one and the Other one. We in the audience are not confused, and so we are concerned for Coraline’s well being.

In the kitchen, Coraline attempts to convince (action) her mother and father that the “other house” and Other Mother actually exist (objective). They dismiss her story as a child’s strange dream (conflict with situation and with other person).

Chapter #5 “The Amazing Bobinsky”

The most important event in this chapter is the entrance of Mr. Bobinsky. Note that he defies the law of gravity. He is the only character in Coraline’s real world that does that. Why do you think we in the audience do not therefore expect other characters to defy gravity? The reason is that we see Mr. Bobinsky from Coraline’s perspective. Mr. Bobinsky is undoubtedly an odd and even eccentric man, but to Coraline’s still child-like mind, he is much more than that.

Notice how Mr. Bobinsky is dressed in this chilly, rainy weather, and how he stretches his body and snaps his knuckles. He impresses Coraline (objective) by introducing himself (action) as “The Amazing Bobinsky” while simultaneously doing exercises (obstacle).

Mr. Bobinsky wants to do be alone with his cheese samples (objective), and so he bids Coraline good-bye (action). Unfortunately, his jumping mice are causing a distraction (obstacle).

Coraline continues on her journey (action) to visit Spink and Forcible (objective) in the basement apartment, but, before she can get there, Mr. Bobinsky intercepts her (obstacle) by jumping from the upper balcony to the ground (his action). He delivers a message (objective) from the mice, warning her not to go through the little door (obstacle).

In reality, Mr. Bobinsky has no way of knowing about Coraline’s experience with the little door or the existence of Other Mother. Nor would he suddenly know how to properly pronounce Coraline’s name. This is yet another indication that his behavior is being embellished in Coraline’s mind.

Chapter #6 “Spink & Forcible”

The performances in this mostly expository chapter are not very dynamic, although the new characters are definitely colorful. In order to improve the acting here, the objectives and obstacles for all the characters would have to be strengthened.

Notice the little skip-a-step jump that Coraline does on her way down the stairs. It is such a small detail, but it exposes more information about her character.

After her visit with Ms. Spink and Ms. Forcible, Coraline departs (action), presumably to return home (objective). Once in the yard, however, she encounters heavy fog (obstacle). Look closely, and you will see an acting oversight.

Coraline’s face and body language as she enters the yard after climbing the steps do not suggest a destination or purpose. From an acting perspective, Coraline should, 100 percent of the time, be able to answer the “What are you doing?” question. If we ask her that as she steps into the yard, I do not think she would have an answer.

Wybie is searching (action) for banana slugs (objective) in the fog (obstacle). Coraline intercepts him, at which point he does tricks with the slug (action) to impress her (objective).

Chapter #7 “In the Garden”

There is not a lot of structured acting in this chapter. The colorful production number in the garden illustrates Other Mother’s growing power over Coraline. Other Wybie, is introduced.

Chapter #8 “Jumping Mouse Circus”

Note Coraline’s delighted physical reaction when she thanks Mr. Bobinsky for presenting his amazing mouse circus. Children often do not know how to express their feelings verbally, so the emotion comes out physically. Nice acting lesson.

Coraline wakes up back in her real house and real bed. She doesn’t like it. Her new objective is to live forever in Other World. Her real mother, however, has locked the little door. This is an interesting transition point in the story because her parents now become part of the obstacle.

Chapter #9 “Unlocking the Door”

Note Coraline’s body language in response to her father dismissing her as a “little dreamer”. She brings her knees protectively to her chest in a psychological gesture. That is nicely observed acting. It would have been easier for the animator to have her simply protest verbally, but the extra effort is worth the payoff. Remember, what the audience sees is going to carry more weight than what it hears. Even with the sound turned off, we would understand Coraline’s emotional reaction to her father’s words.

Minor quibble: When mother says she expects the Garden Life people will like the manuscript – “. . . my part anyway”, she does not smile. The line seems a bit playful and teasing to me, but her behavior suggests that she treats her husband as a less-than-favorite employee. At this point in the story, I am wishing that there was just a bit more honest affection between Mr. And Mrs. Jones.

Later in this chapter, take a close look at the sequence in which Coraline’s mother expresses her frustration with the family’s tight finances. Within 20 seconds, we get a real insight into her conflicting emotions and priorities. She wants to be a good mom, and so she suffers because she cannot make a simple impulse purchase of colorful gloves for Coraline. As a writing partner with her husband, she has to carry more than her share of the load because she is the responsible one in the family. There are times when it all just wears her out. Twenty seconds. Wonderful performance.

The next sequence we want to study is when Coraline unlocks the little door in the parlor and once again sees the tunnel leading to the Other World. In previous scenes, she has obviously been dreaming when she saw the tunnel. Now she sees it when wide awake, a signal to us in the audience that she is losing touch with where reality begins and ends. Just before she swings the door open, she closes her eyes. Is she wishing for something? Is she afraid of seeing something? By having her close her eyes, we in the audience must guess at her conflicting feelings.

Chapter #10 “Dream Come True”

There is very little conflict in any of the sequences in this chapter. Coraline expects to find delightful surprises in the Other World, and that is what happens. It is always desirable to have obstacle/conflict until and unless an objective is achieved or replaced by another objective. This could have been accomplished between the time Coraline arrives in the other house and when she sees the sweets on the kitchen table. If she had brought with her the key to the little door, for instance, it might remind her of her real mom, making for a moment of hesitation. Or maybe Other Mother inadvertently left her sewing kit in the parlor. There are many ways conflict could have been included. As it is, the first conflict in the chapter occurs when the cat talks to Coraline in the yard.

The cat’s appearance in this sequence is largely expository because we learn some back-story involving the cat and Other Mother. This encounter also establishes that the cat tells the truth. Cat’s objective is to warn Coraline of danger. Conflict is her skepticism.

Downstairs, we have another big production sequence that does not advance the plot.

Chapter #11 “A Special Surprise”

We are beginning to see conflict between Other Wybie and Other Mother. Even though she created him, he has a mind of his own, and he empathizes with Coraline. By endowing Other Wybie with emotion, the storyteller is making him a unique being with his own personal values. We are now empathizing with Other Wybie, and this takes the story to a deeper emotional level.

The sequence in which Other Mother shows Coraline the buttons that will be sewn on her face contains some of the strongest acting in the film and deserves your very close attention. I suggest you study it pose by pose. Coraline is in a good mood when Other Mother gives her the button box. During the next 19 seconds, she totally reverses her opinion of Other Mother, a transition that amounts to performance whiplash. Animate the thought.

• Thought #1: “I wonder what fun thing is in this pretty box?”
• Thought #2: “Oooh, what’s this? A button kit?”
• Thought #3: “Wait a minute. Buttons?”
• Thought #4: “She wants to sew these buttons onto my eyes.”
• Thought #5: “I really can’t do this.”
• Thought #6: “This entire idea is shocking really. Button colors?!”
• Thought #7: “I have got to get out of here.”
• Thought #8: “Other mother is a total enemy. I must fight her.”

Can you see the extraordinary emotional transition? If this moment did not work, the entire third act of the film would not work. Coraline’s objective from here on out will be to return to her real mother and father. Her conflict is now double what it was earlier. Now she has conflict with her situation and also with another character, namely Other Mother.

Chapter #12 “Good Kitty”

Coraline seems not to have a destination at the start of this chapter. I understand that she does not know where to go, but the animator could have made the walk more urgent. I am guessing that the animation and directorial focus was totally on the Other Cat during the walk.

Back at the Other Pink Palace, the Other Cat demonstrates to Coraline that even the Other Mr. Bobinsky’s circus rat is a distortion of reality. The Other Cat’s action involves catching and transforming the rat. The objective is to convince Coraline that this entire world is an illusion. Conflict is with the situation.

There is another transitional scene when Coraline defiantly confronts Other Mother in the other parlor. Other Mother gives up on charming Coraline into staying. Now she will try terror and force.

Chapter #13 “It’s All a Trap”

Other Wybie rescues (action) Coraline, rushing her to the little door (objective) as Other Mother approaches menacingly (obstacle). In terms of performance, this sequence is worth exploring. As Other Wybie has taken his own initiative and developed his own objectives, he has become more human and, therefore, more empathetic. We will later experience a similar rush of empathy for Other Father. When these characters are clearly controlled by other mother, we do not empathize with them because they are not real. To be human is to have values that are expressed as emotions. We know now that Wybie can feel sad and happy. In the end, Other Wybie and real Wybie are both heroes in this story.

Coraline scrambles (action) through the tunnel, now filled with cobwebs (obstacle). She tumbles out into her real parlor (objective). Now she discovers that nobody is home, and that leads to a new objective: find parents.

Coraline tries to convince Wybie that her parents are missing. The conflict is with her situation and with Wybie, another character. Wybie flees (action) on his bicycle, but it is unclear what his objective is. From an acting perspective, he should have a destination.

Ms. Spink and Ms. Forcible, in an effort to cheer up Coraline (objective), present her (action) with a magic stone. The women disagree (obstacle) about the primary purpose of the stone, however.

Acting note: Try looking at a scene from every character’s perspective, as if each character is the main lead. See if secondary characters also are playing actions in pursuit of objectives.

Chapter #14 “Only One Thing to Do”

This chapter begins with my personal favorite acting sequence in the movie, in which Coraline comforts herself by sleeping in her missing parents’ bed. The acting lesson is that acting has almost nothing to do with words. In fact, “Goodnight, Mom” and “Goodnight, Dad” are not necessary. It would have been more powerful if she had simply kissed each of them and then melted into her tears.

Now we return to Coraline’s dream world, when she discovers her parents trapped inside the hallway mirror. They are no longer “lost and missing”. Now they are captives of Other Mother, and it is Coraline’s job to free them. When Coraline shatters the mirror, her frustration is made literal.

Take a close look at the sequence in which she throws the Little Me Coraline doll into the fire. She goes through an emotional transition, from feeling helpless to sad to strong and determined – all nonverbally. Excellent performance.

In the tunnel, Other Cat confides that Other Mother’s weakness is her love of games.

When she exits the tunnel into the Other Parlor, there is a marvelous acting moment when Coraline’s intentions and emotions change rapid-fire. That sequence is worth watching a couple of times, once in slow motion.

The Other Father enters, but he is only a grotesque version of Coraline’s real father, adding to the nightmarish quality of the scene.

Chapter #15 “Let’s Play a Game”

When Coraline notices the button kit on the kitchen table, her emotion is fear. Note that a drop of sweat slips down her forehead, indicating that fear. From an acting perspective, the drop of sweat was not necessary. The audience knows she is afraid and empathizes with her. They do not need any encouragement or amplification from the animators. Acting note: Never underestimate the intelligence of your audience.

Coraline proposes (action) that she and Other Mother (obstacle) play an exploring game, winner take all (objective). If Coraline wins, she and all other captives will go free; if she loses, she will remain with Other Mother forever, complete with button eyes. The bargain is struck and Other Mother vanishes.

The following sequences include Coraline’s search for one of the ghost children’s souls and her discovery that she has the power to defeat Other Mother’s fake reality.

In the final moment in this chapter, Other Father, with perhaps his last act of will, helps Coraline win. Then the Earth swallows him up. If you find this sequence to be particularly moving, give credit to the animators.

Chapter #16 “Unwinding the Web”

Coraline does battle with Other Spink and Other Forcible, both of whom are really manifestations of Other Mother.

Chapter #17 “Nobody Likes a Rat”

A final confrontation with Other Bobinsky. The fake world created by Other Mother starts falling apart, flying off into space (obstacle). Coraline saves Other Cat’s life.

Chapter #18 “Staying Forever”

This is the epic battle between Coraline and Other Mother. Parents are saved.

Chapter #19 “Over and Done”

This chapter is the resolution of Coraline’s story and, as such, is not intended to have much conflict. We do, however, have one final bit of action as Coraline gets rid of the key to the little door and Other Mother’s creepy hand both at the same time.

Coraline sleeps and, in her dream, the ghost souls warn that she is in terrible danger. It is about the key to the little door. Other Mother wants it. She wakes up and discovers broken balls under the pillow.

Acting note: Study carefully, perhaps at half speed, and you will see an acting error. When Coraline discovers the broken balls, she reacts to them being broken just a moment too soon. Stage actors call this acting error “anticipation”, which means reacting to something before it happens.

Chapter #20 “End Titles”

The dog bats flying around are great fun in stereoscopic 3D.

The Princess and the Frog

Disney Animation

Codirected by John Musker and Ron Clements

Download  

This 2009 movie deserves our attention for several reasons. First, it is Disney’s big-budget (US$100 million+) return to the studio’s 2D roots. It is also the first Disney feature animation that was overseen by John Lasseter, whose services were purchased along with his studio, Pixar. It was his idea, in fact, to make the movie with traditional animation instead of CG.

But The Princess and the Frog is caught somewhere in mid-step between Disney’s days of animation glory and wherever it is that the studio is going to land. As we will see in our analysis, it is in many ways trying to be too many things to too many people. There were a lot of chefs in the kitchen on this one. The Frog Prince, on which it was based, is a story for kids. The Princess and the Frog is not.

Part of the problem is that The Frog Prince is 100 percent a fairy tale, a “Once upon a time in a far away place…” kind of story in which frogs turn into handsome princes. Disney placed the story in a very real, very contemporary looking, New Orleans. It is no longer a “Once upon a time in a far away place …” kind of story. Voodoo is not really magic. It is dependent upon superstition and a willingness to believe in it. Dr. Facilier, for example, is a hustler. He is not actually able to access “the other side”. Mama Odie is not really as old as she says she is. It appears to me that the Disney team is asking the audience to accept the reality of magic when magic moves the story along, and the real world when magic is not necessary. In other words, the storyteller’s voice is not clear. The animators did an excellent job with what they had to work with, but the concept was flawed from the start.

Chapter #1 “There’s Magic in the Air Tonight”

Eudora, employed as a seamstress for New Orleans’ businessman Big Daddy LaBouff, is reading The Frog Prince to Charlotte and Tiana. Nothing happens in the sequence; it is purely intro info. No structured performance at all.

The trolley ride home establishes that Charlotte’s family is rich and Tiana’s family is not. Note that there is zero litter on the ground and no graffiti. This is a Disney movie for sure.

Chapter #2 “James’ Dream”

Tiana’s father, James, is cooking gumbo when she and her mom arrive. His objective would be to have soup. Actions involve ingredients and cooking-temperature. There is no obstacle. Tiana adds Tabasco sauce while mom sews in the background, a scene of domestic tranquility. No objectives and no obstacles. Life is swell.

After the neighbors enjoy the gumbo, mom and dad put Tiana to bed. Dad tells her about his dream of one day opening a restaurant. Note that this is not an objective. It would be an objective if he was actually pursuing it, which he evidently is not. It’s just a dream, a fantasy. The purpose of the scene is to put the idea of a restaurant in Tiana’s head because, as the action moves into the next DVD chapter, opening a restaurant becomes her personal long-term objective.

Tiana’s interaction with the frog on her windowsill doesn’t go anywhere in terms of story. No objectives, no actions. It is all about setting up Tiana’s scream, which leads to the actual start of this story of the princess and the frog.

SUPER ON-SCREEN “WALT DISNEY PICTURES”

Tiana’s objective is to sleep. Her action is to physically get into bed. Her obstacle is fatigue. It is always good to have a strong obstacle. Imagine if she was a little less tired. How would she have entered the bedroom? Would she have flopped onto the bed fully clothed?

Before going to bed, she deposits the tip money from her night job in the coffee can. Now we know that she is saving for something. The real estate advertisement next to the coffee can connects the dots for us. I personally do not think the advertisement was necessary, but this is a Disney movie. She’s saving to get that restaurant. Notice military photo of her father. I looked up that medal and it appears to be given for valor in WWII. Now she slides the can into a drawer alongside a dozen other identical cans full of money.

By the end of this opening sequence, we know a lot about Tiana. She is a disciplined and hardworking young woman who is very adult emotionally. One of the hallmarks of an adult is that she is able to delay satisfaction. An adult, in other words, can plan long range. We will later learn that her friend Charlotte is, in comparison, very childish. This is, I think, an excellent opening. It would have been ideal if the opening scene of the movie had this kind of tension.

Chapter #3 “A Prince in New Orleans”

Alarm clock goes off, interrupting sleep. New objective: Go to day job. Changing clothes and heading out are actions. Fatigue is still the obstacle. However, the fatigue disappears as soon as the musical production number begins and, after that, her only obstacle is that she has to navigate happy, dancing musician people en route to her job.

Once she arrives at the diner, Tiaa is a one-woman dynamo, balancing plates and sprinkling sugar, always with a smile on her face. Life is good. No obstacles, no serious objectives. She appears to be the only waitress working, so understaffing could possibly be an obstacle. But she seems able to handle everything the cook throws at her, all with excellent good humor and aplomb. In other words, there is not an obstacle, only a happy production number.

Dr. Facilier makes his first appearance, every inch the typical Disney villain. We know by looking at him that he is 100 percent bad guy with no redeeming qualities.

From a story structure perspective, the first scene with Dr. Facilier is weak. We are eight and a half minutes into the movie when we learn that this is a story in which voodoo actually works. Dr. Facilier can magically grow hair on the bald fellow. In reality, that kind of thing does not happen, and the audience knows that. The reality of voodoo probably should have been included in the opening moments of the film in order to properly establish the parameters for the audience’s willing suspension of disbelief.

Dr. Facilier’s objective in his opening scene is to separate suckers on the street from their money. Action is to lure them into the Tarot hustle. There is not really an obstacle. He’s good at being a crook, no problem. And anyway, voodoo works.

Why does Dr. Facilier react to Big Daddy Labouff stopping to buy a newspaper? Unclear. No objective, no action. In this moment, he is purely reactive. If you were to freeze frame him and ask what he is doing, he could only answer, “I just saw Big Daddy.” That is not a theatrical doing.

We also see Dr. Facilier’s shadow have a life of its own in this sequence. None of the other characters have shadows that function like that, so what are we to make of it? More parameters for the willing suspension of disbelief. The director’s narration on the DVD indicates that the shadow-being-alive idea came from one of the animators. Certainly, it is cute visually, but this ought to have been rejected along story lines.

Newspaper headline “Prince Naveen Comes to Crescent City” World’s most eligible bachelor. What is your opinion? Do you think it is essential to tell the audience what it is going to see in a second or two?

Prince steps off boat, tosses off his royal garb and dives right into the on-going street party. No objective, no obstacle. His valet/servant, Lawrence, has structure, though, carrying too many suitcases down the gang-plank, tripping and falling on his face.

