Acting in Animation A Look at 12 Films

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Actín¿ ín Anímáíon
Importación de Publicaciones Científicas

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A ctímín AnímatíoHW *
A Look at 12 Films
E d Hooks
H EIN EM A N N
Portsmouth, NH
Heinemann
A división of Reed Elsevier Inc.
361 Hanover Street
Portsmouth, NH 038 0 1 -3 9 1 2
www.heinemanndrama.com
Offices an d agents throughout the world
© 2003 by Ed Hooks
All rights reserved. No part o f this book may be reproduced in any form or
by any electronic or mechanical means, includíng information storage and
retrieval Systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except
by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.
Library o f Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Hooks, Ed.
Acting in animation : a look at 12 films / Ed Hooks.
p. cm.
ISBN 0-325-00705-5 (alk. paper)
1. Animated films. 2. Nonverbal communication in motion pictures. I. Title.
N C 1765.H 66 2005
791.4302’8— dc22 2004023993
Editor: Lisa A. Barnett

Production: Sonja S. Chapman
Cover design: Jenny Jensen Grecnleaf
Compositor: Reuben Kantor, QEP Design
Manufacturing: Steve Bernier
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper

09 08 07 06 05 EB 1 2 3 4 5
For Brad Bird
Contents ■»
Introducción ix
Performance Dependí on Your Perspective x
How the Movies fo r Tbis Book Were Selected xi
How to Use Tbis Book xi
Regarding M ovie Production Credits xii
Some Essential Acting Principies xiii
M ovie Analyses
1. Charlottes Web 1
2. Dumbo 12
3. Pinocchio 20
4. Treasure Planet 33
3. Monsters, Inc. 30
6. Grave of the Fireflies 67
7. Toy Story 2 84
8. Spirited Away 99
9. The Emperor’s New Groove 111
10. The Hunchback o f Notre Dame 125
11. The Road to El Dorado 144
12 Tarzan 158
Vil
introductíon
The 2004 Festival International du Film d’Animation in

Annecy, France, presented me with an excellent excuse to inter-
rupt Final preparation o f this book and head for the airport.
Between soaking up sun and screenings, I had the opportunity to
share dinner with a well-known character animator. Over mush-
room fondue, I told him about the concept for Acting in
Anim ation: A L ook a t Twelve Films. Fie thought it was a cool idea,
especially since a couple o f movies he worked on are included in
the book. Then we settled into an interesting discussion about
what “acting in animation” really means. How much credit or
blame can any particular animator give or take for what we see
on screen? W hen we talk about a good performance in anima
tion, whose performance are we referring to? A cursory glance at
the end credits o f any animated feature today makes clear that no
animator works in a vacuum. My fondue friend across the table
jokingly suggested that maybe I should consider subtitling my
book “Acting for Storyboard Artists” because they are often as
responsible as the animators themselves.
Hes got a point. 1 could also subtitle it “Acting for Directors,”
“Acting for Screenwriters,” or “Acting for Producers.” I’m sticking
with Acting in Anim ation: A Look a t Twelve Films but the acting
principies on which this book is based will apply across the board.
Anybody involved with the storytelling process should find valué
in them.
IX
— íntrod u ction •
—
My personal theatrical roots are in the legitimare theatre,

movies, and televisión. I had already worked professionally as an
actor and acting teacher for twenty-five years when I was invited
to reach acring to a group of California animators in 1996. 1
quicldy discovered that stage actors and animators apply acting
theory in different ways. The stage accor practices her art “in the
present moment,” and the animaror creates the ¡Ilusión of a pre-
sent moment. Therefore, when an animator is referred to as “an
actor with a pendí,” this description is not strictly accurate. An
actor is a person who gets up in front of people and dances the
dance. An actor aspires to opening on Broadway. An animator
has his cbaracter get up and do the dancing. The stage actor
plays for a live audience, and the animator plays for an audience
in his head. Big difference. And yet theatrical principies and
theory apply the same to the stage actor as to the animator.
Performance Deyenis on Yoiir Persyectíve

