Prompted by watching “The Princess and the Frog” last night with my fiancé, I came to realize that every single Disney animated movie* operates on a formula. A very unoriginal, but wholly enticing formula.
*Disney animated movie here refers to all non-Pixar animated Disney films
Along with this, I decided to come up with and pitch my own Disney animated movie to the corporation and I encourage you to do the same!
The Story
When it comes to creativity, you can have none. None whatsoever. Take all of those unique thoughts you have and trash them. Every single Disney animated movie has come from an older story. (Remember, no Pixar).
- When picking yours, remember to choose one that not many people would know off-hand, so the uneducated populous will think you’re a genius.
- My choice: Dante Alligheri’s immortal tale “Dante’s Inferno”.
The Title
The perfect Disney title is one of three things:
- The main character’s name: Aladdin, Cinderella, Pinocchio, Bambi
- The ___ and (the) _____: The Fox and the Hound, Lady and the Tramp, The Princess and the Frog
- The creature involved + something about them: The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Don’t be creative and name you movie after the theme, significant quote, or anything other than a completely obvious “Hey, children, you’re watching a movie about dogs. That’s why it’s called “Dogs”.
My Choice: Dante and the Devil
Characters
Your Hero – The hero is always a complete idiot at first. Male or female, they just don’t seem to get it. Hercules and Simba are arrogant. Belle and Ariel just want something more. They’ll learn their lesson by the middle of the third act, and BOOM – they get everything they’ve ever wanted forever!
They also have to posses some form of power that puts them above everyone else, but at the beginning of the movie, they don’t know exactly how to use it. Simba was the heir to the throne, Hercules was a god, Robin Hood was a master archer, but it took them the journey to learn…whatever.
- Your hero – female is usually the way to go. The main audience of children and middle-aged women will react well, but do what you want. All you need to do is have a character that has some leg up on the world, but is too dumb to use it at first.
- My Choice: Dante, he’s the smartest guy in the world, but he’s too confident for his own good. On his journey through cartoon hell, he’ll learn to be humble and eventually outsmart the Devil.
The Villain
This is a most vital part of the Disney formula. You’ve got two choices:
- The Terrifying Villain – this is more old school. A villain that has no redeeming qualities, nothing fun or remotely good about them. They just suck. (Malificent, Chernabog*, Shen Yu)
- The Quirky Wise-Guy Villain – They crack jokes, they sing songs, and they’re voiced by B-listers. Sometimes, they’re even more charismatic than the hero. (Hades, Scar, Ursula)
*If you don’t know who Chernabog is, then slap your childhood.
-And when it comes to animating your villain, you only have three colors to choose from: red, green, and purple. Obviously black, but that’s a shade. Know your colors!
-My choice: The Devil (type two): He is the king of all wise-crackers. He never stops, with lines like “You’re getting hot-headed” and “Don’t sweat it.”. And the color palette? Already set up for the red body, horns and tail. Not to mention a sweet purple cape. Voiced by Brendan Fraiser
The Love Interest
The love interest has to be the catalyst for the hero’s actions. LOVE = DISNEY people. So who will the hero love? This also gives a small amount of creativity on your part. No love interest in the original text? Make it up! Even if it completely demeans the entire idea behind the story. Or, if there is a love interest originally, but something really strange or horrible happens with them, make it light-hearted. Hercules actually murdered Meg in a fit of insanity? Nah! She’s an independent rebel with a slightly New York accent. The Prince banged Snow White while she was in a coma? Of course not! It’s called “True Love’s Kiss”.
My Choice: Karen, a rogue demon meets Dante and at first resists him, but eventually cannot help but love him and help him beat the Devil.
The Lovable Sidekick(s)
- This is called “comic relief” and without it, Disney would be a sham. This will be the movie’s most famous character and inevitably the best-selling line of plush dolls. This is also voiced by and A-lister. He must make jokes every chance he can breathe and is the only character who can make pop-culture references. (Genie, Phil, Mushu, Timon & Pumba)
- My Choice: Virgil, voiced by Dane Cook
The Dopey Villain Sidekick(s)
- The hero gets one, right? So give the villain one too. He makes the main villain look smart, even if they are not. They cannot be pleasing to the eye, this is a must. If human, they’re short and fat. If not, then they are grotesque (think Pain and Panic from Hercules or Flotsam and Jetsam from The Little Mermaid)
- My choice: Grim, a short, pudgy reaper whose hood always seems to fall down at the worst possible moment and is frequently seen carrying the Devil’s mimosa.
Read tomorrow to find out how to write the story!
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