At this point, we do not know why Prince Naveen is in New Orleans unless we go back and freeze frame that newspaper’s front page. If you look closely at the small print, you learn that it is “rumored” the prince is here to look for a bride. New Orleans is the final stop on a big tour of the United States. If he is seriously searching for a bride, can you think of a way this objective could have been made clearer? How about if we see a frustrated prince who lights up when he sees the crowd of lovely young women awaiting his arrival? It would be a transition in thinking and emotion. True, the audience would not fully understand the context, but it would have been more interesting that having him dive directly into the revelry.

Big Daddy LaBouff picks up Charlotte, at the mansion. What is her objective? What is Big Daddy’s objective? Unclear. The purpose of the sequence seems to be establishing that Charlotte is a bit of an air-head and intends to marry Prince Naveen.

Back in Duke’s Café, her friends invite Tiana to a party. “It’s Mardi Gras!” She declines, explaining that she has to work a double shift because she is saving money. Everybody knows about her hopes for opening a restaurant, and nobody believes she can do it. The chef makes fun of her. In terms of acting, the entire sequence is weak. Tiana’s group of friends share an objective of having a great time at Mardi Gras. Obstacle? None really. They’ll have fun whether Tiana parties with them or not. The chef’s objective? Doesn’t have one. He is simply being obnoxious. Tiana’s objective is marginally stronger. She wants to earn extra money tonight by working a double shift. Her obstacle is that her friends are discouraging her, devaluing her dream of a restaurant. She is determined, however, and she shrugs off the discouraging words.

Big Daddy LaBouff comes into diner. His objective is to eat some of Tiana’s delicious benye pastries. His obstacle is his Charlotte who enters and quickly demonstrates that she is practically insane and uncontrollable with excitement about Prince Naveen. Tiana suggests that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Charlotte, not the sharpest tack in the box, recognizes that as a splendid concept, impulsively grabs a bunch of money out of Big Daddy’s pocket and gives it to Tiana, hiring her to prepare “about 500” of her famous benyes for the big party being thrown for Prince Naveen. Note that Charlotte has only the vaguest objectives. She is a manipulative, spoiled, over-the-top young woman whose general strategy is stamping her foot to get what she wants in life. She is, in my view, a totally unappealing character, non-empathetic and annoying until her final scenes in the movie.

With Big Daddy’s money in hand, Tiana celebrates having enough to make a down payment on her dream restaurant.

Chapter #4 “Almost There”

Tiana buys the old sugar factory. The real estate agents, the Fenner brothers, seem happy to be rid of the building. Tiana’s objective is to formalize the sale by officially signing the papers. There is no apparent obstacle.

Eudora arrives to give Tiana a restaurant-warming gift, dad’s old gumbo pot. If you freeze frame Eudora, she has no objective other than perhaps evoking a smile and a tear from Tiana. She has no obstacle.

Note the physical action accompanying Eudora’s lines: “I know. I miss him, too.” It would have worked better if Tiana cried and then her mother comforted her with the line and a hug. In terms to acting structure, they got it backward. If Tiana was crying initially, then Eudora’s objective would be to cheer her up. The way it is presented, Eudora doesn’t have an objective.

Inside the run down building, Tiana happily imagines what her restaurant will look like. This is a celebratory moment leading into a very nice production number. Tiana’s promise to fulfill her daddy’s dream is weak scripting. This is not a moment for altruism. This will be Tiana’s restaurant, and she is doing it for herself. That is an essential theme in this movie. Eudora’s admonishment that James had what was important, “. . . he had love” is banal. The only reason for that line is to foreshadow Tiana’s reference to it during her final battle with Dr. Facilier.

After the “Almost There” production number, we are taken immediately into another big musical number, this one with Prince Naveen, his valet, Lawrence and some street people.

Story development issue: The codirectors’ intention with this sequence, according to what they say in the Bonus Features Commentary, is to “set up the prince as sort of fun loving, and you get a good sense of his personality.” But, what about the story? Why is Prince Naveen in New Orleans in the first place? He is here to find a bride. There is a certain gravitas in such a mission. So far, we have seen no indication that the prince is remotely interested in finding a wife. He is a party animal, pure and simple.

At one point, Lawrence reminds Prince Naveen that he has two choices: “Woo and marry a rich lady or . . . get a job.” This is remarkably weak plotting for such a big budget movie. A man who woos and marries a rich lady – presumably without making love a consideration – is a gigolo, a person of questionable morality. Prince Naveen’s resistance to getting a job is also an unattractive quality for a man his age. In short, the movie has now established its romantic lead as a jerk. This will not evoke in the audience a sense of empathy. Big mistake.

Note the caricature of animator Eric Goldberg scooping up horse poop. Does this bit have any relevance at all to the story of the princess and the frog? No. it is wasted time and money for the movie.

Chapter #5 “Dr. Facilier’s Voodoo Emporium”

During this musical number, neither Prince Naveen nor Lawrence has an objective. The entire sequence belongs to Dr. Dr. Facilier, whose objective is to get his hands on Big Daddy LaBouff’s money. Prince Naveen and Lawrence are passively reactive. No objective, no action, no obstacle for either of them. Given the importance of the scene – Dr. Facilier turns Prince Naveen into a frog and Lawrence into a fake prince – it is surprising that there is so much reliance on the song’s lyrics to advance the plot.

Chapter #6 “The Masquerade Ball”

When we first see Charlotte in this sequence, we can presume that her objective remains getting Prince Naveen to propose marriage. However, until Lawrence/Prince Naveen actually arrives at the party, Charlotte plays zero actions in pursuit of that objective. Instead, she theatrically emotes like a child, throwing a temper tantrum, wiping sweat from her underarms, sulking, crying and so on.

When Prince Naveen (actually, Lawrence, the valet in voodoo disguise) arrives, Charlotte begins strongly playing actions in pursuit of her objective. She primps, assumes the kind of southern girlish dynamic she believes the Prince will like, even puts a fake Marilyn Monroe mark on her right cheek. All of those are actions, one after the other. Her obstacle is her situation. It is not easy to land a Prince.

Lawrence/Prince Naveen’s objective is to marry Charlotte. Beckoning her down the staircase, inviting her to dance, those are actions in pursuit of his objective. His obstacle is unclear because Charlotte is as eager to marry him as he is to marry her. Therefore he does not have conflict with another character. He definitely does not have conflict with himself. The conflict/obstacle must therefore be with his situation, having to maintain his masquerade until he completes the marriage. At this point, however, that is a weak obstacle because Dr. Facilier has made certain that Lawrence is in 100 percent control of the Prince’s behavior. Later, when the spell begins to wear off and Lawrence’s own prominent and un-Prince-like left ear pops out, conflict with his situation becomes very theatrical.

Tiana watches Charlotte and the Prince dance. She is content, happy for her friend and has zero objectives other than the long term one of having a restaurant. So, as we first see her observing the dance, she is not playing any action and has no obstacle.

What is the objective for the two Mr. Fenner’s? If their primary objective was to get more money for the sugar factory, it would seem to me they would not be costumed like a donkey. Business is business after all, and the costume makes them buffoons. It appears that the men are most interested in Tiana’s benyes, in which case the actions would be approaching the serving table, getting out of costume to free up their hands and so on. The exchange about some stranger making a counter-offer for the sugar factory seems to be incidental. Once that is presented, it becomes a significant obstacle for Tiana.

Notice that we continue to encounter moments – occasionally long ones – that have no theatrical structure, followed by moments that have intense theatrical structure. This is a big reason the performances in the movie are overall not satisfying. Ideally, every single moment on screen would have theatrical structure.

Notice also that we are not feeling a lot of empathy for Charlotte almost half an hour into the movie. The reason for that is that the character is designed to be a ninny. If she was actually for-real attracted to the Prince, we would care more. Her dynamic is more that of a player at a Las Vegas gambling table than a woman seeking personal fulfillment and romance

The sequence in which Tiana attempts to restrain the two Fenner’s, falling against the table and getting her dress soiled, is totally contrived. Why do the Fenner brothers depart so forcefully? What is their objective? A scene is a negotiation, remember? For this sequence to have structure, there should be at least a remote possibility that Tiana will get the sugar factory. Instead, by dismissing her credibility the way they do, the stakes are reduced, making the encounter less meaningful in performance terms.

For the remainder of this DVD chapter, Charlotte’s character lacks focus. The intention was, I am sure, to show how depressed and discouraged she is about this new development involving the sugar factory. And so she mopes around, her energy drops, and we feel sorry for her. Sympathy rather than empathy. We would care more if her quest was interrupted but she remained undaunted. We are coming up on one of the most important transitional moments in the movie, when Prince Naveen appears as a talking frog. This is not as meaningful a development in this movie as it is in the original Grimm’s The Frog Prince. The reason is that the movie itself makes something of a gumbo out of the original premises in the book. This story is more about the evil Dr. Facilier and his voodoo powers than it is about a young woman’s dreams.

Chapter #7 “The Frog Prince”

This chapter contains fun, physical comedy of the Roadrunner cartoon variety. It is extraordinarily well executed by some of the most skilled animators in the industry. But I want you to look underneath the animation for a moment and consider what is happening here in terms of story and character development. How many times have we heard that “the most important thing is a good story”? Indeed it is. Story is everything. But watch carefully:

Naveen’s (Frog) presumed objective is to get a princess to kiss him so that he will be transformed back into human form. Convincing Tiana to kiss him are all actions in pursuit of that objective. His conflict/obstacle is with his situation. Would you agree with that? Okay, if that is his objective, why does he pursue it in such a foolish way, leering at Tiana and behaving as though he is at a single’s saloon? Wouldn’t you think his situation would jolt him into at least a tiny bit of seriousness? Why do you think that is not what we are seeing? Could it be because the story is taking a back seat to scene-by-scene physical humor?

And consider what Tiana’s actions in this chapter reveal about her personal values. She agrees to kiss the frog only after he informs her that he is “fabulously wealthy”. Her kiss can be bought! For money! Tiana, up to this point, has demonstrated only the healthiest and most positive character traits – hard worker, disciplined, loving. Suddenly, she is willing to compromise all of that in exchange for money to open her restaurant. I understand that she will ultimately, in a later chapter, choose love over money, but I personally have difficulty accepting the change in her behavior right now. If she can be bought so easily, wouldn’t we have seen at least a small indication of that ethical standard earlier in the story?

The chapter concludes with a zany party-gone-to-the-frogs sequence, climaxing as Naveen and Tiana are carried off into the night sky by helium balloons. The filmmakers are so eager for a laugh that the “Hey, Stella!” gag is tossed in. There is no objective or action involved, just an attempt to evoke a laugh. And then the dog starts talking. What is the point of that? The dog only speaks this single time, and it seems to me she does so in order to set the following dialogue: Tiana: “The dog is talking! The dog! He spoke to me!” Naveen: “If you are going to let every little thing bother you, it’s going to be a very long night!”

Cut to Dr. Facilier, obviously angry that his big plan is not working. Note his walk as he exits. There is a lot of purpose in it, which is good from a performance perspective. The purpose of movement is destination.

Chapter #8 “Nighttime In The Bayou”

The following exchange between Dr. Facilier and Lawrence illustrates the challenge that animation studios face when they attempt to produce a “family” movie. The theme in The Princess and the Frog is that love is more important than money. That is an adult concept, and very few children will understand the implications. To that degree, this is actually a movie for adults that has a lot of fun and silly things happening on screen so that it appeals to kids, too, even though they don’t get it. Grimm’s original The Frog Prince was a story for children.

Dr. Facilier’s objective remains to get control of Big Daddy LaBouff’s money. Having Lawrence masquerading as Prince Naveen is a key part of his diabolical plan. Unfortunately, Lawrence is an inept bumbler and, in this sequence, bumbles his way into becoming Dr. Facilier’s primary obstacle.

Dr. Facilier admonishes Lawrence for having let Naveen (as a frog) escape from the jar. Lawrence reacts by ripping the amulet off of his neck, throwing it at Dr. Facilier and quitting on the spot. Lawrence’s objective? It’s not really clear. He throws the amulet in a temper tantrum. It is an impulsive act, and Lawrence is probably not thinking beyond the range of the moment. Dr. Facilier, seeing that Lawrence is going to be a major problem if he is not careful, immediately changes tactics. He entrances the little guy like a snake charmer, dangling the prospect of high status and riches. Objective, to get the bridle back on Lawrence. “Don’t you know,” he coos into Lawrence’s ear, “the real power in the world ain’t magic? It’s MONEY!”

Cut to Naveen and Tiana in swamp. He learns she is not really a princess, and she learns he is in fact broke. Only Naveen actually lied, however. Tiana was simply dressed like a princess and was not purposely deceptive. During this exchange, neither has a strong objective other than finding out the truth.

Once they settle down, Naveen tells Tiana about his plan to marry Charlotte LaBouff, after which he will have money again. Her money. What a guy, eh? He promises that, after he marries Charlotte, he will help Tiana buy her restaurant. Tiana agrees to this charade, which exposes even more questionable ethics. She is evidently willing to let Naveen deceive her best friend in exchange for gaining access to her best friend’s family fortune. In other words, Tiana is at this moment in agreement with the villain of the movie, Dr. Facilier. She, too, is acting as though real power in the world is money.

Again, this kind of Faustian bargaining is going to go way over the heads of the children in the audience. It underlines the fact that The Princess and the Frog is thematically really a movie for adults, disguised visually as one for kids.

Chapter #9 “Meet Louis”

The first time we see Louis the crocodile, we are misled about his objective. It appears he wants to eat some frogs and is coming in for the kill. Then he suddenly turns into a jazz player. Since we have not met Louis previously, this deception was not really necessary. A crocodile is a crocodile, and crocodiles eat unsuspecting critters, and everybody knows it. He could have approached Naveen and Tiana intending to make music. It still would have worked.

Louis agrees to take Naveen and Tiana to see Mama Odie, the Voodoo Queen of the bayou, so that she can change everybody, including himself, into humans. Their journey presents an opportunity for a fun and lively production number, “When We’re Human”. Objective: find Mama Odie. Action: getting there. Obstacle: none.

Chapter #10 “Journey to Mama Odie’s”

Charlotte’s objective is to lure the person she thinks is Prince Naveen into proposing marriage; Lawrence’s objective, while disguised as Prince Naveen, is to get Charlotte to marry him so that he can get her daddy’s money. Each of them pursue the objectives with enthusiasm until Lawrence’s left ear pops out. Now Lawrence has significant conflict with his situation. Charlotte becomes befuddled, forgetting about her objective until Lawrence pops the question, which brings her back into the moment.

Do you think it would be possible for Charlotte to continuing the pursuit of her objective even after Lawrence’s ear pops out? I do. The worse looking he gets, the more difficult it is for her to remain alluring. I think that would have been funnier than having her turn once again into an air-head.

Charlotte has a new objective, namely to organize a huge Mardi Gras wedding. She exits to do that, and Dr. Facilier jumps into the scene with Lawrence. He still has the same objective, to get Big Daddy’s money. His obstacle has broadened. Now he must handle the bumbling Lawrence in addition to somehow getting the voodoo amulet recharged. Dr. Facilier decides to ask for help from “the other side”. Doing that is his new action in pursuit of his same objective. Play an action until something happens to make you play a different action. The thing that happened was the amulet losing its power.

Lawrence, now returned to his actual physical self, does not have an objective any longer.

Cut to Louis, Tiana and Naveen in swamp, presumably still heading for Mama Odie. The sequence involving the frog tongues is physical humor for the kids. Neither Tiana nor Naveen have an objective. Their tongues have taken control of everything. Silly stuff. Cute, but the movie would have survived without it. Once Tiana and Naveen are totally entangled, their predicament serves to introduce Ray the firefly.

Chapter #11 “Ray Shows the Way”

Ray’s objective as he enters is not clear. It appears he is just taking a closer look at things. After determining that Tiana and Naveen need help, his objective becomes to free them.

Here is a question for you: Suppose that Ray had entered the scene with his tail already lit up? Suppose his first line was something like, “Have no fear! Raymond is here!” and then got to work on untangling the frogs? We would have lost the comic routine of Ray trying to get his tail to light up. We did not need that anyway.

Production Number: “Going Down the Bayou”. More group hugging.

Cut to: Dr. Facilier seeking help from magic forces on “the other side”. He bargains with the magic powers, saying that he intends to kill Big Daddy LaBouff and get control of the entire town if they will help him out. The power on the other side sends forth a dozen or so ghost-shadow helpers. Dr. Facilier orders them to “Find the frog! Bring him to me alive!”

Cut to swamp: Louis, Tiana and Naveen arrive at Mama Odie’s island. The sequence with Tiana and Ray lacks structure. Neither of them have objectives. They’re just talking. It looks like the sequence was included in order to introduce the element of Ray’s love for Evangeline.

Chapter #12 “Frog Hunters”

Human frog hunters arrive. Their objective is to catch frogs so they can cook and eat their legs. Conflict is with the situation, and actions are all in pursuit of the objective. Good stuff.

What do you think Naveen’s objective is when he tells Tiana that she doesn’t have enough fun? Romance? Probably. What is Tiana’s objective when she responds that she has had to work two jobs all her life? Romance? Maybe. Probably not. She’s just talking.

Note: It has been a while since Tiana demonstrated those questionable ethics that she exposed in Chapter #8. We learned back then that she can be manipulative and opportunistic. But since Chapter #8, she has been her sweet and endearing former self. I’m not suggesting there is necessarily anything wrong with this, just pointing it out. If she is going to be manipulative, I would like to see her trying to get some mileage out of it.

One of the frog hunters catches Naveen. Naveen’s objective now becomes to escape. Ray’s objective is to rescue Naveen, which he does. Tiana is captured by a different frog hunter. Naveen’s objective is to save her. Somehow, Naveen winds up on a frog hunters head, underneath a hat. Once he is discovered, his actions become silly, only a device that allows the stupid frog hunters to destroy one another. Naveen’s action of jumping up and down on the man’s head is illogical. If anything, he would jump back in the water, yes? Physical comedy is funny when it is theatrically justified. Otherwise, what we have is a Keystone Kops style gag.

Louis revives Ray the Firefly. Objective: to save his life. Obstacle: none that I can see. Louis does not have to struggle at all to save Ray.