To the director of a movie, the supervising animator may be an
excellent actor because he or she is expert at endowing a charac-
ter with a dynamic ¡Ilusión of life.
To the average member of the audience, however, the actor
is likely to be the person that does the voice of the animated char-
acter. An audience member probably figures Robín Williams or
Tom Hanks does all the acting work while nameless animators
someplace draw the on-screen pictures to fit whatever Robin and
Tom do. The general public doesn’t know and doesnt much care
whether or not an animator is a good actor. They only care about
what they see on screen.
When I think o f performance in animation, it ineludes not
only the technical execution or smooth line, but also the con-
struction of the sequence. I look for action, objective, and obsta-
ele. I take into consideration not only the expression of emotion
but story development and character analysis as well. Acting
— /n tro d u ctio n —
choices, regardless o f who makes them, are still choices. There is

no single “right” way to carry out a performance. In this book,
I have a bully pulpit, an opportunity to com m ent on che work
o f others. 1 do so in the full realization that good people may
vehemently disagree vvith my perspective at times. My hope is
that these notes will inspire a new gcneration o f animators to
think more critically about their art.
Hinv the Movies for Thís Book Were Selecta!

Above all, I was looking for clear object lessons that would be
useful to new animators or would provide a good review for the
experienced animator. 1 wanted to examine scenes and sequences
that work well in addition to those that fail for one reason or
another.
1 wanted to inelude dififerent styles o f animation, which is
why I chose Grave o f the Fireflies and SpiritedAway to study along-
side Dumbo. 1 seriously considered including Sylvain Chomet’s
The Triplets o f Belleville but decided against it at the last moment
because that particular movie, as wonderful as it is, doesn’t easily
provide the kind o f object lessons I am chasing here.
Since I am not including the D V D s o f the movies with the
book, it was essential that my reader be able to easily rent or
purchase them. According to my survey, all o f the movies ana-
lyzed here are broadly available.
Finally, I wanted to inelude early 2-D feature animation as
well as twenty-first-century 3-D animation. That is why I selected
Pinocchio as well as Monsters, Inc.
How to Use t Iiís Book

Rent or purchase the D V D o f the movie you want to study.
Watch the movie in its entirety. Let your perspective be that of
an audience. Sit back and enjoy. Don’t think about analysis yet.
xi
— Introduction —
If there is a bonus features narration by the filmmakers, screen

that.
Read my introductory remarks about the film.
Begin a chapter-by-chapter study. Read my notes for a chapter
and then screen the chapter. Read my notes again, and if the
object lessons are not yet clear, screen the chapter again.
Acting in A nim ation: A L o o k a t Twelve Film s is a companion

to another o f my books, Acting f o r Animators. It will stand alone
as a text, but you will get much more from my analyses if you
have already read and have within easy reach A cting f o r Animators.
I have envisioned myself sitting in a chair next to you as the
two o f us screen and discuss the movies. Som e chapters and film
demand more critique than others. T h at is why you will some-
times see an entry that is only a line or two in length followed
by one that runs a page and a half.
Ideally, my reader will screen the movies in the order I have
analyzed them. By the tim e I get to the films in the latter part
o f the book, I will speak more briefly about certain acting prin
cipies, on the presumption that you do not need to see every-
thing repeated in full with each film.
Rfrjardíng Movíe Pmluctíon Credits

T h e listed credits are necessarily incomplete. Producers o f early
animated feature films were stingy with screen credits, even for
some o f their more important animators, and producers o f mod-
ern animated movies tend to overcredit. They want to put on
screen the ñames o f the entire legal department, for example, plus
the ñames o f every assistant. To be sure, everybody working on a
movie is important, and a modern film production employs vast
numbers o f artists and technicians. Since the scope of this book is
restricted to performance, however, I have tried to inelude listings
o f those people most likely to have input or influence on story
xn
— In trod u ction —
and character. I have left out contributors to visual effects, special

effects, and music most of the time.
Same Essentíal AdinaL1 Príncívles

Acting theory is a very lovely thing once you get the hang o f it.
It has the form o f a well-constructed musical score. Many acting
principies can be approached from different angles. In other
words, you can say the same thing in different ways. The fol-
lowing seven principies are fundamental to my approach. Read
them over, and if you want early amplification, check A ctingfor
Animators.
1. A scene is a negotiation. In any negotiation, there must be

