Narrative

Have you ever come out the cinema feeling on top of the world? That the movie you have just seen was so immersive and had your mind so involved with the film you never wanted it to end? This is the difference between a film which will lie in history for years to come and one that will be forgotten. The main building block to this success is in the structure of the narrative.

If you look into the best games ever made or films regarded as masterpieces, I can guarantee that the visual effects, special effects or the fact that it may be animated isn't the reason why. It's because these are the type of stories that have the ability to make someone laugh in the places it wants to or cry during a sad part of a movie because the audience becomes that emotionally attached. This is want I find amazing about storytelling.

When i was a kid, Disney films were a massive part of my life, I would say more so than most people my age. Growing up in my mum's arms with her love for Disney films, this was then shown upon me. Everything I ever watched was Disney, from the full length animated movies such as 'Jungle Book' or 'Lion King' to 'Bed Knobs and Broom Sticks' played with real actors. It was my life and I think this is one of the reasons why it has stuck by me all these years up to now while doing this Digital animation course.

Walt Disney was a storyteller, and one of the best ones that ever lived in my eyes. I sometimes feel that new movies of todays time period are losing this ability to tell an amazing story. Most of them turn out to be an 'average' film, one which you enjoy but doesn't blow you away. Although I have also found a select few films that were recently made which make me feel this way. These films being 'How to train your dragon', 'Toy Story 3' and 'Tangled'. All three show a great example of narrative.

The meaning of narrative is 'the telling of a some true or fictitious event or connected sequence of events, recounted by a narrator to a narratee'. Narrative is normally split into story and plot. Story being what it is and the plot being how the story is told. Tzvetan Todorov broke down narrative into 5 main components. the first stage is the 'equilibrium' meaning the beginning of the story where the characters are introduced and no problems have occurred (state of calm). An example of this would be the opening scene to 'Tangled' when Rapunzel is shown living in the tower with her pet chameleon and has no idea of the truth behind her fake mother. The second stage is the 'disruption' of the equilibrium meaning that an action has caused a problem to occur. Referring back to 'Tangled' this could be the part of the film where Rapunzel leaves the tower without her mum's permission with the handsome  Flynn Rider. The third part being the 'recognition' of the disruption. In this case Rapunzels fake mother finding out she has left the tower and sets out to find her. The forth being the 'attempt' to repair the disruption. Rapunzel finds out that her mother isn't her real mother and chops off her magical hair, resulting in the death of her fake mother who has kept her locked up in the tower for 18 years. The fifth and final stage is the 'reinstatement' of the equilibrium. After the death of her fake mother, she is able to return to her real family in the castle and they live happily together.