Chapter #13 “Learning From Each Other”

This chapter is all about falling in love. The objective for both Naveen and Tiana is romance. Flirting is an action in pursuit of an objective. There is no obstacle until Naveen confesses that he has no skills whatsoever. Then Tiana has to overcome his self doubt in order to continue pursuing romance. Naveen becomes depressed, which is almost always a dangerous acting choice. Fortunately, he snaps out of it quickly. But then we once again have no obstacle, just unfettered romancing.

Cut to Dr. Facilier’s ghost-shadows closing in on Naveen. Their objective is to capture him. Naveen’s objective is still romance. Same for Tiana. There is no obstacle until Naveen makes a move to consummate the relationship. Tiana pushes him away with, “I’ve got myself one heck of a dance partner. We’d best be pushing on.” Which we know really means: “Not yet, big boy.”

Chapter #14 “Dig a Little Deeper”

A ghost-shadow captures Naveen. Another ghost-shadow tries to grab Tiana. The ghost-shadows definitely have objectives but, since they are not human and do not have emotions, we never empathize with them. We also do not empathize with Dr. Dr. Facilier for that matter because his personality is closer to that of a sociopath than a nuanced villain.

Mama Odie rescues him by zapping his captors with voodoo magic. “Not bad for a 179-year-old blind lady,” she boasts, emerging from the bayou darkness.

Later, we are inside Mama Odie’s boathouse up in the tree, It is unclear what her objective might be. It seems like the creative team just wanted to show the audience what a fun and eccentric character she is, so they had her do some silly things. Ray cracks another crude joke when Mama Odie asks how his grandmamma is doing these days. “She got in trouble for flashing the neighbors again.” Get it? “Flashing” the neighbors? It is a joke for adults only.

Mama Odie has a big production number (“Dig a Little Deeper”) in which she tells Naveen and Tiana that there are more important things in life than just being human. Money has no true value, she asserts in song. Tiana somehow misses the point entirely, concluding that she needs to: “. . . dig a little deeper and try a little harder – to get my restaurant!”

Mama Odie finally agrees to make them human if that is what they really want. But there is one qualification. Naveen must get Charlotte to kiss him before midnight. From this point until the big kiss, Naveen, Tiana, Ray and Louis all must overcome the obstacle of a time limitation. From a theatrical structure perspective, this is a strong motivator. It sort of kicks the action into a passing gear in the third act.

Chapter #15 “A Froggy Proposal”

Louis, Naveen and Tiana sneak on-board paddle boat so that Louis can play jazz, which is his objective. Naveen and Tiana must get to Charlotte before midnight, and I guess riverboats were rapid transit in the 1920’s.

Naveen realizes his is in love with Tiana, so he has a new short term objective. To ask for her hand in marriage. Fashioning an engagement ring out of a champagne bottle top and the bead from a discarded necklace is an action in pursuit of that objective.

Notice Tiana’s exit as she goes to watch Louis play with the band. How could that exit have been made stronger? Right now, she has a reason for exiting, and she is playing actions in pursuit of that objective. Conflict/Obstacle is the missing element. Suppose the animator had considered the aspect of risk? Remember that Louis is conducting a dangerous masquerade in order to play with that band. What if he is discovered? They might want to make some shoes and a belt out of his hide. Keeping that in mind, how do you think Tiana’s exit might change? A little more urgency in her hop, perhaps? A slight shadow of concern in her facial expression? This is definitely a very small moment, but movies are comprised of small moments, as are the lives of us humans. Think about it.

The sequence with Ray and Naveen appears to have been included so that Naveen can say out loud that he will marry Tiana instead of Charlotte, and he will get a job to make money. My opinion is that the sequence was not necessary. A tried and true guideline to movies is “Show them; Don’t tell them.” With the engagement ring sequence, we saw actions that came from Naveen’s change in emotion. He is now a frog prince in love. He does not need to tell us that he wants to marry Tiana instead of Charlotte.

Naveen prepares a candle lit dinner on deck, complete with champagne and one long-stem red rose. These are more actions that are inspired by his falling in love. Emotion tends to lead to action, right?

Okay, now please stay with me closely as we go over the next sequence in which Naveen attempts to propose marriage to Tiana. It is a most important transitional sequence for the movie in terms of plot, and the Disney creative team had a challenge making the emotional truth fit the as-written plot truth. Note also that this sequence is really for adults, not for children. Little kids cannot relate to the kinds of life-choices that are being negotiated here.

Let’s start as Naveen escorts Tiana to his romantic champagne dinner. She is impressed and very touched. She reacts in a predictable and appropriate way, loving Naveen more by the second. So, without abandoning the larger objective of finding Charlotte before midnight, Tiana’s new and immediate objective is help her man complete what is obviously an important romantic ritual. Do you agree? Her attention is focused on this moment like a laser beam, and everybody in the audience – including the men – can empathize with how she feels.

Naveen fumbles the proposal in a predictable men-are-cute-when-they-try-to-be-romantic sequence. The adult men in the audience emphasize with Naveen’s distress. His objective is to propose. Her objective is to help him do it. Right? Are we on the same page so far? Good, because in the moment immediately before the actual proposal, we have a transition we must look at slowly. The Disney creative team’s job was to justify transitioning Tiana out of this super-romantic moment and back into her mercenary dream of a restaurant. There may be a woman out there in the world somewhere who would flip this way at the moment of a man’s marriage proposal, but I’ve never met her. The transition is seriously a stretch.

The way the team did it was to put that green leaf on top of Naveen’s head. Tiana, more charmed than ever (this man is FUNNY!…Our tadpoles are going to be so LUCKY!…”), plucks the leaf and tosses it behind her. Well, she does not really “toss” it so much as she “places” it. The critical transition rests on the distinction between tossing and placing. If she tosses the leaf, she will not cast her gaze in the direction of the sugar factory on the bank long enough. The animators had to give her time for the mental transition, and so they had her “place” the leaf. Play this bit slowly, frame-by-frame, and you can see what I am talking about. Notice what she does with her fingers after the gets rid of the leaf. She rubs her them together, cleaning off the leaf debris. It is the kind of absent minded gesture that we all make at times, and it keeps Tiana facing in the direction of the sugar factory in the distance. Her mind is on Naveen’s proposal, but her eyes are on the sugar factory. And then she does a classic double-take, her mind catching up with what she has seen. She instantly drops the romance scene of a lifetime and resumes lusting for the restaurant.

I can see that this is a necessary transition in terms of the story line, but it seems to me that the transition is emotionally counterfeit. It is a contrivance made by the creative team and does not, in fact, “hold the mirror up to nature” as Shakespeare would have advised.

Tiana says, “If I don’t deliver that money tomorrow, I will lose this place forever.” Now Naveen has a real dilemma. Just moments ago, he decided not to marry Charlotte because he does not love her. But now, what about the money?! Tiana needs money and, because he loves her, he must give it to her. And so Naveen changes his mind once again, determined now to marry a woman he does not love, purely in exchange for her money. Do you empathize with him at this moment? Examine your empathic reaction to Naveen. What is the dominant emotion?

Now Tiana is also torn – Which is more important her? Her restaurant or her love for Naveen? She asks the evening star to tell her the answer. At that very moment, unbeknownst to her, Naveen is once again grabbed by the spooks and whisked away into the night.

In summary: I could argue that it was a story mistake in the first place to suggest that Tiana is now, or could ever be, purely mercenary. It is out of character for such a sweet, loving and sensitive girl to have this cold-steel quality. Nonetheless, that is the creative choice that was made, probably early in production. The animators and the directors had to make it work in this marriage proposal sequence, and I think they did as well as could be expected. Most people in the audience will let the sequence play out without questioning it. You and I, however, have a different standard because we are trying to learn something about performance. In my view, this entire sequence is best considered as a kind of animation damage control, complicated by weak story development.

Cut To Labouff mansion: Charlotte is knocking on Lawrence/Prince Naveen’s door telling him to hurry up or they’ll be late for their Mardi Gras wedding. Lawrence/Prince Naveen, meanwhile, on the other side of the door, has 100 percent reverted to Lawrence. We know what her objective is, but what is his? Answer: He doesn’t really have one. He is reacting to Charlotte’s knock on the door, wanting to avoid being caught in his lie. He fears Dr. Facilier’s wrath.

Charlotte yells at daddy to “start the car!”, and exits. Inside room, we discover that Dr. Facilier is in the room with Lawrence. He needs that frog’s blood! At that moment, the shadow-ghosts deliver Naveen. Dr. Facilier grabs him and exults: “We’re back in business, boys!” Lawrence brings amulet into camera. The objective for both Lawrence and Dr. Facilier is to draw some more blood from Naveen, to re-empower the amulet.

Cut to: river boat, night. Big party, musicians coming off gang plank. Tiana worries about where Naveen might be. Ray slips up and tells her that Naveen intends to marry her and help her get her restaurant by getting a job. Tiana is overjoyed and thanks the evening star. Then the two of them run off toward town. Objective? Find Naveen.

Chapter #16 “Mardi Gras Parade”

Tiana’s monologue as she hops carefully through the Mardi Gras crowds is not necessary. Once again, “show them; don’t tell them”. She is saying things about the plot that we already know.

Tiana and Ray discover Charlotte and Lawrence/Prince Naveen exchanging vows atop a giant wedding cake float in the Mardi Gras parade. Tiana misconstrues what is happening. This is another of those awkward transitional moments for the Disney creative team. Tiana must emotionally spin on a dime, from being excited about the prospect of marrying Naveen, to the brick-wall conclusion that Prince Naveen has, in fact, married Charlotte. Does he love Charlotte? What about when Naveen told Tiana, back on the boat, that he would marry Charlotte to get her money? What happened to that? It appears that Ray was simply misinformed about Naveen’s true intentions. At least these are the thoughts spinning around in Tiana’s head.

Tiana’s dream of love is blown, her faith in the evening star crushed, she is disappointed and dejected. She believes that Naveen has betrayed her. She goes off by herself to be miserable.

Note: going off by yourself to be miserable is a very weak acting choice. What is the objective? None. The action? None. What else might the creative team done with Tiana besides having her be depressed? Follow her thought process for possible options. Having concluded that Naveen has betrayed her, what is she to do now? Go find Mama Odie again perhaps? Because of Naveen’s betrayal, she is still stuck being a frog. She can’t open a restaurant if she is a frog, can she? I think this moment would have been a bit stronger if she had passed through depression in about four seconds, and then headed off to take care of business. Remember this: A little bit of sulking and pouting and being depressed goes a very long way. Don’t hang your hat there.

Ray finds her. She disillusions Ray by telling him the evening star is not Evangaline, but a distant ball of gas. She runs away, leaving Ray alone. What is Tiana’s objective when she exits? Where is she going? It appears she is simply moving someplace else in order to continue being depressed. Weak acting choice if that is the case.

Ray, clearly distressed, decides that Tiana’s hurtful comments about Evangaline were not her honest opinions. It was just her broken heart talking. He exits. His new objective is to prove the truth to Tiana.

Cut back to wedding ceremony. “Speak now or forever hold your peace.” Dr. Facilier is preparing to kill the Big Daddy LaBouff voodoo doll as soon as he hears “I do.” Note the sadistic chuckle. There are many other options for villainy aside from sadistic chuckling, which is cliché. A simple smile of anticipation would have been better, in my opinion.

Naveen, in the locked box next to wedding couple, has the objective of stopping the wedding ceremony. Trying to escape from the box is therefore an action in pursuit of an objective, not the objective itself.

The objectives, actions and obstacles for all each character are clean and clear at this moment. Look for yourself. Pause the movie and ask the characters what they are doing. They will each have a theatrical answer.

From this point until the closing credits, I will not do much analyzing because, at this point, the action is a sprint to the finish. All the characters are pursuing strong objectives.

Ray flies up to Lawrence/Prince Naveen’s ear and asks what the heck is going on. Then he hears Naveen yelling inside the box and rescues him. Ray going through the box keyhole is precisely the reason some things can be animated and not shot live-action.

Naveen escapes from the box in the nick of time, just as preacher says, “I now pronounce you man and …” His objective is to stop the wedding. He grabs the voodoo amulet from around Lawrence’s neck, thereby toppling Lawrence off the float and onto the ground. Lawrence/Prince Naveen is furious. His new objective is to kill Naveen. He runs into a church, Naveen in hand. Going inside the church makes acting sense because Lawrence/Prince Naveen does not want any witnesses when he kills Naveen.

Dr. Facilier runs in and tells Lawrence/Prince Naveen to get back into this wedding. Naveen grabs amulet, and Lawrence/Prince Naveen turns immediately back into Lawrence. Amulet winds up around Ray’s neck. Ray runs out of church and back into parade. Dr. Facilier whistles for the spooks who come in hot pursuit of Ray.

Louis is playing trumpet in a band. Band members think he is in costume. Suddenly, they discover he is a “Real Gator!!” Louis runs after Ray, to rescue him from spooks.

Ray returns to Tiana, still depressed out by the dark church. He excitedly fills her in on the story, gives her the amulet and tells her to run. Then Ray does battle with the spooks. Dr. Facilier jumps in and swats Ray to the ground, seriously stunning him. Then he squashes Ray under his shoe, mortally wounding the firefly.

Louis discovers Ray on the ground, near death. His immediate objective is to save Ray’s life.

Tiana encounters the shadow-ghosts and Dr. Facilier. Trapped, she threatens to break amulet into a million pieces unless Dr. Facilier backs off. Objective: Remain alive and free. Conflict is with other character and also with situation.

.Dr. Facilier suddenly makes more voodoo magic, pretending to turn Tiana into a human and then showing her a fantasy of how beautiful her restaurant will be. His objective: To get his hands on that amulet. Conflict is with another character and with situation.

During the fantasy sequence in the restaurant, Tiana does not have strong objectives because she does not know what to do – whether to choose restaurant or love.

She makes the decision, tying Eudora’s motherly advice when she first saw the sugar factory. “Daddy had what was really important. He had love!” She violently throws the voodoo amulet at the ground. One of Dr. Facilier’s shadow-ghosts catches it before it breaks and hands it to Dr. Facilier.

He immediately turns Tiana back into a frog. The restaurant illusion goes away.

He pins her to the ground, and she zips out her frog tongue, which has mucous on it, and grabs the amulet.

The shadow-ghosts and other other-world creatures drag Dr. Facilier into their other world because he has failed to deliver his end of the bargain. Ding Dong, the Witch is Dead! This part of the movie is for kids. Adults have a more sophisticated understanding of villainy.

Chapter #17 “A Kiss From a Princess”

Charlotte is banging on church door. Her objective is to get Lawrence/Prince Naveen to finish getting married. Yelling at him through the wooden door is not working, and so she tries another action – she goes inside the church. The rule is that you play an action until something happens to make you play a different action, right? Charlotte now discovers that the being she thought was Prince Naveen is really his valet, Lawrence. Her first reaction is to scream, which motivates Lawrence to flee.

It is short moments before midnight and Naveen must kiss Charlotte in order to achieve his objective of changing back into human form. Naveen the frog hops up on the table, introduces himself as the “real” Prince Naveen and asks Charlotte for a kiss. An agreement is struck. Charlotte will kiss Naveen the frog in exchange for marrying him and becoming a true Princess. Naveen extracts from her a commitment that, after they are married, she will help Tiana get her restaurant. This sounds like a good deal to Charlotte, and so her objective now becomes to get the marriage thing done.

Tiana, overhearing the bargain, has yet another objective: To stop Naveen from compromising his morals on her behalf. Love – true love – is, she has decided, the highest value. Even if she and Naveen remain frogs, at least they have love.

Charlotte does what is probably the first selfless thing she has done in her life. She gives Naveen a big kiss, knowing that she will not be marrying him.

It does not work. Naveen is still a frog. The clock must have run out.

Chapter #18 “Farewell to a Friend”

Louis brings in Ray, who is near death. Ray learns that love will prevail, and all is right with the world. He passes away peacefully. Right on the sad cue, it starts to rain.

Lovely bayou ceremony ensues. Then, suddenly, it happens! A second bright star appears in the night sky! It must be Ray! Ray lives as a star!

Chapter #19 “A Bayou Wedding”

Mama Odie presides over Tiana and Naveen frog wedding. “Give your bride some sugar.” He kisses her and they magically transform into humans.

Everybody is happy. Charlotte catches bouquet.

Cut to Fenner Bros. Realty. Charlotte and Naveen – with a bit of assist from Louis - give them the coffee can money, sealing the sugar factory purchase.

Time lapse cuts show transition of sugar factory into Tiana’s restaurant. There is a very amusing production slip up in that long shot of the restaurant, by the way. Can you figure out what it is?

Give up? Look at the name of the restaurant on the side of the building. “Tiana’s Palace” it says. “Palace”, not “Place”. She has gone through all she has gone through to get the place, and some animator gets the name wrong! It is only a single shot, and there is no movement in it. Seems to me they could have simply corrected that quite easily.

Oh well. Love the final production number. It is a moment of resolution. Objectives all achieved, new objectives not yet formed. It is time for celebration.

Kung Fu Panda

DreamWorks

Codirected by John Stevenson and Mark Osborne

Download  

None of the 23 chapters on the DVD have a title.

Kung Fu Panda is an important film because it marries two cultures. Using sophisticated western animation, the story honors mainstream values of the Far East. I do not believe any other feature animated film has done this.

Aside from the cultural implications, this is, in my opinion, one of the strongest productions from DreamWorks Animation Studio. The villainous snow leopard, Tai Lung, is particularly significant for being portrayed as multi-dimensional character instead of a child-level, black and white, old-style Disney villain. This villain, like all truly great villains, is a hero in his own life and is deserving of empathy. The codirectors, in their interesting commentary, reference the internal studio debate that surrounded how “human” Tai Lung would be depicted.

The story of Kung Fu Panda is clear and compelling. Po is a very good classic hero, an ordinary person (okay, an ordinary panda) that has to overcome an extraordinary obstacle (his own self-doubt) to achieve a good and desirable objective (defeat Tai Lung and save the people). And, as I said, Tai Lung is quite a good adult villain.

The only noticeable misstep in the film is the strange creative decision to present an unjustified and unexplained father/son relationship between Po, a Giant Panda, and his “father”, Mr. Ping, a goose. Evidently, a storyboard artist tossed this into the mix one day just for a joke, and everybody thought it was funny – so it remained in the movie. In my opinion, this is an inside joke that unnecessarily compromises an otherwise top-drawer movie.

Chapter #1

Po’s fantasy dream prologue establishes approximate time, place, main character and main character’s values, all within two and a half minutes. You can’t be much more efficient than that.