a way you can win and a way you can lose.
2. Thinking tends to lead to conclusions; emotion tends to
lead to action.
3- Play an action until something happens to make you play
a different action.
4. Theatrical reality is not the same thing as regular reality.
Theatrical reality has form and is compressed in time and
space.
3. Empathy is the key to effective performance animation.
Humans empathize only with emotion, not with thinking.
6. Constantin Stanislavsky defined acting as “playing an
action in pursuit o f an objective while overcoming an
obstacle.” In an acting sense, an obstacle is the same thing
as conflict. Conflict does not have to be a negative thing
or a fistfight. In life, we generally try to avoid conflict, but
in acting, it is our friend.
7. There are only three kinds of conflict (obstacle): (1) conflict
with self; (2) conflict with the situation; and (3) conflict
with another character.
xiii
i. Charlottes Web
A Han na-Barbera Production released by Paramount Pictures

(1973)
Producers: William Hanna, Joseph Barbera
Directors: Charles A. Nichols, Iwao Takamoto
Story: Earl Hamner Jr. (based on the book by E. B. White)
Key Animators: Hal Ambro, Ed Barge, Lars Galonius, Dick
Lundy, Irv Spence
Animators: Ed Aardal, Lee Dyer, Bob Gow, George Kreisl,
Don Patterson, Cario Vinci, O. E. Callahan, Hugh Fraser,
Volus Jones, Ed Parks, Ray Patterson, Xenia
Voice Cast: Debbie Reynolds (Charlotte), Henry Gibson
(Wilbur), Paul Lynde (Templeton), Pamelyn Ferdin (Fern
Arable), Joan Gerber (Mrs. Zuckerman, Mrs. Fussy, Oíd Lady,
Operator), Robert Holt (Homer Zuckerman), Dave Madden
(Ram/others), Don Messick Geoffrey (Lamb, Unele,
Bystanders), Dave Madden (Oíd Ram), Danny Bonaduce
(Avery Arable), Agnes Moorehead (The Goose), Martha Scott
(Mrs. Arable), John Stephenson (Farmer Arable, Judge,
Bandleader, Guard), Herb Vigran (Lurvy), William B. White
(Henry Fussy), Charles Nelson Reilly, Rex Alien (Narrator)
1
— Acting in Animarion —
OverView
Charlottes Web, a perennial favorite of six- to nine-year-old chil-
dren, is proof posidve that if you start with a good story that is
targeted to che right audience, you’ll have a lasting success even
if che animación isn’c extraordinary.
The original book by E. B.White (1899-1985), on which
the movie is based, is ingenious and shamanistic. The farm saga
of Wilbur the ruñe piglet and his lifesaving friendship with
Charlotte the grey spider is simultaneously a delightful tale of
salvation and a basic primer on the behavior and habits of barn-
yard animáis and inseets, The reader/viewer maltes friends with
the animáis while learning, among other things, that spiders
suck the blood of inseets, that pigs sometimes faint just like
humans, and that there is a seasonal eyele to life on the farm. He
learns about county fairs and that the fate o f most farm pigs is
eventually to be turned into bacon. And he learns that all crea-
tures in the world die, some sooner than later.
The animation in Charlotte's Web, produced by Hanna and
Barbera and directed by Nichols and Takamoto, is the very defi
nición of simplicity, but then six- to nine-year-old kids are for-
giving. If you were to remove the celebrity volees and just watch
the animation, the screen would often appear lifeless. The only
character that has real on-screen personality is Templeton che rat,
voiced by the fabulous Paul Lynde. Templeton is mischievous
and smart, often reminding me o f the Tom and Jerry cartoons,
which were coincidentally also created by Hanna and Barbera.
The big challenge for the Charlotte’s Web production team
was to get the audience to empathize with the barnyard animáis.
In particular, they had to make us care about Wilbur the pig.
The way they accomplish this is brilliant and seamless: They
introduce the animáis first from a humans point o f view (POV)
and then, in Chapter 3 of the DVD, they abruptly shitt the POV
2
— 1. Charlottes Web
to favor the animáis. Afrer Chapter 3, instead o f seeing animáis

from a human POV, we see humans from an animal POV. The
animators gradually humanized the physical behavior of certain
animáis. The only thing remaining by the end o f Chapter 2 was
to hear the animáis talk, and that is what is added in Chapter 3.
Once they are taiking, we are totally immersed in their world.
The way the movie deais with obstacle/conflict is also sig
nificarle- As we know, there are three kinds o f conflict—
(1) conflict with self; (2) conflict with situation; and (3) conflict
with another character. Charlottes Web> almost without excep-
tion, uses only conflict with situation. At fírst chis puzzled me,
but the more I thought about it the more brilliant I thought it
was. The movie is targeted to very young chiídren who, in their
own lives, mainly have conflict with the situation. They are too
short to reach the cookie jar; Mom wont let them go out in the
rain without their boots; they can’t eat their dessert before they
eat their peas. Chiídren that age do not get into heavyweight
considerations o f life, which would lead to conflict with self.
And the conflict they have with parents isn't really conflict
because the parents are their caretakers. The conflict they have
with other chiídren is also lightweight as a rule— a bloody nose,
maybe, or some lost marbles, but chiídren rarely do true dam-
age to one another. The stakes are pretty low. Charlottes Web is
a perennial favorite, even after all these years, because it ¡s the
perfect movie for the perfect audience.
Analysís
Chapter 1: “Before Breakfast”
We meet the wholesome and folksy Arable family and get our
first glimpse o f their lovely, fertile farm. It is springtime and a
newborn litter o f piglets is happfly nursing. All except one, that
3
— Acting in Animación —
is— the ruñe o f the litter. He can’t find room at mama pig’s teat.
C onflict with the situation. The runt (Wilbur, but we don’t
know his ñame yet) tries repeatedly to find a nipple and gets
bounced back on his behind.
John Arable decides to destroy the runt piglet, but his
daughter, Fern, tearfully springs to the piglet’s rescue. There are
two acting notes involved here: (1) Em otion tends to lead to
action. (2) Fern has conflict with the situation as well as con
flict with another character (her father). In order to get the
audience to empathize with the piglet, it is necessary to human-
ize him. The animators begin this process the moment W ilbur
is placed into Fern’s arms. Note that the pig’s behavior is a spot-
on copy o f a human infant’s smiling and cooing behavior.
W ilbur’s near execution is an adrenaline m om ent for Fern.
An adrenaline m om ent is one that the character will remem-
ber when she turns eighty-five years oíd and looks back on her
life. It is virtually impossible to tell a com pelling story without
at least one adrenaline mom ent. It is probably not one for her
father because he is accustomed to slaughtering farm animáis,
ñor would it be one for W ilbur because he is too young to know
what is going on.
Later, at the breakfast table, a syrupy paneake lands on
W ilbur’s head. Note that he licks at the sweet syrup with his
mouth the way a human baby would. Also, he smiles a human
smile. Pigs don’t express emotion with a smile in real life, and
they don’t have crinkly eyes with pretty eyelashes.
Chapter 2: “W ilbur”
Further personification o f W ilbur the pig. Fern, now function-
ing as W ilbur’s surrogate mama, bathes the baby pig, sings to
him, plays hide-and-seek with him, and so on. All o f this is puré
exposition and humanization, designed to get the viewer to
4
— /. Charlottes Web —
empathize with Wilbur. There is zero conflict. By the time we