Chapter #2

Po is uncoordinated and overweight, nothing at all like his fantasy of himself that we just watched. The animators could have had Po get up from the floor like most of us would, but they cleverly chose to highlight his physical limitations with that futile fish-flop body kick that only results in shaking his bedroom floor.

We are briefly introduced to the Furious Five, but they do not yet display individuality. This is Po’s fantasy, after all, not the reality of the Furious Five.

Note Po’s living/working environment. The acting lesson is that your audience will presume that 100 percent of what is on screen means something. For example, there is nothing on display to suggest that there is a family beyond Po and the goose he refers to as his “dad”, Mr. Ping.

We learn right away that Po is careful not to hurt his father’s feelings, and also that Mr. Ping is rather high strung. What kind of accent is it that Mr. Ping has, anyway? I have never heard that one before.

Chapter #3

Master Shifu (a Red Panda) is a fun teacher, pretending to be distracted in order to test his star pupils, the Furious Five – Tigress, Monkey, Crane, Viper and Mantis.

Note Master Shifu’s rather complex facial expression when Master Oogway summons him. Fearful? Intimidated? Both? This is our first hint about the nature of their relationship.

Emotion is an automatic value response. Master Shifu’s extreme reaction to Master Oogway’s vision predicting Tai Lung’s return is enlightening. Earlier in this chapter, he remained unruffled even as all five warriors of the Furious Five attacked him. Yet the mention of Tai Lung evokes strong fear.

Master Oogway is approaching the end of his life, and my impression is that his objective is to put his house in order. All of his actions in the story have a kind of finality to them. Dying peacefully is a provable, if unusual, objective.

Chapter #4

Po’s physical reaction upon learning that Master Oogway will today select a new Dragon Warrior is interesting. It is the reaction of a 5-year-old child who is given a trip to Disneyland. This raises the question of exactly how old Po is. I’m guessing he is in his teens. Looking back at his behavior during the first eight minutes of the film, what is your guess?

What is Po’s objective when he lies to his father about a plan to sell noodles at the Dragon Warrior ceremonies? What sort of reaction is he seeking from Mr. Ping? Does he achieve that objective? This is the second time in eight minutes that Po has willfully told Mr. Ping a lie. Thinking back on it, how often did you lie to your parents when you were growing up? Po’s willingness to deceive Mr. Ping is an important character trait.

Chapter #5

In this chapter, we have an excellent example of playing various actions in pursuit of the same objective. Po’s conflict is with his situation. He makes attempt after attempt to get inside the Palace grounds.

Note: When Po is placing fireworks under the chair, he has to pull his pants up over his big, overweight Panda butt. Comedy is about man’s limitations

Po admits to Mr. Ping that he prefers kung fu to working in the noodle shop. Mr. Ping’s reaction appears to be subdued surprise, but he does not get angry with his son for lying to him. The moment would have justified a close-up on Mr. Ping, I think, so that we could see all of the conflicting emotions.

After Po is named the new Dragon Warrior, Master Shifu has a new objective: getting Po to “quit by morning”. Major conflict with his situation.

Chapter #6

Chorh-Gom MOUNTAIN PRISON, Mongolia. I love Zeng the delivery goose at the top of the chapter. He has a clear objective and action, and the frigid weather is his conflict. If you want to make a moment comedic, make it work dramatically and then raise the stakes.

In terms of performance, Commander Vachir lacks conflict. He is a functional but one-dimensional character. The acting lesson is that a scene is a negotiation, and in any negotiation there must be a way you can win and a way you can lose. Commander Vachir is not factoring in the possibility that he might indeed have to increase security. The fix for this would be a bit more clarity about the personal relationship between Commander Vachir and Master Shifu, who outranks him.

Chapter #7

Note Master Shifu’s extremely subtle facial reaction after Po breaks the Legendary Urn of Whispering Warriors. Look how minimal the actual physical movement is. Very nice performance.

Master Shifu’s objective is to make Po’s training so difficult that he will give up trying to be Dragon Warrior. Po’s objective, now that he has experienced the treasures in the Sacred Hall of Warriors, is to fulfill his Dragon Warrior destiny, as proclaimed by Master Oogway.

Chapter #8

This is a fun action sequence in which Po does his inadequate best to look like a kung fu warrior. His shortcomings are put into comedic stark relief in comparison to the skills and dexterity of the Furious Five. As a story telling device, I think this is an effective chapter because we can presume that, one way or the other, Po will prevail by the end of the story. The work-out in this gymnasium makes it appear that he faces a totally impossible challenge.

Chapter #9

The movie does not really need the opening sequence because we already know that the Furious Five do not respect Po. Also, during their walk home, there is no conflict, which is a necessary element of theatrical structure. My impression is that the scene was included for purely expository reasons. The big acting lesson is that, even in an expository sequence, you want to structure action, objective, obstacle.

Cut to Po sneaking into the house, trying to avoid being seen by the Furious Five because he heard the insulting things they said about him. When he accidentally comes face to face with Crane, Po’s objective is to be accepted as part of the gang. And once again, notice how childlike Po becomes when he is excited about something. It is all physical.

The scene with Master Oogway at the Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom contains some interesting status transactions. Po is surprisingly unintimidated by Master Oogway and talks to him like an equal, a buddy. Compare the status transaction in this scene to how he behaved with Crane and Master Tigress moments ago.

Chapter #10

Fun action sequence. Tai Lung escapes.

Note: The Director’s Commentary is useful here. There was evidently an internal studio debate about how much “humanity” to give Tai Lung. The directors insisted that he be “a hero in his own story”, which is exactly correct. This is why Tai Lung is an extremely strong villain, and it is a big reason why Kung Fu Panda is one of DreamWorks Animation’s strongest releases. Remember, a villain does not think he is a villain, especially when there will be adults in your audience.

Chapter #11

Master Shifu does not seem to empathize with Po until the final act of the film. It seems to me that a little bit of empathy would have helped. I am thinking of the way a parent disciplines her child. She empathizes but does the “right thing” anyway. From Master Shifu’s perspective, everybody will be better off if Po steps aside.

Chapter #12

Mantis and Viper are now empathizing with Po and actively trying to help him.

Master Tigress enters. What is her objective? Why does she tell Po her personal story? It is not clear to me, but this appears to be an indication that she, too, is developing empathy for Po.

Chapter #13

This is a major transition in the story, the passing of the baton from Master Oogway to Master Shifu. From this point forward, Master Shifu’s objective is to help Po fulfill his destiny and defeat Tai Lung. He has conflict with the situation in that Po is woefully under-prepared.

The construction of this three-minute sequence works nicely, one action leading organically to the next. Master Shifu’s initial objective is to enlist Master Oogway’s assistance in stopping Tai Lung. Instead of offering assistance, Master Oogway engages Master Shifu in a debate about whether or not there are “accidents” in life. Having won his point, Master Oogway then dies peacefully, leaving Master Shifu with the responsibility of making all the decisions. Master Shifu’s emotional changes are huge – (1) I need your help; (2) Please don’t make me work with Po! (3) This philosophical argument does not help anything. (4) Don’t die! Wait! (5) I alone will have to lead.

Note: This scene is an adrenaline moment for Master Shifu. He will never forget the night that Master Oogway died, under the peach tree and a perfect starry night sky.

Chapter #14 PO PREPARES DINNER.

Until Master Shifu arrives with word that Master Oogway has died, this scene is a charming bit of fun. Po’s objective is to be accepted as an equal by the Furious Five. His action is to cook for them and entertain them. The only possible obstacle I can see is that Master Tigress is still resolved to be the Dragon Warrior herself.

Note Po’s marvelous reaction after being told that, with a noodle moustache, he looks a lot like Master Shifu. I count four distinct thoughts in two seconds. Lovely performance animation.

The pieces of the story are rearranged on the chessboard as we move toward the conclusion. Master Oogway is dead, Tai Lung is on his way here and only Po can defeat him.

There is some very nice performance outside, in the scene between Master Shifu and Po. This is the first time they have intently listened to one another.

Master Tigress, meanwhile, is becoming an obstacle because she intends to defeat Tai Lung herself. She is determined to prove that she is entitled to be called Dragon Warrior.

Chapter #15

Master Shifu connects the dots, discovering the key that will turn Po into a hero.

Acting has almost nothing to do with words. There are almost 30 seconds of total silence as Master Shifu takes in the scene in the kitchen and draws conclusions about Po’s values. Po, his mouth full of almond cookies, realizes that he has exposed a personal vulnerability. Words are not necessary.

Using the promise of food as a lure, Master Shifu puts Po through a grueling physical exercise regimen.

Chapter #16

Po officially becomes kung fu warrior, lovely nonverbal action sequence. Stage actors are taught to “act on expectancy”, a principle that is being put to very effective use here. Master Shifu invites Po to “eat”, and so Po expects that he will be allowed to eat. He acts accordingly, moving to take a bite of food, only to have Master Shifu grab it away at the last instant. New expectancy: Master Shifu is trying to trick me. Master Shifu reassures him that he is free to eat, and the cycle is repeated until Po finally grasps that the choice to eat is his own, not Master Shifu’s. I love the underlying give-and-take between the characters in this sequence. Note also that Po successfully catapults himself into a standing position. This is the same move he tried unsuccessfully in the opening chapter and is visual proof of his transformation into a warrior.

Chapter #17

The Furious Five, led by Master Tigress, do great battle with Tai Lung. The most significant acting lesson is how extreme the fight is. This is an adrenaline moment, not simply a battle.

Chapter #18

I cannot see a purpose for this scene other than to place Master Shifu and Po outside so that the beaten and demoralized Furious Five can collapse at their feet. If the directors had been thinking in terms of action, objective, obstacle, they would have come up with a reason for Master Shifu and Po to be outside, rather than coincidentally placing them there. Use coincidence very sparingly in story telling because it is almost like counterfeit currency, and your audience will feel cheated.

Chapter #19

A little bit of depression goes a very long way. Po has essentially given up in the scene with his father.

The storyteller is having a little too much fun teasing the audience about Mr. Ping and Po’s actual relationship. The stage is set for a revelatory moment, but then it does not happen.

Chapter #20

This is an important scene for Tai Lung. Study it carefully. He has spent 20 years obsessing on Master Shifu’s perceived betrayal. All of that pent-up emotion – anger, hurt – leads to the physical eruption and climatic battle between the two men. It is a primal battle, a father vs. son thing, and I applaud the animators for taking us to the deepest emotional level. This is where we see and empathize with Tai Lung’s pain. It explains much about how the villain functions in the story. Excellent performance.

Chapter #21

Po fulfills his destiny and defeats Tai Lung.

Chapter #22

Very little conflict in this chapter, but that is okay because the story is essentially told. We are trimming the edges now. The Furious Five bow to the new Dragon Warrior.

Ponyo

Studio Ghibli

Distributed in the US by Disney Studios

Directed and written by Hayao Miyazaki

Download  

Inspired by the Hans Christian Anderson story The Little Mermaid, Hayao Miyazaki has made a movie that blends the real world with fantasy, the present with the past and humans with sea surf. History will rank Ponyo among Miyazaki’s minor works, but Shakespeare had his Titus Andronicus. Any movie from Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli is immediately a noteworthy event in the world of animation. Disney also produced a movie inspired by the same tale, which was named, fittingly enough, The Little Mermaid. That is all that the two films have in common, however and, in many ways, illustrates the different economies and cultures each was made for. Miyazaki, now 70-plus years of age, makes a movie when the spirit moves him, unlike the Hollywood studios that are sure to have a spring and fall release, ready or not. Hollywood is a production line that makes “franchises”. Hayo Miyazaki makes movies that are meaningful to him personally. In that respect, he is most like Walt Disney and, also like Walt, he may regrettably the last of his kind.

Synopsis: Ponyo (birth name: Brunhilde) is a goldfish who longs to be human. Her father, Fujimoto, the Wizard of the Sea, is appalled by this desire because he hates humans so much. The humans pollute the sea and environment, and he does not want his daughter to join their ranks. Ponyo is the story of the young girls tumultuous journey that ends with her wish being granted. She even receives the reluctant blessings of her father.

If you look at the same story from a different perspective, it is about a 5-year-old boy named Sosuke who one day rescues a goldfish that has washed up on the shore near his home. The fish turns into a young girl whom he names Ponyo. He has no way of knowing that his new friend has knocked the balance of nature off course, causing typhoons, the reappearance of ancient sea critters and the wrath of her father, Fujimoto, the Wizard of the Sea. Her mother, Gran Mamare, is the Goddess of the Sea, and it is she who arranges a final test of love and the story’s resolution.

Chapter-by-chapter analysis

Chapter #1 “Prelude/Ocean Wonderland”

Miyazaki immediately places the story in a magical world, establishing the parameters for the audience’s suspension of disbelief. At first, we do not know what Fujimoto is doing, but it doesn’t matter. Whatever it is definitely involves action, objective and obstacle. An audience does not need to understand the context for a character’s actions, especially early in a story. It does, however, matter whether the actions are theatrically valid – i.e. action, objective, obstacle. If Fujimoto was simply sitting on the bow of his boat day dreaming, it would not be satisfying to the audience. We can see that he is very busy with the various elixir vases, and we observe that when he adds their contents to the sea, lovely things happen in terms of color. It is obvious that he has an agenda of some kind, and it is enough for now that we in the audience simply make a mental note of it. Clarification will follow in due time. Also, his costume is really different, considering that we are under the sea. Doesn’t he get wet?

Ponyo is a little fish with a human face, further evidence that this is not to be taken literally. On her entrance, we see that she is afraid of Fujimoto for some reason. What is she afraid of?

Chapter #2 “The Beginning” (Credits run over song)

We have a status transaction when Ponyo reaches the surface. She is overwhelmed and intimidated by humans and their world, feeling even smaller than the goldfish that she already is. Remember this introductory dynamic when she later is running with abandon on top of the waves.

Chapter #3 “Ponyo Gets Caught”

We are seeing the world through Ponyo’s eyes. You and I may be accustomed to seeing tossed off garbage, but Ponyo is making no value judgments yet. Everything, including the garbage and the dredging net, are amazing to her.

The small cut on Sosuke’s hand could use a little more emphasis. The fact that Ponyo tastes human blood is a major factor in how the story evolves. Unless you are paying close attention, you might miss the moment when she licks Sosuke’s hand.

Sosuke fills a pail with tap water and puts Ponyo in it. Tap water? She is a salt water fish, right? Oh well, Miyazaki already told us that reality has no place in this story.

“Lisa, the goldfish is alive!” Lisa? This 5-year-old boy calls his mother by her first name.

Chapter #4 “Late for School”

In a movie, whether live action or animation, it is always better to show than to tell. Because the moment when Ponyo licked the blood from Sosuke’s hand passed so quickly, it is necessary to now have him deliver dialogue that tells us what we already should have seen. What I am saying is that Sosuke’s report to this mother about his cut hand could have been left out if the event itself had been made clearer. The less dialogue there is in a movie, the better. Stage plays are about talking; movies are about moving.

Why does Ponyo so aggressively grab the ham? That is more like a dog than a fish. Magic world or not, her behavior here is jarring and seems out of place. Miyazaki being Miyazaki, I figure he had a reason that I do not yet see. It makes sense that she would be hungry, but she has never seen ham before, right? Very unusual creative choice that will hopefully be made clear later.

Lisa’s driving appears to be reckless and dangerous, but it is actually character development. Later, in chapter #4, she is going to be extremely angry when she learns that her husband is not going to be home as scheduled. If she is careful and controlled in her behavior up to the point of that emotional explosion, then the explosion itself will seem to come out of left field. Also, we are seeing the world mainly from the vantage point of a 5-year-old child. I don’t know about you, but I remember being frightened when I thought my parents were driving too fast.

Notice that Fujimoto must dodge garbage in the water as he rushes to keep up with Lisa’s driving.

Note eye contact between Sosuke and Ponyo when he hides her under the bushes. She trusts him. It is a moment of empathy. The goldfish is becoming more human already.

Inside the entrance to Sosuke’s pre-school, notice that each individual character “lives” in terms of actions and objectives.

Minor note: After all the people exit the school entrance, Sosuke just stands there, hesitating. What is his objective? What is he “doing”? Remember, a character should be “doing” something 100 percent of the time. Perhaps his objective is to return to Ponyo? Maybe Miyazaki has Sosuke establish his presence in school before he returns to Ponyo? It is not clear. It might be stronger if he was removing his shoes like the other kids did when Kumiko rushes in. But then, if he intends to go back to Ponyo, he would not want to remove his shoes.

Ponyo appears briefly to be dead in the bucket. That is probably because she is swimming in fresh water instead of the salt water she is used to. There may be an error in the English translation of this DVD when Sosuke says to Ponyo: “Let’s get you some more water.” “. . . fresh water” would have been more accurate.

Chapter #5 “Ponyo Talks”

Let’s take a look at the sequence in which Ponyo speaks. Sosuke does not at first believe his ears. But then quickly accepts this development, no further question. This tells us that the intended audience for the movie is very young. An adult mind would demand justification.

Chapter #6 “Return to the Sea”

When Lisa rescues Sosuke from the sea, his cry is like that of an infant, not a 5-year-old.

Note Sosuke’s eyes during the car ride home. He is depressed. We are more willing to stick with him emotionally during depression than we would be with an adult. Children wear their emotions on their sleeves.

Lisa is still a terrible driver, almost getting them killed regularly.

Note Lisa’s extraordinary over-reaction to the news that her husband will not come home tonight. That is a significant reaction, considering that Lisa is the wife of a seaman. Surely, he has been delayed on other occasions. It would seem that his unpredictable scheduling comes with the marital territory. But her reaction is what it is, and the fact of it tells us a lot about tensions in their marriage.

Lisa opens a beer to calm herself down. That is alcoholic behavior, but Miyazaki does not pursue that possibility any further in this movie.

Sosuke sends light signals to his father on the ship. He is a messenger between his impulsive, angry mother and his over-extended father. Children often are caught in the middle of dysfunctional families.

Sosuke comforts Lisa, stroking her head in a paternal way. The child is parenting the parent – which also might help explain why Sosuke calls his mom by her first name.

Just as quickly as she flew into anger, Lisa switches from pissed off spouse to playful mother. New objective: cheer up her son. We humans are often inconsistent like that. Miyazaki is a keen observer of human behavior.

Chapter #7 Transformation

Side Note: Why does Ponyo only yell when she talks? Maybe that is the way a Japanese child sounds, but to my western ear, it sounds like yelling.