get co the sequence about Wilbur having to sleep in his own bed
alone, outside the house, the viewer has been captured emo-
tionally. The sequence also contains conflict with the situation.
We can all remember what it was like as a kid to be afraid o f the
dark. (Monsters, Inc. would capitalize on this same childhood
memory rwenty-three years later.)
Chapter 3: “Loneliness”
At six weeks oíd, Wilbur is sold to Fern’s únele. The tearful good-
bye between Fern and Wilbur works on múltiple levels. We
empathize with both o f them. A mother would grieve if her child
was snatched from her life, and the child would cry and resist
going. Also, Wilbur is, for the first time, in a cage. Like a prisoner,
he is trapped and helpless. And so the audience’s emotional reac-
tion to this scene is probably the strongest so far in the film.
The story now shifts to another farm and a new location. We
soon begin hearing the animáis “talk” for the first time as we enter
fully into the animal world. In Chapters 1 and 2, we observed the
animáis from the human perspective. After the transition to the
new farm, we view humans from the animáis’ perspective. Our
worldview is turned upside down. It is quite a brilliant storytelling
device. It would have been difficult to make the worldview tran
sition without making a physical transition from one location to
another.
When Wilbur is trying to find his voice for the first time,
the Goose urges him on by chanting, “Try! Try! Try!” This
theme runs throughout the movie. We act to survive. IfW ilbur
had tried to speak and then given up the effort, the scene would
have failed.
Wilbur breaks the fourth wall, addressing the camera and
the viewer. He sings “I can talk!” Emotion tends to lead to
5
—■Acting in Animation —
action. When he realizes he can talk, he jumps into the air with
glee, even bounds to the top of a fence post— somethlng a pig
would never, ever do. More humanization. Play an action until
something happens to make you play a different action.
Wilbur sings until he notices that the Ram is annoyed. The song
ends immediately after Wilbur’s facial reaction to the Rams
angry glare.
Emotion tends to lead to action. After the happy song is
over, Wilbur is overeóme with sadness. “I miss Fern,” he tells the
Goose. Then he sags to the ground. The energy goes out of his
body, propelled by the emotion of sadness. The animator could
have simply left it with the line, “1 miss Fern.” Following that
declaration with the sagging to the ground establishes a bit of
conflict with the situation, so the moment is milked for a little
more storytelling ¡uice.
We start meeting other animáis. Templeton the rat (Paul
Lynde) is the most colorful and best-animated character in
Charlottes Web. His characterization frequently reminds me of
Tom and Jerry cartoons, which Hanna and Barbera also created.
The Ram informs Wilbur that he is destined to be turned
into “smoked bacon.” Conflict with the situation. “I don’t want
to die!” Wilbur bawls, his tears flying as he beats the ground with
his feet. At the end of the sequence, we hear Charlottes soothing
voice for ftrst time, urging Wilbur to get a grip on himself.
Chapter 4: “Charlotte”
This is an adrenaline moment for Wilbur. He will never forget
the day he first met Charlotte. In performance Charlotte
remains spiderlike for the entire movie. Everything about her is
communicated via the Debbie Reynolds voice-over. The dra-
matic device here is that Charlotte is all-knowing and wise,
another surrogate parent figure to Wilbur. She will teach him to
6
— 1. Charlottes Web —
accept life for what it is, to realize he can do what he wants to

do if he only tries, and to understand that life is temporary. She
also educates him and the viewer about the valué o f spiders in
the world. The main purpose o f the sequence is to introduce
Charlotte and to establish her relationship with Wilbur.
Chapter 5: “Summer Days”

Note that by this point in the film, all o f the barn animáis have
more humanlike eye expression. It’s crude, but it’s there. This
helps establish empathy.
The primary point of this chapter is to establish that Fern
has a vivid imagination and can hear the animáis talk. Her par-
ents, of course, think she has been spending too much time
alone in the barn. She protests, “I’m not alone. My best friends
are in the barn.” This is clever on the part o f the storytellers.
M ost children have an active imagination and it is not uncom-
mon for them to carry on “conversations” with animáis. We can
empathize with the emotions involved.
Also, Jeffrey, the runt gosling, likes to hang around with
W ilbur instead o f his own goose mom. T h e runt o f one litter has
a connection to the runt o f another.
Chapter 6: “The Miracle”