Fujimoto’s hatred of humans runs deep. From an acting perspective, it would have to be like that in order to justify his extreme behavior and willingness to create havoc with the ocean

Miyazaki has Fujimoto declare, “I was once, long ago, a human myself.”, and then it is never explained. I don’t know why he included the reference to being human if he was not going to pursue it.

When Ponyo starts willing herself into human form, Fujimoto remembers that she tasted human blood, and he says this: “The DNA contamination activated a congenital inferior factor!” This kind of dialogue is not appropriate for an audience of kids between 5 and 10 years old. They won’t have a clue what it means. I would be curious to know if the English translation is accurate. It is hard to believe that Miyazaki would make such an error.

Note Fujimoto’s emotional reaction when he thinks about seeing his wife, Gran Mamare, again.

In the ship’s vault, Fujimoto delivers a long monologue, speaking his thoughts aloud. In Shakespeare’s plays, there are such moments, when a character begins talking when nobody else is on stage. People in real life do not talk out loud to themselves for very long. Shakespeare’s soliloquies were delivered directly to the audience, almost like the audience was itself a character in the play. Miyazaki’s theatrical evolution probably came from Japanese puppetry and not from Shakespeare or ancient Greeks. It is obvious that he really does not know what to do with a long expository speech that is delivered by one character when no others are around, although there is a single shot of Fujimoto looking directly into the camera. The solution is to either give the character somebody to talk to, or find some other way, via character action, to convey the same information. Mainly, I want to draw your attention to a monologue situation because you likely will have to animate one at some time.

Sisters are the same everywhere, and Ponyo’s sisters mischievously release her from their father’s spell. Immediately upon being freed, she re-grows the funny chicken feet and hands. Look at how thrilled she is, how delighted to have the new appendages. And it is all expressed nonverbally.

Miyazaki uses coincidence to get Ponyo into Fujimoto’s secret vault. She is carried there by the ocean current and coincidentally opens the vault because she is clinging to its handle for safety. The acting note here is really a story structure note: If there is any way at all that you can avoid using coincidence to turn a plot point, then do so. Coincidence, with apologies to Miyazaki San, are cheap story currency.

Once inside the vault, her chicken limbs transform into human limbs, to her further delight. But again, this is all due to coincidence. I wish it were happening some other way, frankly.

Ponyo’s transformation into human form causes an imbalance in nature, and we have a tsunami. Notice that the violence of the storm does not seem to bother her a bit. Indeed, she delights in it as she skips atop the giant waves.

Chapter #8 “Ponyo’s Typhoon”

Sosuke takes short cut to nursing home from school as storm worsens.

Note: His rain poncho gets caught on the fence. That kind of detail is what really makes character animation appear solid.

Old women in a nursing home are sitting in their wheelchairs, vegetating. Sosuke enlivens them. Miyazaki is setting up a secondary story line here, in which the old ladies will be transformed by a child’s (Ponyo) innocence and determination. Take special note of Toki, the crotchety, cynical one. She will later play an important part in the story’s resolution.

During the frightening ride home, we have my personal favorite sequence in the movie. Ponyo runs barefoot and joyously on top of the ocean waves. Her objective is to catch up with Sosuke in the car, and the action is running. The conflict is with the angry sea. The emotion conveyed in her running is almost tangible, even in a still frame. I would like to have that in a frame on my office wall. Each of us empathizes with how Ponyo must feel, and yet few of us ever directly experience it.

Chapter #9 “Almost Home”

Let’s examine the sequence in which Ponyo jumps into Sosuke’s arms. Look at her face as she runs toward him. Nothing on earth can stop this girl. She is like a human bullet, and she hits Sosuke with such force it almost knocks him over. Ask yourself if you, as an animator, would have chosen such a powerful emotion. As Hayao Miyazaki presents it, this is an adrenaline moment for all three characters – Ponyo, Sosuke and Lisa. None of them will ever forget the day she walked out of the crashing surf and leapt into his arms.

Chapter #10 “It’s Ham!”

Ponyo possesses magic powers but, at the same time, is a typical 5-year-old child. It is fascinating to see her be so strong while simultaneously being fascinated by what hot water does to dry noodles

Later, Lisa leaves Sosuke in charge of Ponyo and the house while she drives to the senior center to check on the old ladies. This is movie reality. No mother in her right mind would leave two 5-year-old children alone at a time like this. But, notice your own emotional reaction to this development. Are you worried for the children’s safety? No. And, why not? Because neither of the kids are concerned, and your inner sense of story is telling you that Sosuke and Ponyo will survive in the end. Only in the movies.

Chapter #11 “The Moon’s Gravity”

The big event in this chapter is the introduction of Gran Mamare, Ponyo’s mother and the most loving and powerful force in the sea. The interesting aspect of this character is that she does not evoke much empathy. She expresses little emotion and is not really human, after all. We humans only empathize with other humans. Yet, even minus empathy, we are always happy to see her arrive. She reminds me of half a dozen Greek goddesses, all rolled into one. Note how Sosuke’s dad, Koichi, reacts – first, terror at the approaching wave and then – a religious vision. He sees “The Goddess of Mercy”. When humans come face to face with their own mortality, they tend to consider the Big Questions. It does not really matter whether Koicki actually saw the “Goddess of Mercy”. The important thing is that, underneath his scientific and engineering mind, there remains a part of him that is open to the mystery of life.

Chapter #12 “Lady of the Sea”

Fujimoto’s face is interesting because he is so angry – angry at humans, angry at Ponyo, angry with himself. He probably has not slept peacefully for centuries, which is why he has those black circles permanently lining his eyes.

The sequence between Fujimoto and Gran Marmare is a negotiation. Fujimoto’s objective is to convince Gran Mamare to return Ponyo to her home and to help restore balance to nature. Gran Mamare is in favor of allowing Ponyo to remain human. The most interesting part of this negotiation is that Gran Mamare holds all the cards. Fujimoto can only try to persuade her to act. If she refuses, there is nothing he can do about it. Both of them surely know this, which means that they are actually negotiating with their respective situations, not with one another. It is an interesting transaction from an acting perspective. (And while we have the two of them in a scene together, I wonder how the little goldfish children were conceived. More magic, perhaps?)

Chapter #13 “Water at Our Door”

We do not know how much time has passed at top of this chapter. The water line of the ocean has risen to Sosuke’s doorstep and rests there peacefully. The fish in the water are prehistoric, long extinct. Miyazaki will intermix reality, fantasy and dreams from this point until the end of the story, and time will be a fluid thing. The past is connected to the future.

Ponyo magically turns Sosuke’s toy boat into real one. Their shared objective becomes finding Lisa.

One note before we leave this chapter. A lot of the language is far too sophisticated for 5-year-old children to understand. Like Sosuke’s observation about the fish in the sea: “Those are ancient fish. They lived during the Devonian Age”. The children know that the fish have names like Bothriocephalus, Dipnorhynchus and Devonynchus. This kind of knowledge is virtually impossible for a 5-year-old kid in real life, so this contributes to that feeling of mysticism that hangs so strongly on the sequences.

Chapter #14 “A Magical Ship”

The sequence in which Ponyo offers soup and sandwich to the crying baby is interesting, and is evidence that Miyazaki intends for young children to see the movie. The mother in the scene explains to Ponyo how she makes milk for her baby, and so she will eat the soup and sandwich. Adults, we hope, already understand this process. Miyazaki is talking to children. This kind of thing is a major difference between the kind of “family” movie Miyazaki makes versus the kind that is generally made in Hollywood. I seriously doubt that any of the big animation studios in the US. would have included an explanation about how mothers make milk for their babies.

Chapter #15 “From Sea to Land”

The adult boat captain gives a sharp military salute to Sosuke, who is wearing his dad’s uniform hat. I like it that the animator did not choose to have the adult smile in a condescending fashion. A salute between good men. Aye, aye, sir!

When Ponyo falls asleep, the acting note is that she tries in vain to remain awake. She does not simply lie down and go to sleep.

Chapter #16 “Where is Mom?”

Minor quibble. Sosuke tells Ponyo he has “found Lisa’s car”. It would be more powerful if he saw the car and said, “There’s Lisa!”, or something like that. By saying he found Lisa’s car, he is telegraphing that Lisa will not be in it. If he thought he was running into his mother’s arms, there would have been more emotion in his run – and greater disappointment when he discovers she is not in the car. You always want to make acting choices that get you into the most trouble. Ride your character’s wave of emotion, even if it is not logical. Over the years of teaching acting, I am always intrigued by the actor’s tendency to make his character more logical than the actor himself is in real life. Although Aristotle taught that contradictions do not in fact exist, human behavior is often an enigma within a puzzle. The note I am giving you here is that Sosuke’s line, “I found Lisa’s car” is logical, not emotional. That is indeed Lisa’s car. But the point of empathy is his emotional response at seeing the car, and his response is not “Car!”, it is “Mama!” Act with your heart and you will always win.

As they set out to find Lisa, note that they holding hands for the first time in the movie. The way they are holding hands suggests a nudge toward maturity.

Chapter #17 “Underwater Paradise”

Want to make a friendly wager? I will bet you an ice cream cone that you did not notice the absence of one nursing home lady – Toki. She was the cynical and dour one we met back in Chapter #8. Miyazaki played a trick on us by adding four anonymous elderly ladies to this sequence. Yoshie and Noriko are here, but Miyazaki did not want us to notice that Toki is not. I admire how he did this because it demonstrates that he keeps one eye trained continually on what the audience is perceiving and how it is reacting.

Chapter #18 “Sosuke’s Test”

The dark tunnel is foreboding. All that is missing are some big ugly rats running around. Sosuke must have courage to enter. The moment is reminiscent of some sequences in “Spirited Away” in which Chihiro finds her courage.

There is another indication of growing maturity when Sosuke races Ponyo back to the water as she reverts to being a goldfish. He took action and saved her life, and we empathize with him. Humans act to survive.

And here’s Toki! What a neat and unexpected plot twist it is to have such a minor character play such a pivotal role in the story!

Ponyo wakes up from all the activity and immediately defies her father, spitting water in his face. Another indication of a child finding her own powerful center.

Chapter #19 “Balance Restored”

Sosuke passes the love test. The balance of nature is restored. Note the total transformation that Toki has taken. She hugs Sosuke with extreme joy and energy. Cynicism is all gone.

The handshake between Sosuke and Fujimoto surprised me. How about you?

And, finally, Koichi (Sosuke’s dad) comes back home. I guess there will be stories to tell around the dinner table tonight, especially about how it is that he now has a new child living there.

Music swells . . .  End credits.

Up

Pixar Animation Studio

Distributed by Disney Studios

Codirected by Pete Docter and Bob Peterson

Download  

Despite being an Academy Award winner (2010 Best Animated Feature) Pixar’s Up is unsatisfying in the story department. It is Exhibit A for excellence in computer animation, of course. Pixar literally wrote the book on CG movies, and there is brilliance in every cell. There are parts of the movie – the Carl/Ellie montage in the beginning and Carl’s transformation in the end – that are sublime, moving and shamanistic. My focus in this book, however, is performance animation, and the truth is that performance cannot be isolated from story and intended audience, and this movie is trying to be too many things for too many people.

There really are two, possibly three, different movies blended together in Up. There is the story of a 78-year-old widower named Carl Fredricksen and his adventures with Russell, a fatherless 8-year-old Wilderness Explorer (this one includes the balloons and the house); and there is the movie about Charles Muntz, the dashing and celebrated world explorer, whose sudden very public fall from grace sets him on a mission to redeem himself. The third possibility is a movie strictly for the kiddies, about how dogs and birds in a remote South American rain forest came to possess human intelligence, dexterity and language skills.

In order to make this all fit into a single movie, the co-writers and codirectors often force unmotivated action upon the characters. In the chapter-by-chapter analysis, we will look at some of these instances. The talking dog story requires a different kind of performance because it is for children, but the other two stories are for adults. The most significant problem, however, is that the storyteller is violating the implied contract which asks for the audience’s willing suspension of disbelief. That general topic is discussed earlier in this book, and it would be worth your while to review that section before we look at the film. When you are ready, load up the DVD, have a seat, and let’s get started.

Synopsis: Carl Fredriksen, a 78-year-old widower, chooses one last great adventure over the prospect of going to live in a nursing home. He ingeniously floats his house aloft by rigging thousands of helium-filled balloons to it. Once en route to his destination, Paradise Falls in South America, Carl discovers that he has a stowaway, 8-year-old Wilderness Explorer named Russell.

During the long journey, the two house-passengers encounter many obstacles, from hurricane force winds to a sociopath explorer to talking dogs. In the end, the trip is successful and a strong father/son bond has formed between Carl and Russell. The villain is vanquished, the talking dogs become friendly pets, and Pixar wins another Academy Award.

Chapter #1 “Newsreel”

MOVIETOWN NEWS

Make a mental note of a couple of story details in this introductory sequence. Just file them away in the back of your mind, and we will revisit them later.

• The story apparently is set in an orderly world. The newsreel announcer refers to “a lost world in South America” where there are “animals undiscovered by science”, but we definitely are in a world that makes sense, one that obeys the laws of physics and answers to the principles of evolution.
• Carl is a young boy and Muntz is an adult. There is at least a 20-year difference in their ages.

At the conclusion of the newsreel, Muntz’s objective is to capture “the monster of Paradise Falls” alive so that he can redeem his reputation. He departs for South America, which is an action in pursuit of his objective. And he has conflict with his situation because important scientists are accusing him of fraud.

Chapter #2 Meet Ellie

Significantly, Carl’s first meeting with Ellie is strongly empathetic which, in turns causes us to empathize with both characters. They share a significant value (emotion is an automatic value response), namely hero-worship for Charles Muntz. Carl is so impressed with Ellie that he is speechless for the rest of this entire chapter.

Chapter #3 “Married Life”

This four-and-a-half minute montage is probably why Up won the Academy Award. Let’s examine why it works the way it does.

• It is a shamanistic story within a story, and it is told for adults. The shaman is speaking to the tribe about the fragility of life and the transient moment. He is telling us to squeeze every drop out of every experience because life is a temporary thing. Do not wait until tomorrow to follow your heart because, by then, it may be too late. At the conclusion of the sequence, even though we are probably crying, we want to go out and hug somebody we love. This is artistic expression at its best.
• Because the montage is comprised of remembered moments from their life together, it is inherently a series of adrenaline moments. The marriage ceremony, the first house, the day they spontaneously put their palm prints on the mailbox are all events each of them will remember when they are old. Even the quiet moments are significant and memorable: finding shapes in the clouds on a summer day, the mutual decision to have a baby and the shared moment of grief when they learn that this will be impossible. You would have to have ice water running through your veins not to empathize with Carl and Ellie.
• There is no dialogue in the montage. If there ever was a proof that acting has almost nothing to do with words, this is it.
• Humans act to survive, each in his or her way. Watching Carl and Ellie go through life brings us in touch with our own life story.

Chapter #4 “Carl Alone”

Carl’s life has become ritual. There are evidently no more adrenaline moments for him. One of the most touching details in this portrait is that, even though he has nowhere to go, he still wakes up at 6am every day, putting on a fresh shirt, coat and tie before coming downstairs for breakfast. No dialogue is necessary. We empathize with Carl’s sadness.

Chapter #5 “Construction Zone”

Let’s consider something called “dramatic license” or “artistic license”. In real life, most people do not talk out loud when they are alone. Maybe a mumble here and an expletive there, but language – like laughter – is a social thing. It is not a solitary activity. Yet, Carl is still talking to Ellie in full sentences, even though she is gone. We in the audience accept that behavior, allowing the storyteller to take “dramatic license” in order to better tell his story.

Chapter #6 “Russell”

The front door exchange between Russell and Carl is executed brilliantly on a technical level, but there is a problem with the performances. The director has his thumb a little too heavily on the scales. The characters are doing things that don’t quite fit with their impulses. For instance, what is Carl’s motivation for opening the front door a second time, after he has already told Russell that he does not need any help? Why does he stand there listening at the door for Russell’s departing footsteps? He told the boy he wasn’t interested and then he closed the door. That should be the end of it. The impulse and logic suggests that, with the boy thus dispatched, Carl should return to his chair and television program he was staring at when Russell’s initial knock interrupted him. It seems to me that, rather than Carl remaining there and listening, Russell should knock on the door a second time, again interrupting Carl’s attempt to stare at the TV. And then, more exasperated that the first time, Carl should return to the door and open it. That would justify Russell’s next move, which is to very aggressively put his foot in the doorway. Blocking the door like that is, as presented, out of character for Russell. The foot-in-the-door thing is an old salesman’s gag, nothing that Russell would do. Therefore, there ought to be a foreshadowing of it. The acting lesson is that you should always listen to your character rather than dictating to him. Respect your character’s individuality and intelligence.

Chapter #7 “Carl’s Mistake”

Emotion is an automatic value response. Carl’s overreaction to the mailbox damage tells us how much he misses Ellie.

After the court appearance at which Carl is deemed to be a public menace, we see him appear to be rather aimless and depressed. Take a close look at the sequence, however, and it is clear that he is very busy mentally, trying to figure what his next step should be. Acting-wise, ambivalence is very difficult to play. The mental process should not be “I don’t know what to do.” Rather, it should be a process of choosing a course of action and then changing your mind; then choosing another course of action and changing your mind. Why, for example, does Carl take the suitcase down from the closet shelf? It must be because he is planning to do something with it, probably to pack for the nursing home. Coming across Ellie’s old scrapbook leads him in another direction. He connects the mental dots when he sees the painting of the house atop the pinnacle of Paradise Valley. Animate the thought! Never let your character be caught not thinking.

Chapter #8 “Carl Goes Up”

If you look closely at the opening seconds of this chapter, you will see that the mailbox is missing from its usual place on the front gate. That is a lovely directorial touch. Perhaps I am just missing it, but I have looked for that mailbox inside the house later, and I don’t see it. If it is not in there, then the director missed an opportunity to tug a bit more on the audience’s heartstrings.

Earlier, in the Chapter #2 shamanistic montage, there was a foreshadowing of the major event in this chapter, when the house is lifted into the sky. Remember when Carl was working at the zoo, selling balloons? There was a brief moment when the balloons lifted his cart off the ground, and he caught it. Again, we are taking dramatic license. It is unlikely that the children’s helium balloons would have lifted a heavy cart like that, and it is close to impossible that thousands of them would lift the house in this scene. It doesn’t matter. We play along. The foreshadowing was a clever way of subliminally putting into our heads the notion that the balloons can lift things.