This chapter contains the title song, “Charlottes W eb,” a
dreamlike lullaby about what happens at night when the spider
is weaving and spinning her web. lts really pretty and has prob-
ably put countless children to sleep in front o f the televisión.
At sunup, all the barnyard animáis discover that Charlotte
has woven into her web the words “Some Pig.” For the humans
on the farm, this is an adrenalinc mom ent. They think they’re
seeing a miracle, and people will always remember the day
they saw a miracle. W ilbur is suddenly a celebrity. Articles are
7
— Acting in Animation —
written about him in the newspapers and many visitors come to

see the miracle web.
A wasp gets caught in Charlottes web and wrecks it. W ilbur
is afraid that without the words in the web, nobody will believe
in the miracle any longer and he will be made into bacon. As the
web is destroyed, W ilbur has conflict with situation.
Chapter 7: “A Meeting”
Lesson in life: Two heads are better than one. Charlotte calis a
meeting o f all the animáis, asking for help in coming up with a
new web message. All the animáis have conflict with situation
as they try to think o f a new saying.
Chapter 8: “Good Progress”

Templeton is sent to search for something with writing on it
that can be used for inspiration. He finds a piece o f a soap flakes
box. The words on it are “with new radiant action.”
Note that the Templeton animation is stronger than the ani
mation for the other animáis. W hen he is sneaking around in
the garbage dump, tumbling down the hill in a soup can, and so
on, the animation almost springs to life. W hat they did with
Templeton in this movie makes you long for more o f the same
with the other animáis.
W ilbur performs “radiantly” for the assembled animáis, and
so Charlotte weaves the word “radiant” into her web.
Fame returns and Homer Zuckerman decides to take
W ilbur to the county fair. Big celebration! This is an adrenaline
moment for all the animáis and insects.
The Goat tells W ilbur that if he doesn’t win a prize at the
fair, he’ll be bacon. This o f course makes W ilbur nervous once
again and increases the amount of conflict with the situation he
experiences. He asks Charlotte to accompany him to the fair.
8
She tells him that all that matters in the contest is character.
“Yon have a lot of character, Wilbur,” she assures him.
Then we learn that Charlotte is going to make an egg sac
in preparation for her babies. And we get another song,
“Mother Earth and Father Tim e,” explaining the life cycle to us
one more time.
Chapter 9: “Off to the Fair”

Charlotte and Templeton go with Wilbur to the county fair.
Wilbur plays to the expectations o f the group and resists
getting into his crate even though he is not opposed to it. The
reasoning is that, if he doesn’t act like a pig, they’ll think some-
thing is wrong with him. I think this is a very clever character
choice.
Fern, growing up now, meets Henry Fussy at the fair. Shades
o f Thornton Wilders famous stage play Our Town. Boy meets
girl, holding hands. Wilbur feels abandoned, but Charlotte reas-
sures him that it is just life and that Fern is Iooking at Henry
Fussy “through new eyes.”
Note that, once the action shifts to the county fair, the ani
máis start to be less like humans and more like animáis. Wilbur
is grunting like a pig. Other animáis have no humanización at
all. This will reflect reality to the children who watch the movie.
Probably they have been to a county fair or carnival one time or
another, and the animáis there are real animáis. The worldview
is shifted a bit away from seeing humans through animal eyes
and back to seeing animáis through human eyes.
Chapter 10: “Unele”

Charlotte meets Unele, the pig in the stall next to Wilburs at
the fair. He is formidable competition, but she thinks she can
puc Wilbur over the top.
9
— Acting ¡n Animation —
Charlotte is conspicuously slowing down now, coming to

the end of her íife cycle. This is a form o f conflict with the sit-
uation for her. One way to increase conflict with the situation
is to have the character race against time. She must ensure that
Wilbur wins a prize betore her death.
Chapter 11: “The Cool of the Evening”

Templeton finds a piece o f paper at the fair, with the word
“Humble” written on it. Charlotte figures she can use that in
her web.
Templeton gorges himself on leftover goodies at the fair
during the night. Again, the animation o f Templeton is quite a
bit stronger and more . . . mmm . . . animated than that of the
other animáis. He eats so much, his belly swells to triple its reg
ular size and he seems almost drunk.
Chapter 12: “The Egg Sac”

Wilbur wakes up and discovers that Charlotte has made an egg
sac that contains, according to her, five hundred and fourteen
eggs. It is her magnum opus, her life’s greatest achievement.
Charlotte is increasingly tired. She tells Wilbur she is get-
ting oíd, feeling her age.
Templeton shows up after the long night o f gorging. Hes
going to have a terrible hangover.
Chapter 13: “The Hour of Triumph”