As the house sails out of the city, people on the ground react to it. Let’s look at two of them. The little girl who sees it rising past her picture window expresses her delight physically, and the reaction rings true. But watch the red-headed young man who first catches a glimpse of the house in a store window reflection and then takes a couple of steps to his right so he can watch the house floating in the sky. His reaction does not ring true. He is accepting the fact of a balloon-hoisted house too readily, too easily. You and I accept it because we are in the audience, but that fellow is theoretically in the moment with the event. For him it is not a stage fantasy. Imagine how you would react if you saw such a thing near where you live. His reaction looks like, “Oh, gee, a floating house! I haven’t seen one of those in a month or two.” In fact, the sight of a balloon-floating house is probably going to be an adrenaline moment. He’ll be telling his great grandchildren about this day, and it calls for a bigger reaction.

Chapter #9 ”Interrupted”

I’m going to fast-forward to the moment when Russell summons Carl over to the window to see how the house is on a collision course with city skyscrapers. Logically, Carl would rush to the steering mechanism in order to avoid hitting a building. You agree with that? The natural reaction would be a headlong effort to avoid disaster. But look at what happens instead. The narrative stops altogether while we watch an expensive and totally unnecessary fantasy sequence in which Carl sends Russell falling to his death. I really do wonder how much money Pixar spent on that. Keep this in mind for the future: If there is any possibility that something can be cut from your script without ruining the story, then cut it. You want to have all the information needed for the story, but not an ounce extra. Anyway, city line disappears somehow, and dark storm clouds close in. The storytellers have cooked up a coincidental event in order to move the story to a new location, Paradise Falls. Relying on coincidence is a weak device (see Story, Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting, by Robert McKee, pp 356–359, HarperCollins, 1997). If they had no other way to accomplish the move than a terrible storm, then the menacing storm should have been in evidence when Carl first looked out the window and sees the impending collision with skyscrapers.

Chapter #10 ”Storm”

The acting and animation in the storm sequence is lovely and solid. The problem is that, story-wise, the audience is supposed to accept that (1) 8-year-old, all-thumbs Russell piloted the house all the way to Paradise Falls by himself, relying only on his Wilderness Scout pocket GPS, and (2) Carl was out cold for the entire trip.

Chapter #11 ”Where Are We”

It is the actor’s job to justify whatever the script demands that he do. In this case, Carl got hit on the head during the storm, hard enough to essentially put him in a coma. The given circumstance is that he has been unconscious for the entire transcontinental balloon flight. So, ask yourself what Carl’s impulse would be upon gaining consciousness. You are right! He would check himself to see how badly he is injured and orient himself inside the house. He would test his mobility. Only after doing those things would he cross to the window. Once again, somebody was not listening to the character.

Chapter #12 “Stuck”

Pixar sets the gold standard when it comes to action sequences, and this one is outstanding. The performances make sense and are well calibrated for the urgency of the moment. The objective for both Carl and Russell is to survive, and they have conflict with their situation.

Chapter #13 “The Journey Begins”

Carl continues to have out-loud conversations with Ellie. Wouldn’t you think that these talks should be private? Carl would not want Russell to overhear. Talking to Ellie in this fashion is part of Carl’s grieving process. In order to make the sharing work, they would have had to include an earlier sequence in which Russell learns about Ellie. In fact, that might have worked nicely because, rather than teasing Carl about talking to Ellie in Chapter #15, Russell would empathize with the old man.

Chapter #14 “Hunting Dogs”

Mean looking dogs chase Kevin the bird. What do you think about the camera switching back and forth between the bird’s point-of-view (POV) and the audience’s third-person perspective? Unless I have overlooked it, this is the only place in the movie in which we see action from Kevin’s POV.

Chapter #15 “Kevin”

Russell’s sudden and out-of-the-blue impulse to eat a chocolate bar doesn’t make sense. At that moment, his mind would be 100 percent on the bird’s footprints, not on eating chocolate. In order to justify eating a chocolate bar at this point, it should have been established earlier in the movie that he is a chocolate lover. Indeed, that may be part of the reason he is overweight. As it is, the chocolate bar is a forced bit of coincidental business. And for what it’s worth, in the real world chocolate is poison for birds. Look it up.

Let’s talk about Kevin for a minute because this character is going to play a significant role in the resolution of the story. How intelligent is she exactly? Crows and ravens and African Grey Parrots are just about as smart as birds get in the real world. So maybe Kevin is more like Big Bird on Sesame Street, a character with roughly the intelligence of a 5-year-old human. For now, let us leave the question unanswered and take Kevin at face value. She’s a large, colorful, playful – even mischievous – chocolate loving distant relative of the Struthio camelus (ostrich).

Russell finally overhears Carl talking to Ellie and, as children will do, treats it like a fun game. Ellie’s death is not funny to Carl. The more I look at how the talking-with-Ellie thing is handled, the more I don’t like it. Russell poking fun at Carl for talking with Ellie is very insensitive, in the same category as putting his foot in the doorway when they first met.

Chapter #16 “Dug”

Carl and Russell meet Dug, the talking dog, and we are officially in Never-Never land in terms of acting theory. The storyteller is violating the implied contract that exists with an audience concerning the parameters for its “willing suspension of disbelief”. Now would be a very good time to review the section of this book that deals with the subject. I’ll pause the DVD and wait until you get back. Take your time. The willing suspension of disbelief is a critical element of storytelling.

Many animators and audience members believe that, if a movie is animated, then anything goes in terms of character development. It is true that the audience will play along with amazing character behavior in animation, but the storyteller must tell the audience up front what the rules of the game are. We are approximately forty minutes into Up, and we have had no indication that this is a story involving cross-species integration. We have not been prepared for talking dogs with magic collars. Their existence is being justified by placing them in Paradise Valley, a place that is “lost in time.” It does not work. These dogs are contemporary breeds and, anyway, they lack the physical equipment that would make human vocalization possible. Is Dug’s voice being broadcast from the collar? How, then, does the collar access Dug’s thoughts? The collar reads a dog’s mind?

As the old expression goes, “If it walks like a duck and swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it is a duck.” Not in this movie. Dug looks like a dog, chases squirrels like a dog and occasionally barks like a dog. But he is not a dog.

Chapter #17 “Talking Dogs”

More talking dogs are introduced. We learn that the collars are also two-way radios so that the dogs can talk to one another.

It is almost impossible to analyze the performance of these dogs because their existence makes no sense at all. If we play the DVD with the sound turned off, they appear to move and behave exactly like dogs. As such, they would be incapable of abstract thought, delayed gratification and long-range planning. You must be very careful about how you intermingle animals with humans in a story. If the animals are anthropomorphic, as in The Lion King or Lady and the Tramp, then we accept that they talk to one another in human ways. But the moment you put animals and humans in the same story, endowing the animals with human intelligence, you are on very perilous creative turf. If we close our eyes and only listen to the dialogue in this DVD, we would conclude that the characters are human. In other words, what we perceive with our eyes is in conflict with what we are perceiving with our ears.

Because human sense of sight is many times more powerful than our sense of hearing, what we see will tend to override what we hear. That is precisely the problem with these dog characters. Clearly, they are dogs, and dogs cannot do the human things these dogs are doing.

Chapter #18 “Ditch ‘Em”

Carl’s objective is to reach the Falls. His obstacle is the increasingly bizarre entourage he must drag along with him.

Dug likes to play the game of fetch, just like most dogs. He must be a dog, therefore. No, he’s a human. No, a dog. Human. Dog.

Chapter #19 “Campfire”

Carl and Russell are developing a deeper and more meaningful relationship as they talk quietly around the campfire.

Acting-wise, the strongest point in this sequence is when they stop talking and sit silently, not even looking at one another, and try to digest all the new information they have exchanged. That silence is what Miyazaki refers to as “ma”.

Chapter #20 “Hunters Come to Camp”

The growling and barking pack of dogs is as threatening as one would expect a pack of wild dogs to be. Their behavior is totally guard dog–like, and we are appropriately empathizing with Carl and Russell’s emotion of fear. Then all bets are off. Not only does Alpha, thedoberman, begin speaking English in full sentences, he sounds like a Chihuahua. As I have pointed out several times, the talking dogs were a terrible idea from the start. The movie did not prepare the audience for the arrival of talking dogs, let alone dogs that fly airplanes and work with Global Positioning devices.

To further confuse the matter, Alpha, the leader doberman with the squeaky voice alternately behaves like a dog and like a human. When he is chasing balls, he’s a dog. When he’s chasing Carl, he’s a human. The dog’s objective is to capture Kevin, the female bird. He is in conflict with another character, namely Dug the dog. Now, Dug also talks, but his mental process is, for the most part, dog-like.

Chapter #21 “Muntz”

Muntz makes his entrance by calling off the angry pack of dogs, which is presently behaving like an angry pack of dogs rather than humans. But the cup-of-sugar joke flips on their “human” switch. Shared laughter is a kind of social behavior that is peculiar only to humans.

Remember the age difference between Muntz and Carl in Chapter #1? It has mysteriously vanished. Now they appear to be about the same age. In the language of filmmaking, this is a “continuity error”. I suppose they could have justified it along the grounds that Paradise Valley is also something of a Fountain of Youth. But they didn’t. It stands as a grievous continuity error.

Chapter #22 “Dinner”

Note: It is widely accepted in screenplay writing that character development should happen on screen where the audience can see it. Muntz goes through a dramatic evolution between Chapter #1 and Chapter #21. It is just a guess, but I will bet that the creative team thinks that the on-screen development guideline does not apply to feature animated films. That would be arguably incorrect.

Carl’s objective is also unclear until the end of the dinner scene, at which time his clear objective is to escape with Russell.

The transition point is when Russell innocently tells Muntz about Kevin. In terms of theatrical transaction, Muntz immediately realizes that he has conflict with another character, namely Carl. The nonverbal exchange that passes between them is excellent performance. We see their thoughts.

Chapter #23 “Pursuit”

Big chase scene, very well executed. Unfortunately, however, Kevin suddenly becomes as intelligent as Carl and Russell, jumping from the roof of the house to help them escape. This requires abstract thought that Kevin has not demonstrated up to this point.

Chapter #24 “Stuff I Remember Most”

As Carl and Russell take the injured Kevin to her babies, they have another heart-to-heart talk. Their objective is to take Kevin home, and their action is to pull the floating house in that direction. Obstacle/Conflict is with situation.

Chapter #25 “Muntz Takes Kevin”

Like it says in the title of the chapter, Muntz takes Kevin. Muntz also sets fire to Carl and Ellie’s house. Muntz is a crazy and dangerous person. In acting terms, this chapter is one more chase scene.

Chapter #26 “Paradise Falls”

Carl achieves objective of reaching Paradise Falls with the house. In the process, however, he has alienated Russell.

Let’s consider the moment when Russell angrily throws his merit badge sash into the dust at Carl’s feet. What do you figure that is all about? Hint: action, objective, obstacle. Russell wants Carl to change his mind and go save Kevin. His action is to throw down the sash, but it is not just a moment of anger. That sash is his highest value, and what he is saying is that, if Carl does not value Kevin, then he values nothing that Russell holds dear, including his merit badge sash. When children “act out”, they are really negotiating for something. Their obstacle is that they have no power in relationships with adults. Russell has conflict with his situation much more than conflict with Carl because Carl is an adult and can do whatever he wants. Do you remember in Spirited Away, when Chihiro was sulking on the back seat of the family car, near the beginning of the movie? Same thing: a negotiation.

Chapter #27 “Message From Ellie”

Let’s talk about empathy once more. How did you feel when:

1. Russell threw his merit badge sash at Carl’s feet?
2. Carl, sitting once again in his favorite chair, opens Ellie’s Adventure Book?
3. Carl slowly browses the pages in the Adventure Book?
4. Carl discovers the wedding portrait?
5. Carl discovers Ellie’s personal message?
6. Carl crosses his heart?

I personally began with sadness that “I” (via empathy) had hurt Russell.

I got sadder as “I” sat in “my” favorite chair.

I teared up at the wedding portrait.

My sadness – sense of empathetic loss – peaked with Ellie’s handwritten message.

I began regaining emotional control with the heart-crossing.

Chapter #28 “Cleaning House”

This is a very good example of emotion leading to action, for both characters. Russell’s anger at Carl motivates him to go aloft on a bunch of balloons. His objective is to find and rescue Kevin. Carl’s emotion when he sees Russell rising into the sky is fear, which gives way to anger at Muntz. That is what motivates him to toss weight out of the house. Suddenly, Carl’s highest value is clear.

Chapter #29 “Rescue Russell”

How do the dogs manage to tie Russell to the chair? Wouldn’t they need fingers for that? The storyteller has evidently given up even trying to justify developments. It is animation, and the dogs tied him up. Take it or leave it.

Muntz, as it turns out, is a straightforward sociopath. He is incapable of empathy. Tossing Russell out of the blimp means no more to him that putting out the garbage. This is probably an indication that the storyteller is just about to kill off Muntz, and he doesn’t want the audience to feel bad about that.

Why does Carl put on Russell’s merit badge sash? There is no motivation for that, even though it looks dynamic.

Chapter #30 “Rescue Kevin”

When a ball is tossed, the dogs switch 100 percent back into dog mode. It doesn’t work for me.

Chapter #31 “Old Man Fight”

Comedy has to do with man’s limitations. Carl and Muntz are gladiators in their minds, but infirmities accompany old age.

Chapter #32 “Dog Fight”

This is the same joke as “Ball!” – except this time it is “Squirrel!” And it makes just as much sense.

Chapter #33 “Atop the Dirigible”

This action sequence is a beauty. One disastrous moment emerges logically from the previous disastrous moment.

“Kevin! Chocolate!” is the same joke as “Ball!” and “Squirrel!”

Note: There is a well-known principle in comedy known as The Rule of Threes. It means that things happening in threes is funnier than any other number. Three Little Pigs, Three Blind Mice, The Three Stooges, The Three Bears are examples. Ideally, there is a build-up of tension in the first two times a joke is told, and you should put a twist of some kind on the third time you tell it, so that there is a satisfying climax.

Chapter #34 “Back Home”

Everybody lives happily ever after. No real surprises. Music up. Roll credits.

Post-game wrap-up: I believe that Pixar had a classic film here – one that people will be watching with pleasure 50 years from now – but they missed the target. This director is also the one responsible for Monsters, Inc. which is a classic. But back then, Pixar was not part of Disney. It could be that they were focused on the merchandising that the Disney parent company insists on, talking stuffed dogs and all that.

In fairness, I have spoken to at least a dozen friends who absolutely love Up. They love the talking dogs, and they love the montages, and they say all of that is okay “because it is animation, Ed”. On the other hand, when I first wrote about Up in my monthly Acting for Animators newsletter (it’s free, send me an e-mail: edhooks@edhooks.com, or http://www.actingforanimators.com), I received e-mails from all around the world from people in the industry who agree with me. It is difficult to tell the Emperor that he has no clothes.

The Princess and the Frog (second analysis)

Disney Animation Studio

Codirected by John Musker and Ron Clements

Download  

This 2009 movie was Disney Animation’s big-budget (US$105 million) return to the studio’s 2D roots. It is also the first Disney feature animation that was overseen by John Lasseter, whose services were purchased along with his studio, Pixar. It was evidently Lasseter’s idea to make the movie with traditional animation instead of CG.

The Princess and the Frog is not the actual story of Grimm’s fairy tale The Frog Prince, but a twist on it. It is Exhibit-A for what can happen when a Hollywood studio tries to make a “family” movie these days. The Frog Prince was a story for kids. The Princess and the Frog is not.

The story meanders around in an aimless way until the action moves into the swamp, approximately Chapter #10. By that point, most members in the audience have given up on it, which is why the movie has earned lackluster grosses at the box office

My personal concern is that the studio will once again blame 2D for the movie’s failure. 2D is not the problem now any more than it was the last time Disney put its 2D department in mothballs. We can point to a number of more likely culprits, not least of which is too many chefs in the kitchen. The Hollywood studios find it fashionable now to let the entire team contribute to story. Story-telling is not a group activity unless it is during an improvisation game in an acting class.

Chapter #1 “There’s Magic in the Air Tonight”

This is a very weak opening scene because it is 100 percent “feel good” and lacks theatrical structure. Neither Eudora nor the girls fit the action, objective, obstacle form. You should always try to expose the necessary background information through dramatic action.

The trolley ride home establishes that Charlotte’s family is rich and Tiana’s family is not. There still is no dramatic action.

Chapter #2 “James’ Dream”

More “feel good” exposition with no theatrical structure. The idea is to show that Tiana is a natural born cook. The sequence has an overabundance of the warm-and-fuzzies. No objectives and no obstacles. Life is swell.

After the neighbors enjoy the gumbo, mom and dad put Tiana to bed. Dad tells her about his dream of one day opening a restaurant. Note that this is not an objective. It would be an objective if he was actually pursuing it, which he evidently is not. It’s just a dream, a fantasy. The purpose of the scene is to put the idea of a restaurant in Tiana’s head because, as the action moves into the next DVD chapter, opening a restaurant becomes her personal long-term objective.

Tiana’s interaction with the frog on her windowsill doesn’t go anywhere in terms of story. No objectives, no actions. It is all about setting up Tiana’s scream, which leads to the actual start of this story of the princess and the frog. From my perspective as an acting teacher, the first six minutes of this movie are an expensive waste. It does not matter that it is prologue. The opening scenes in The Iron Giant are a prologue, too, but they have dramatic structure.

SUPER ON-SCREEN “WALT DISNEY PICTURES”

At last, an objective! Tiana wants to sleep. Her action is to physically get into bed. Her obstacle is fatigue.

Before going to bed, she deposits the tip money from her night job in the coffee can. Now we know that she is saving for something. The real estate advertisement next to the coffee can connects the dots for us. She’s saving to open a restaurant. Notice military photo of her father. I looked up that medal he is wearing, and it appears that it was awarded for valor in WWII.

By the end of this opening sequence, we know a lot about Tiana. She is a disciplined and hardworking young woman who is very adult emotionally. One of the hallmarks of an adult is that she is able to delay satisfaction. An adult, in other words, can plan long range. We will later learn that her friend Charlotte is, in comparison, very childish. This is, I think, an excellent opening. It would have been ideal if the opening scene of the movie had this kind of tension.

Chapter #3 “A Prince in New Orleans”

Alarm clock goes off, interrupting sleep. New objective: go to day job. Changing clothes and heading out are actions. Fatigue is still the obstacle. However, the fatigue disappears as soon as the musical production number begins and, after that, her only obstacle is that she has to navigate happy, dancing musician people en route to her job.