Fern and the other humans discover thar Charlotte has woven
into her web, in big glowing letters, the word “H UM BLE.”
Anticipating victory at the fair, rhey instead discover that Unele
in the next stall has been awarded First prize already. Everybody
is sad and crying, especially Fern, because she thinks Wilbur will
now become bacon. Conflict with situation.
10
Just as things are looking terribly bleak, a colorful marching

band arrives and W ilbur is awarded a special prize because he
has been so good for State tourism.
Chapter 14: “Last Day”

Charlotte dies. This is an adrenaline m om ent for Wilbur.
Chapter 15: “AW arm W ind”

W ilbur carries Charlottes egg sac back to the barn in his mouth
and watches over it until spring.
Babies are born, making W ilbur happy, but then they all
begin to float away to other places where they would make new
webs. W ilbur cries and threatens to run away. Then he discov-
ers that there were three runt spider babies that are too small to
fly away. They will stay with W ilbur on the farm, and everybody
will live happily ever after.
2. Dum¡)0 V K -* r
A . Walt Disney Producdon (1941)

Producen Walt Disney
Director: Ben Sharpsteen
Writers: Helen Aberson (Book), Aurie Battaglia, Otro
Englander, Joe Grant, Dick Huemer, Bill Peet, Harold Perl
(Book), Joe Rinaldi, Webb Smith, George Stallings
Sequence Directors: Samuel Armstrong, Norman Ferguson,
Wilfred Jackson, Jack Kinney, Bill Roberts
Animator Directors: Art Babbitt, Ward Kimball, John
Lounsbery, Fred Moore, Wolfgang Reitherman, Vladimir (Bill)
Tytla
Voice Cast: Hermán Bing (Ringmaster), Billy Bletcher
(Clown), Edward Brophy (Timothy Q. Mouse), Jim
Carmichael (Crow), Hall Johnson Choir (Crows), Cliff
Edwards (Jim Crow), Verna Felton (Elephant Matriarch),
Noreen Gammill (Elephant), Sterling Holloway (Mr. Stork),
Malcolm Hutton (Skinny), Harold Manley (Boy), John
McLeish (Narrator), Tony Neil (Boy), Dorothy Scott
(Elephant), Sarah Selby (Elephant), Billy Sheets
(Joe/Clown), Chuck Stubbs (Boy), Margaret Wright
(Casey Jr.)
12
— 2. Dumbo —
OverView
Back in 1941, the style o f animación contained much more pan-
tomime than it does today. Notice howTimothy Q. Mouse, for
instance, continually illustrates the spoken word with generic
gesture. There was evidently no consideration at all o f such
things as Chekhov’s Psychological Gesture. Dumbo’s tears are
also interesting. Vladimir (Bill) Tytla was the animation director
for Dumbo, and boy, did he ever capture the ¡Ilusión of emo-
tion! Elephants are rumored to cry, but my research is that they
do not in fact cry. According to Crying: A Natural an d Cultural
History o f Tears (Tom Lutz, W. W. Norton, 2001) only humans
cry tears o f sadness. Reflection of realicy or not, animal tears are
often used in animation to elicit empathy.
Chapter 1: Opening Credits

Chapter 2: “Look Out for Mister Stork”
The storks deliver babies to the circus. At the end o f the
sequence, we first meet Mrs. Jumbo, whose baby is late in
arriving. She stretches her trunk into the nighc sky, searching
in vain for her baby. Note that her gaze and thought processes
are quite specific. She focuses on the incoming baby/para-
chute to her left and follows it hopefully as it descends from
the sky. When it floats into another animal’s area, her thought
process is, “That’s not my baby. . . .” Then she returns to
searching the sky. Another baby/parachute descends to her
right and she hopefully follows that one as it, too, floats into
another animal’s area. Then she again searches the sky. No
13
more baby/parachutes. Her thought is, “My baby is not Corn

ing tonight. . . And she sags a bit in disappointment. A
scene is a negotiation. Mrs. Jumbo is playing an action
(searching the sky for her baby), in pursuit o f an objective
(trying to find her baby), while overcoming an obstacle (con-
flict with the situation). Also: Play an action until something
happens to make yon play a different action. She follows each
baby/parachute, First with hope and then with disappoint
ment. When she is certain that one of thein is not hers she
returns to the search. One thought and action at a time.
Chapter 3: “The Circus Moves On”