At the diner, Tiana demonstrates her waitress skills. No obstacles, no serious objectives. She seems able to handle everything the cook throws at her, all with excellent good humor and aplomb.

Dr. Facilier makes his first appearance, every inch the typical Disney villain. We know by looking at him that he is 100 percent bad guy with no redeeming qualities. Note that Dr. Facilier’s shadow seems to have a mind of its own, functioning independently. It is well drawn and visually interesting, but it really makes no sense and doesn’t add anything to the character. The director’s narration on the DVD indicates that the idea originated with one of the animators.

In this story, voodoo actually works. It’s not just an oddball religion or superstition. Dr. Facilier can magically grow hair on the bald fellow’s head for example.

Why does Dr. Facilier react to Big Daddy Labouff stopping to buy a newspaper? Unclear.

Prince Naveen steps off boat, tosses off his royal garb and dives immediately into the on-going street party. No objective, no obstacle. His valet/servant, Lawrence, has theatrical structure, though, carrying too many suitcases down the gangplank, tripping and falling on his face. Prince Naveen is in New Orleans to find a bride, but we would never know it. He appears to be strictly a shallow party animal.

Big Daddy LaBouff picks up Charlotte, at the mansion. What is her objective? What is Big Daddy’s objective? Unclear. The purpose of the sequence seems to be to establish that Charlotte is a bit of an air-head and intends to marry Prince Naveen.

Tiana’s friends and co-workers tease her for dreaming of her own restaurant. In terms of acting, the entire sequence is weak. The friends share an objective of having a great time at Mardi Gras. Obstacle? None really. They’ll have fun whether Tiana parties with them or not. The chef’s objective? Doesn’t have one. He is simply being obnoxious.

Big Daddy LaBouff comes into diner to eat some of Tiana’s delicious benye pastries. His obstacle is his daughter, Charlotte, who enters and quickly demonstrates that she is practically insane and uncontrollable with excitement about Prince Naveen. She is a manipulative, spoiled, over-the-top young woman whose general strategy is stamping her foot to get what she wants in life. She is, in my view, a totally unappealing character, non-empathetic and annoying until her final scenes in the movie.

Let’s take a time out and consider what has been accomplished during the first twelve minutes of the movie.

1. Tiana is the only appealing character in the cast.
2. It is painfully obvious that the codirectors do not understand the importance of theatrical structure in scenes. This is something that is best dealt with during script development, not actual production.
3. We have a typical old-school Disney villain in Dr. Facilier, which would be okay if the movie was targeting an audience of kids. But it isn’t.
4. The musical production numbers, so far at least, do not advance the plot. They are stand-alone extravaganzas, interludes.
5. New Orleans is lovely, a picture post card with no graffiti or litter.
6. Disney has spent a heck of a lot of money.

Chapter #4 “Almost There”

The real estate agents, the Fenner brothers, are stock characters with no depth. They seem happy to be rid of the building, and there is no apparent obstacle.

The scene between Eudora and Tiana would have worked better if Tiana cried and then her mother comforted her with the line, “I know. I miss him, too.” and a hug. In terms to acting structure, they got it backward. If Tiana was crying initially, then Eudora’s objective would be to cheer her up. The way it is presented, Eudora doesn’t have an objective.

The production number inside the sugar factory is excellent. However, Tiana’s promise to fulfill her daddy’s dream is weak scripting. This is not a moment for altruism. This will be Tiana’s restaurant and she is working very hard to get it. That is an essential theme in this movie, in fact, that success can be had through hard work and vision. Eudora’s admonishment that James had what was important, “he had love” is a banal thing to say. The only reason for that line is to foreshadow Tiana’s reference to it during her final battle with Dr. Facilier.

At one point, Lawrence reminds Prince Naveen that he has two choices: “Woo and marry a rich lady or . . . get a job.” This is a surprising bit of advice because a man who woos and marries a rich lady – presumably without making love a consideration – is a gigolo, a person of questionable morality. Prince Naveen’s resistance to getting a job is also an unattractive quality for a man his age. In short, the movie has now established its romantic lead as a jerk. This will not evoke in the audience a sense of empathy, and it is a big mistake.

Chapter #5 “Dr. Facilier’s Voodoo Emporium”

During this musical number, neither Prince Naveen nor Lawrence has an objective. The entire sequence belongs to Dr. Facilier, whose objective is to get his hands on Big Daddy LaBouff’s money. Given the importance of the scene – Dr. Facilier turns Prince Naveen into a frog and Lawrence into a fake prince – it is surprising that there is so much reliance on the song’s lyrics to advance the plot.

Chapter #6 “The Masquerade Ball”

Charlotte emotes like a child, throwing a temper tantrum, wiping sweat from her underarms, sulking, crying and so on. Perhaps, by making her so unappealing, they figure Prince Naveen’s ultimate marriage to Tiana will make more sense. Charlotte is never a serious option for him.

When Prince Naveen (actually, Lawrence, the valet in voodoo disguise) arrives, Charlotte begins strongly playing actions in pursuit of her objective. The primps, assumes the kind of southern girlish dynamic she believes the Prince will like, even puts a fake Marilyn Monroe beauty mark on her right cheek. All of those are actions, one after the other. Her obstacle is her situation, it is not easy to land a Prince.

Lawrence/Prince Naveen’s objective is to marry Charlotte. The conflict/obstacle must be with his situation, having to maintain his masquerade until he completes the marriage.

Tiana watches Charlotte and the Prince dance. She is content, happy for her friend and has zero objectives other than the long term one of having a restaurant. So, as we first see her observing the dance, she is not playing any action and has no obstacle.

And what about the two Mr. Fenner’s? If their primary objective is to get more money for the sugar factory, it would seem to me they would not be costumed like a donkey. Business is business after all, and the costume makes them buffoons. The exchange about some stranger making a counter-offer for the sugar factory seems to be incidental.

The sequence in which Tiana attempts to restrain the two Fenner’s, falling against the table and getting her dress soiled, is contrived. For this sequence to have structure, there should be at least a remote possibility that Tiana will get the sugar factory. Instead, by dismissing her credibility the way they do, the stakes are reduced, making the encounter less meaningful in performance terms.

We are coming up on one of the most important transitional moments in the movie, when Prince Naveen appears as a talking frog. This is not as meaningful a development in this movie as it is in the original Grimm’s The Frog Prince. The reason is that the movie itself makes something of a gumbo out of the original premises in the book. This story is more about the evil Dr. Facilier and his voodoo powers than it is about a young woman’s dreams.

Chapter #7 “The Frog Prince”

This chapter is extraordinarily well executed by some of the most skilled animators in the industry. But I want you to look underneath the animation for a moment and consider what is happening here in terms of story and character development.

Naveen’s (Frog) presumed objective is to convince a princess to kiss him so that he will be transformed back into human form. His conflict/obstacle is with his situation. So why does he pursue it in such a foolish way, leering at Tiana and behaving as though he is at a single’s saloon?

And consider what Tiana’s actions in this chapter reveal about her personal values. She agrees to kiss the frog only after he informs her that he is “fabulously wealthy”. Her kiss can be bought! For money! Tiana, up to this point, has demonstrated only the healthiest and most positive character traits – hard worker, disciplined, loving. Suddenly, she is willing to compromise all of that in exchange for money to open her restaurant. I understand that she will ultimately, in a later chapter, choose love over money, but I personally have difficulty accepting the change in her behavior right now. If she can be bought so easily, wouldn’t we have seen at least a small indication of that ethical lapse earlier in the story?

The dog starts talking. What is the point of that? The dog has only a single line, and it seems to me she does so only in order to set up the following dialogue: Tiana: “The dog is talking! The dog! He spoke to me!” Naveen: “If you are going to let every little thing bother you, it’s going to be a very long night!” Talking dog!

Note Dr. Facilier’s walk as he exits. There is a lot of purpose in it, which is good from a performance perspective. The purpose of movement is destination.

Chapter #8 “Nighttime in the Bayou”

The theme in The Princess and the Frog is that love is more important than money. That is an adult concept, and very few children will understand the implications.

Dr. Facilier’s objective remains to get control of Big Daddy LaBouff’s money. Having Lawrence masquerading as Prince Naveen is a key part of his diabolical plan. Unfortunately, Lawrence is an inept bumbler and, in this sequence, bumbles his way into becoming Dr. Facilier’s primary obstacle.

Lawrence is growing weary of Dr. Facilier’s verbal abuse, and so he quits on the spot. What is Lawrence’s objective? Remember, an objective should be provable. It’s not really clear. He throws the amulet in a childish temper tantrum, and he is not thinking beyond the range of the moment.

Dr. Facilier, ever manipulative, changes his strategy with Lawrence, working the little guy like a snake charmer, dangling the prospect of high status and riches. Objective, to get the bridle back on Lawrence.

Cut to Naveen and Tiana in swamp. During this exchange, neither has a strong objective other than finding out the truth about one another.

Once they settle down, Naveen tells Tiana about his plan to marry Charlotte LaBouff, after which he will have money again. Her money. What a guy, eh? He promises that, after he marries Charlotte, he will help Tiana buy her restaurant. Tiana agrees to this charade, which exposes even more of her questionable ethics. Why is the story allowing her to go down this ethically questionable path? She is evidently willing to let Naveen deceive her best friend in exchange for gaining access to her best friend’s family fortune. In other words, Tiana is at this moment in agreement with the villain of the movie, Dr. Facilier.

This kind of Faustian bargaining is going to go way over the heads of the kiddies in the audience. It underlines the fact that The Princess and the Frog is thematically really a movie for adults, disguised visually as one for kids. Walt is turning over in his grave.

Chapter #9 “Meet Louis”

The first time we see Louis the crocodile, we are misled about his objective. It appears he wants to eat some frogs and is coming in for the kill. Then he suddenly turns into a jazz player. Since we have not met Louis previously, this deception was not really necessary. A crocodile is a crocodile, and crocodiles eat unsuspecting critters, and everybody knows it. He could have approached Naveen and Tiana intending to make music. It still would have worked.

Louis agrees to take Naveen and Tiana to see Mama Odie, the Voodoo Queen of the bayou, so that she can change everybody, including himself, into humans. Their journey presents an opportunity for a fun and lively production number, “When We’re Human”. Objective: find Mama Odie. Action: getting there. Obstacle: none.

Chapter #10 “Journey To Mama Odie’s”

Charlotte’s objective is to lure the person she thinks is Prince Naveen into proposing marriage; Lawrence’s objective, while disguised as Prince Naveen, is to get Charlotte to marry him so that he can get her daddy’s money. Each of them pursue the objectives with enthusiasm until Lawrence’s left ear pops out. This scene is well structured and fun.

Do you think it would be possible for Charlotte to continue the pursuit of her objective even after Lawrence’s ear pops out? I do. The worse looking he gets, the more difficult it is for her to remain alluring. I think that would have been funnier than having her turn once again into an airhead.

Charlotte has a new objective, namely to organize a huge Mardi Gras wedding. Dr. Facilier still has the same objective, to get Big Daddy’s money. His obstacle has broadened. Now he must handle the bumbling Lawrence in addition to somehow getting the voodoo amulet recharged.

Lawrence, now returns to his real physical self and does not have an objective any longer.

Back in the swamp, we get some frog tongue comedy for the kids in the audience. Once Tiana and Naveen are humorously entangled, their predicament serves to introduce Ray the firefly.

Chapter #11 “Ray Shows The Way”

Here is a question for you: Suppose that Ray had entered the scene with his tail already lit up? Suppose his first line was something like, “Have no fear! Raymond is here!” and then got to work on untangling the frogs? We would have lost the comic routine of Ray trying to get his tail to light up. Did we really need that?

Fun Production Number: “Going Down the Bayou.” More group hugging.

Cut to: Dr. Facilier bargaining with the magic powers on “the other side”. Now he intends to murder Big Daddy. Unnecessary development, I say.

Cut to swamp. The sequence with Tiana and Ray lacks structure. Neither of them have objectives. They’re just talking. It looks like the sequence was included in order to introduce the element of Ray’s love for Evangeline.

Chapter #12 “Frog Hunters”

Human frog hunters arrive. Their objective is to catch frogs so they can cook and eat their legs. Conflict is with the situation, and actions are all in pursuit of the objective. Good stuff.

What do you think Naveen’s objective is when he tells Tiana that she doesn’t have enough fun? Romance? Probably. What is Tiana’s objective when she responds that she has had to work two jobs all her life? Romance? Maybe. Probably not. She’s just talking.

Note: It has been a while since Tiana demonstrated those questionable ethics that she exposed in Chapter #8. We learned back then that she can be manipulative and opportunistic. She has been sweet and endearing lately.

The sequence with the frog hunters is something of a French farce, with nobody knowing what anybody else is doing. Some of the actions are illogical, but that is part of the fun.

Chapter #13 “Learning From Each Other”

This chapter is all about courtship and appeals to adults. Naveen becomes depressed at one point, which is almost always a dangerous acting choice. Fortunately, he snaps out of it quickly.

Naveen makes a move to consummate the relationship. Tiana pushes him away with, “I’ve got myself one heck of a dance partner. We’d best be pushing on.” Which we know really means: “Not yet, big boy.” More material for adults.

Chapter #14 “Dig a Little Deeper”

We do not empathize with the ghost shadows because they are not human. We also do not empathize with Dr. Facilier for that matter because his personality is closer to that of a sociopath than a nuanced villain.

Mama Odie rescues him by zapping his captors with voodoo magic. “Not bad for a 179-year-old blind lady,” she boasts, emerging from the bayou darkness.

Let’s talk about Mama Odie for a minute. As presented, she is a stock character, brilliantly animated, a good fit for the voice she is given. From the moment she first appears until the end of the film, however, I am wishing for more depth. She is, after all, a “real” person, not actually 179 years old, and she would be fully aware of the effect she has on people. I want to see her eyes. Mama Odie is a sort of ethical center for the story, assigning value to what it means to be human. She is wise, but her wisdom is revealed only in song and dance numbers.

Later, we are inside Mama Odie’s boathouse, Ray cracks another crude joke when Mama Odie asks how his grandmamma is doing these days. “She got in trouble for flashing the neighbors again.” Get it? “Flashing the neighbors? “Walt would not like that either.

Mama Odie has a big production number (“Dig a Little Deeper”) in which she tells Naveen and Tiana that there are more important things in life than money. Tiana is suddenly – and uncharacteristically – dimwitted and misses the point entirely, concluding that she needs to: “. . . dig a little deeper and try a little harder – to get my restaurant!”

Mama Odie finally agrees to make them human if Naveen gets Charlotte to kiss him before midnight. From this point until the big kiss, Naveen, Tiana, Ray and Louis all must overcome the obstacle of a time limitation. From a theatrical structure perspective, this is a strong motivator. It propels the action into a passing gear in the third act.

Chapter #15 “A Froggy Proposal”

Louis wants to play jazz. Naveen and Tiana must get a kiss from Charlotte before midnight. I guess riverboats were rapid transit in the 1920’s.

Naveen is going to ask for Tiana’s hand in marriage, and his loving anxiety is handled extremely well. Anybody who has ever proposed marriage – or even thought about proposing marriage – can empathize. A proposal is inherently one of life’s big negotiations, an adrenaline moment.

Notice Tiana’s exit as she goes to watch Louis play with the band. How could that exit have been made stronger? Suppose the animator had considered the aspect of risk? Remember that Louis is conducting a dangerous masquerade in order to play with that band. What if he is discovered? They might want to make some shoes and a belt out of his hide. Keeping that in mind, how do you think Tiana’s exit might change? A little more urgency in her hop, perhaps? A slight shadow of concern in her facial expression? This is definitely a very small moment, but movies are comprised of small moments, as are the lives of us humans.

The sequence with Ray and Naveen is not necessary. A tried and true guideline to movies is “Show them; Don’t tell them.” With the engagement ring sequence, we saw actions that came from Naveen’s change in emotion. He is now a frog prince in love. He does not need to tell us that he wants to marry Tiana instead of Charlotte. He needs to do it.

Naveen prepares a candle lit dinner on deck, complete with champagne and one long-stem red rose. Emotion tends to lead to action, right?

Okay, now please stay with me closely as we go over the next sequence in which Naveen attempts to propose marriage to Tiana. Let’s start as Naveen escorts Tiana to his romantic champagne dinner. She is impressed and very touched. She reacts in a predictable and appropriate way, loving Naveen more every passing second. So, without abandoning the larger objective of finding Charlotte before midnight, Tiana’s new and immediate objective is help her man go through with the romantic ritual of proposing marriage. Her attention is focused on this moment like a laser beam, and everybody in the audience – especially the men – can empathize with the awkwardness.

Naveen fumbles the proposal in a predictable men-are-cute-when-they-try-to-be-romantic sequence. Now, in the moment immediately before the actual proposal, we have a transition we must look at slowly. The Disney creative team’s job was to justify transitioning Tiana out of this super-romantic moment and back into her mercenary dream of a restaurant. There may be a woman out there in the world somewhere who would flip this way at the moment of a man’s marriage proposal, but I’ve never met her. The transition is seriously a stretch.

The way the team did it was to put that green leaf on top of Naveen’s head. Tiana, more charmed than ever (this man is FUNNY! Our tadpoles are going to be so LUCKY! . . .”), plucks the leaf and tosses it behind her. Well, she does not really “toss” it so much as she “places” it. The critical transition rests on the distinction between tossing and placing. If she tosses the leaf, she will not cast her gaze in the direction of the sugar factory on the bank long enough. The animators had to give her time for the mental transition, and so they had her “place” the leaf. Play this bit slowly, frame-by-frame, and you can see what I am talking about. Notice what she does with her fingers after she gets rid of the leaf. She rubs them together, cleaning off the leaf debris. It is the kind of absent minded gesture that we all make at times, and it keeps Tiana facing in the direction of the sugar factory. Her mind is on Naveen’s proposal, but her eyes are on the sugar factory. And then she does a classic double-take, her mind catching up with what she has seen. She instantly drops an adrenaline moment of a lifetime and resumes lusting for the restaurant. I can see that this is a necessary transition in terms of the story line, but it seems to me that the transition is emotionally counterfeit. It is a contrivance

Tiana says, “If I don’t deliver that money tomorrow, I will lose this place forever.” And so Naveen changes his mind once again, determined now to marry a woman he does not love, purely in exchange for her money. Do you empathize with him at this moment? Examine your empathic reaction to Naveen. What is the dominant emotion?

Let’s go to the Labouff mansion. Charlotte is pounding on Lawrence/Prince Naveen’s door telling him to hurry up or they’ll be late for their Mardi Gras wedding. Lawrence/Prince Naveen, meanwhile, on the other side of the door, has 100 percent reverted to Lawrence. We are back in the world of farce. The shadow-ghosts deliver Naveen. Lawrence brings amulet into camera. The objective for both Lawrence and Dr. Facilier is to draw some more blood from Naveen, to re-empower the amulet.

Tiana and Ray run off toward town. Objective? Find Naveen.

Chapter #16 “Mardi Gras Parade”

Tiana’s monologue as she hops carefully through the Mardi Gras crowds is not necessary. Once again, “show them; don’t tell them”. She is saying things about the plot that we already know.”

Charlotte and Lawrence/Prince Naveen are exchanging vows atop a giant wedding cake float in the Mardi Gras parade. Tiana must emotionally spin on a dime, from being excited about the prospect of marrying Naveen, to the brick-wall conclusion that Naveen has, in fact, married Charlotte. Tricky acting job.

Tiana’s dream of love is blown, so she goes off by herself to be miserable. Depression is a very risky acting choice. If you are going to endow a character that way, then don’t leave her there very long, or your audience will start pulling back emotionally.

Ray finds her and Tiana. runs away. What is Tiana’s objective when she exits? Where is she going? It appears she is simply moving someplace else in order to continue being depressed. Ray sets out to prove the truth to Tiana.

Note Dr. Facilier’s sadistic chuckle. There are many other options for villainy aside from sadistic chuckling, which is a cliché. A simple smile of anticipation would have been better, in my opinion.

The objectives, actions and obstacles for each character are clean and clear at this moment. Look for yourself. Pause the movie and ask the characters what they are doing. They will each have a theatrical answer.

From this point until the closing credits, I will not do much analyzing because the action is a sprinting to the finish. All the characters are pursuing strong objectives because they have no other options.

Chapter #17 “A Kiss From a Princess”

Charlotte discovers that the being she thought was Prince Naveen is really his valet, Lawrence. It is short moments before midnight and Naveen must kiss Charlotte in order to achieve his objective of changing back into human form.

Charlotte does what is probably the first selfless thing she has done in her life. She gives Naveen a big kiss, knowing that she will not be marrying him. It does not work. Naveen is still a frog. The clock must have run out.

Chapter #18 “Farewell to a Friend“

Ray passes away peacefully. Right on the sad cue, it starts to rain.

Lovely bayou ceremony ensues. Then, suddenly, it happens! A second bright star appears in the night sky! It must be Ray! Ray lives as a star!

Chapter #19 “A Bayou Wedding”

Mama Odie presides over Tiana and Naveen frog wedding. They magically transform into humans.

Everybody is happy. Charlotte catches bouquet.

Time lapse cuts show transition of sugar factory into Tiana’s restaurant. There is a very amusing production slip up in that long shot of the restaurant, by the way. Can you figure out what it is? Give up? Look at the name of the restaurant on the side of the building. “Tiana’s Palace” it says. “Palace”, not “Place”. She has gone through all she has gone through to get the place, and somebody gets the name wrong! Oh well. Love the final production number. It is a moment of resolution. Objectives all achieved, new objectives not yet formed. It is time for celebration.

The Iron Giant

Warner Bros.

Directed by Brad Bird

Download  

The Iron Giant is a classic, one of the very few that can be mentioned in the same breath as Snow White and Pinocchio. In many respects, it is a perfect film. The story is powerfully shamanistic, the characters are well defined, and every scene has strong theatrical structure. The acting is excellent throughout. Since I first wrote about The Iron Giant 10 years ago, Brad Bird has taken his place in the galaxy of animation industry royalty, routinely picking up Academy Awards for his talent. Outstanding as his Pixar-era films have been, The Iron Giant remains a singular achievement and will likely be the movie most closely identified with his name. It is an example of what a film should and can be, and I believe that every animation student should study it carefully and patiently. The movie works like a finely tuned Swiss watch.

Chapter #1 “Eye(s) of the Storm”

Talk about a dynamic and efficient opening sequence! In 145 short seconds, we know that the story involves a spacecraft that crashes to earth in the year 1957, off the coast of Maine. And the first disbelieving human has seen the Iron Giant.

SCENE #2 "Squirrelly at the diner"

We learn that this boy on his bicycle is going to be a lead character in the story, that he likes cowboy movies (note his shirt), lives in a safe and charming seaside town and that he is healthy and young. The dock workers in the background of his bicycle ride are minor players, extras in the scene, but notice that each of them is engaged in a specific chore. Each is pursuing an objective. One fellow is moving boxes, another is coiling rope, and two others are trying to remove the lid from a large wooden keg. That kind of attention to secondary characters is rare, and I hope you take special note of it. Ideally, 100 percent of the characters on screen will be playing actions in pursuit of objectives while overcoming obstacles.

A scene is a negotiation. Hogarth needs his mom’s permission to make a pet of the squirrel he caught. Mom (Annie Hughes) is not crazy about the idea. When the squirrel escapes into the diner, Hogarth’s new action is to find it, but his objective remains the same, to keep the animal as a pet.

Significantly, the first time we see Dean, he is asleep, still holding the newspaper, with its bold headlines about the Russian Satellite. This conveys a lot of important information efficiently. First, we learn that Dean follows current events. Second, he's a "night person", in contrast to everybody else in the diner. It is likely that he is eating breakfast after working all night, which is why he is falling asleep. Note his day-old beard. And the sunglasses suggest that he's not a fan of bright light. His clothing is black, in contrast to the typical earth tones worn by everybody else. He's a nonconformist.

Note how Dean at first successfully hides the discomfort of the squirrel in his pants. It is almost a Charlie Chaplin sequence. When the squirrel reaches the crotch level, Dean is motivated to remove the animal from his pants before it is too late. This is an adrenaline moment for everybody in that diner. Dean will never forget the day he met his future wife, Annie, and stepson. Hogarth will never forget the day he met his future stepfather; Annie will never forget the day she met her future husband and everybody in the diner will never forget the day that that funny man stood up and shook the squirrel out of his pants.

Chapter #3 “Home Alone”

We get our first hint of Hogarth’s courage and independence when he climbs the tree up to the roof of his house. I don’t know about you, but I would not have gone up there at that age, especially at night. Then, as further demonstration of his courage, he heads off into the forest with his pop-gun. Objective: locate the person responsible for wrecking the property, possibly a Russian invader. Action: dressing, getting gun. Obstacle: night, home alone, damage to property is severe.

Chapter #4 "Into the Woods"

Huge trees have been uprooted. Still, he presses forward, ever courageous.

Chapter #5 “Power Lunch”

The Iron Giant tries to eat the power station, and Hogarth saves his life. Note: The first time we see the Giant, he is searching for food. This encourages the audience to empathize with the metal monster. Robots do not need to eat. Humans get hungry and eat in order to survive. So, immediately, we can identify with a primal need in the creature.

Another adrenaline moment as Hogarth rescues the Iron Giant. The stakes in this movie are of Shakespearean importance, which makes for very powerful storytelling.

Meanwhile, Annie arrives at home and discovers that Hogarth is missing. Objective: find him.

Chapter #6: “You Won’t Believe This”

Hogarth explores fallen giant. Giant regains consciousness, and Hogarth’s new objective is to find a safe place to be. Action: run away. Obstacle: night, forest, unknown motives of Iron Giant – conflict with situation.

Annie arrives in truck. Her objective is achieved: locate her son. Hogarth tells mom about “robot”. Obstacle is mom’s skepticism, which is why he plays his action so vigorously. He has conflict with his situation, namely that the child in a parent-child relationship is powerless.

Chapter #7: “Educational Film”

This short chapter (only 30 seconds) presents further exposition. The giant ate half of a tractor and that someone from the federal government is coming to investigate.

ChapterS #8 and #9 "Enter Kent"

(On the Special Edition DVD of “The Iron Giant”, the chapter titles have been changed from the original. There is an error in chapter references on this newer release. The DVD printed guide indicates that there is a Chapter #9 entitled “Something Big” but, in fact, Chapter #9 is “The Luckiest Kid”. “Something big,” is what Mansley says at the very end of Chapter #8.)

We meet Kent Mansley from the United States Government, an ambitious coward. He is 100 percent façade. This is the mask he puts on in order to cover his weaknesses. From an acting perspective, this is a very important distinction. Acting is a process of exposing, not of hiding. When Mansley discovers that the Giant has eaten his car, note his body language, power center thrown into ground, rhythm quickens He hides behind the trucker like a child. This is the real Kent Mansley. It is not that he is a confident, arrogant person who suddenly transforms into a coward when confronted with the Giant’s destruction. The acting-technique situation is backward from that. He is a coward all along, putting on an officious act in order to intimidate people.

Chapter #10: "The Luckiest Kid"

Hogarth gets to know his new friend. Brad Bird and his team of animators faced a big challenge to create a sense of empathy for the Giant. Up until this point, he has been very robot-like, inhuman except for hunger. When they finally come face to face, Hogarth functions as a kind of father to the Giant, teaching him how to survive on earth.

Human toddlers learn largely through mimesis, watching and copying. The Giant is learning that way, too, which adds to his empathic quality. The big robot has feelings, emotions. This is masterful storytelling, absolutely marvelous.

Note the way the Giant tilts his head to the left, almost puppy-like, when expressing curiosity. That’s new, building empathy.

After the Giant distinguishes between a rock and a tree, Hogarth gets excited about being "the luckiest kid in America". Note the Giant's physical reaction to Hogarth's obvious delight. The Giant doesn't know what everybody is so happy about, but he's happy to be happy, too! That is the precise mechanism of empathy.

Chapter #11 "Train Coming"

Take a look at this sequence slowly, frame-by-frame. Note the Giant’s reaction to the bells and lights indicating an approaching train. He drops the track from his mouth and switches his playful attention to the crossing signal. A new toy! He evidently has no concept of danger.

The Giant is eager to do please Hogarth. He wants to get the tracks back together "just right", and so he frets over it until it is too late, and he is hit by the train. This is an important moment in the story because it foreshadows his aptitude for art.

Chapter #12 Mister Fixit

Hogarth takes the Giant home and hides him in the garage. (Notice I just referred to the Giant as “him” rather than “it”. It was an unconscious shift on my part, an indication that I now empathize with the Giant fully as a human, not a robot. It took Mr. Bird and his team only 30 minutes to fully establish the Iron Giant as an empathetic being.

Chapter #13 "Hands Under Foot"

Hogarth's blessing of dinner is a marvelous 45-second bit of animation. Acting-wise, the thing that makes it interesting is that he seems to play dual actions: (1) protecting the Giant's hand from being discovered and (2) saying grace. In terms of priority, it is more important for Hogarth – as it would be for any child – to protect the Giant's hand. And so, saying grace becomes an action in pursuit of a double objective. The swinging pendulum of the grandfather clock on the wall, near the dinner table, is important, too. The steady tick-tock rhythm of the pendulum contrasts with, and highlights Hogarth's inner rhythm, which is near panic.

Kent Mansley leers at Hogarth's mother in a frankly sexual way. Hogarth notices this, setting up a personal competition between the boy and the government agent. It's primal, and it immediately deepens the shamanistic nature of the story. Hogarth is the "man of the house" now that his father is dead. Mansley is an interloper. Later, we will see Mansley literally sitting in Hogarth's father's favorite easy chair and in his place at the breakfast table.

Chapter #14 “National Insecurity”

This sequence exposes Mansley’s survival strategy. Alone in the kitchen, he drops his officious façade. Power center goes into the floor, movement becomes frenetic. Then, he re-composes himself before leaving the kitchen. This is extremely good acting, an excellent example of how emotion tends to lead to action.

Chapter #15 "Hand Under Foot 2"

The Giant’s hand is playing with the toilet paper. Hogarth’s objective is to gain control of the situation. His conflict is with the situation. Mansley’s objective is to get the truth from Hogarth. Annie’s objective is to smooth down all of these ruffled feathers.

Chapter #16 “Bedtime Stories”

Hogarth compares the Giant to Superman. Then the Giant takes Hogarth on an exciting nighttime ride that is an homage to the first Superman movie in which Superman takes Lois Lane on a nighttime flight.

Chapter #17 “All You Can Eat”

The objective from the time Hogarth and the Giant left the garage has been to find something for the Giant to eat. The fun of the ride, and the Giant’s disappointment over not being allowed to visit Rockwell were adventures along the way. We are now back on track in search of metal for dinner.

At McCoppin Scrap Metal, the Giant eats a car, causing its horn to honk loudly and continually. Between the time that the horn starts, and the moment when the Giant throws the car out to sea, count his individual thoughts. I count 15 distinct thoughts in 12 seconds. Animate the thought! Animate the thought! Big acting lesson in this sequence.

Chapter #18 “We Like Dean”

Later, inside Dean’s house, Hogarth's case of the coffee jitters is an excellent sequence. The acting note has to do with the effect of external substances, such as – in this case – caffeine. What you do is allow the substance to have the physical effect (nervousness, quicker rhythms, racing mind), and then you act to control it. As wired as Hogarth is, he tries to behave with Dean as if this is perfectly normal. Another nice thing about this sequence is that Hogarth learns a lesson in life ("too much coffee will make you nervous") from Dean who will, later in the story, begin to become a true father figure.

Chapter #19 "Fast Friends"

Mansley’s objective is to make Hogarth talk about the Giant. The quick-cutting montage is interesting because each tiny segment is another action in pursuit of the objective. Hogarth’s objective during all of that is to escape this trap. Being a kid, his options are limited, so he has conflict with his situation.

Chapter #20 “Satellites and Sundaes”

Mansley’s manic side surfaces in the soda fountain. Note how his body rhythm changes and the arms gesticulate. It's become a pattern now that we can recognize, and from which we can draw conclusions about Mansley’s strengths and weaknesses. Anxiety is a high power center. See how the arms are flailing around the head? Also, note that Mansley is stooped over when he goes into his Sputnik tirade. Logically, the stoop is motivated by his desire to get eye-to-eye with Hogarth but, in a status transaction – which is the acting lesson – that kind of stoop comes across as low-status, un-powerful.

Chapter #21 “Fun and Games”

Dean is creating art. The Giant is helping. Hogarth takes the carnival ride of his life. Cut to Mansley looking for clues. Conflict is with situation due to the lingering effects of the laxative.

Chapter #22 “Bonzai!”

Hogarth has fun while impressing Dean. The Giant makes a tidal wave.

SCENE #23 "Innocent Creatures”

A moment of simple pleasure for Hogarth and the Giant is cruelly ruined by a lesson about life and death, in an homage to Bambi. The Giant is learning about mortality, and he does not like it. He, after all, can fix himself, presumably living forever. Human life is fleeting. A certain loss of innocence comes with this revelation. We empathize with his sadness.

A word, please, about these homages. For some reason, it is fashionable in Hollywood to include such sequences. Even though the homages in this movie are effective, I wish Brad Bird had not used them. He could have made the same points from within the given circumstances. In order to do an homage, it is necessary to logically justify it and then to make sure it is a respectful homage. All of that has nothing at all to do with the story being told. My advice is that you avoid homages. Just tell your story.

Chapter #24 “Souls Don’t Die”

The Giant is depressed by this life lesson and, as he lies in the junkyard that night, notice how physically heavy he is, how much effort it takes to move a finger. Gravity is almost too much to overcome. Death equates to gravity.

Hogarth’s objective is to reassure his friend that death is natural. The Giant does not have an objective at this moment because he is just depressed. Hogarth carries the scene.

Chapter #25 “Bad Dream”

Mansley reveals his true colors. In particular, note how he physically knocks Hogarth into the chair. He is no longer trying to charm the kid. Now he is resorting to brute force and threats to have Hogarth taken away from his mother. This is a terrifying gambit and a significant transition in the overall story. From this point forward, The Iron Giant is a clear war game. Kent Mansley’s objective is to destroy the Giant and become a powerful government official in the process. Hogarth’s objective is to save the Giant’s life. All of the actions between now and the end of the movie are in pursuit of those objectives.

Chapter #26 “Artful Disguise”

Dean’s objective in this sequence is to help Hogarth protect the Giant. For her part, Annie still thinks that the Iron Giant is a figment of Hogarth’s overactive imagination.

Chapter #27 "Weapons to Bear"

After the Giant almost kills Hogarth, Dean accuses him of being a "big gun". The Giant says, "I am not a gun." Note how his hands are palms-up, submissive. The psychological gesture says, "I won't hurt you."

Chapter #28 "I Am Not a Gun"

The Giant saves the two boys who fall off a building in town. When Hogarth and Dean arrive on the scene, the Giant picks up Hogarth and, once again, says, "I am not a gun." This time his body language expresses confidence, assurance. No turned out palms.

Chapter #29 “Like Superman”

The Giant protects Hogarth while defending himself against Mansley and the US Army. Big battle sequences with obvious objectives.

Chapter #30 "Arsenals Unleashed"

More battle sequences with bigger, more powerful weapons. The Giant, with zero other options, resorts to his robot–Big Gun self.

The Giant's transformation into a fighting machine is accomplished not by what is added, but what is taken away. The storyteller systematically removes all of the vestiges of humanity that have been carefully layered on the character. As a weapon, he is thoughtlessly, automatically, knee-jerk reactive to assault. He has no compassion, no emotion and makes no ethical choices. He is simply a huge killing machine. The Giant's movements lose their grace. Now he moves like a recoiling rifle.

Chapter #31 “The Bomb”

The centerpiece of this chapter is when Hogarth forces the Giant to make an ethical choice – whether or not to be a gun or a caring . . . I was going to say “creature”, but “person” is more apt.

Chapter #32 “No Following”

The Giant stands erect and gazes at the towns people, gathered together like so many deer in the woods. The Giant looks upward, his gaze following the trajectory of the missile. Watch closely because it is excellent character animation, replay this sequence a couple of times. Note his thought process.

The Giant has become more human than any of us, gentle, caring. His highest value now is to assure the survival of mankind on earth. "Me go. You stay. No following."

As the Iron Giant streaks into the sky, on a collision course with the bomb, Hogarth murmurs silently the words that everybody in the audience is feeling: “I love you.”

Chapter #33 is missing on the DVD index of chapter titles, but it doesn’t matter.

It was not necessary for the story and is likely tacked on in order to set up a possible sequel. Also, big Hollywood movie studios like for their animated movies to have happy endings. From my perspective, the story ended when the Giant intercepted the bomb. That was the point.