Mainly a series o f connective and expository sequences, estab-
lishing that the circus is going to another town.
Chapter 4: “Delivery for Mrs. Jumbo”

Also a series of connective and expository sequences, but these
have slightly more conflict (obstacles). The stork sitting on the
cloud has conflict with the situation as he searches for the pre
cise location o f Mrs. Jumbo down below. Once he fmds the
moving train, he has further conflict with the situation as he
searches for the particular car that holds Mrs. Jumbo. Once he
finds Mrs. Jumbo, there is slight conflict between the stork and
Mrs. Jumbo. She wants to get on with mothering her baby, and
the stork wants to go through formalities first, singing Happy
Birthday and so on. This is, by the way, an adrenaline moment
for Mrs. Jumbo. Mrs. Jumbo will always remember the day her
baby was born on the moving train. When the stork departs, the
level of conflict (between characters) increases as the other ele-
phant matrons make fun of Dumbo’s ears. Mrs. Jumbo physi-
cally swats them away with her trunk and then sweetly eradles
her baby.
14
— 2. D um bo —
Chapter 5: “Setting Up the Big Top”

Expository/connective scquences with very mild conflict as
Dumbo learns how to do his part in the circus migration. He is
in conflict with the situation due to his small size, big ears, and
unfamiliarity with the process. Al the end o f the chapter, he
trips on his ears and falls in rhe mud. Again, conflict with the
situation.
Chapter 6: “A Bath for Dumbo”

This is an important series o f sequences. It begins by establish-
ing a zero-conflict loving relationship between Dum bo and his
mother as she bathes him and plays hide-and-seek. In that sense,
this sequence is mainly a connective scene. The audience is
lulled into empathic comfort. Then the scene ares sharply as the
human children arrive to taunt Dumbo. Mrs. Jum bo flrst has
conflict with the situation; then as the redheaded boy physi-
cally grabs Dum bo and blows in his ear, conflict with situation
changes into conflict with another character. Mrs. Jum bo turns
red-eyed and defends her baby. She turns the red-haired boy
over and spanks him. Em otion tends to lead to action. The cir
cus ringmaster comes in with his whip, which further escalares
the conflict between characters. Mrs. Jum bo is subdued with
ropes and is separated from her baby. This scene is surely an
adrenaline m om ent, too.
Chapter 7: “Mrs. Jumbo in

Solitary Confinement”
The sequences begin by establishing the emotional pain o f sepa-
radon. Conflict with situation. Note that Dumbo tries to be
even smaller, hunkering into a córner. T hat is a status transac-
tion. A character with low self-esteem or sadness will generally
15
try to take up less space in the world. Dumbo comforts himself

by gently swaying back and forth, the same kind o f movement
involved when his mother rocks him. This was foreshadowed at
the end o f Chapter 4. Em otion tends to lead to action. The
emotion is sadness; the action is to com fort himself. Conflict/
obstacle is with the situation. Then we meet Timothy Q.
Mouse. He is immediately established as an ally o f Dumbo when
he scares the cruel and gossipy matron elephants. W hen Dumbo
moves to join the older elephants, they cióse ranks, blocking him
out. His action remains to comfort himself, but the kind o f con
flict involved shifts from conflict with the situation and onto
conflict with other characters. He then plays an action until
som ething happens to make him play another action. W hen he
is blocked from the group, he changes direction and goes ofif to
hide under some hay.
Chapter 8: “Dumbo Meets a New Friend”

Mainly an expository/connective scene in which the relationship
between Tim othy Mouse and Dumbo is cemented. W e then
overhear the circus master concocting another act for the Big
Top, this one a “pyramid o f pachyderms.” W hen Timothy
Mouse sneaks underneath the tent flap and whispers into the
circus master’s ear, there is conflict with the situation.
Chapter 9: “A Pyramid of Pachyderms”

Further establishment o f the insensitivity o f the circus master as
he announces the pyramid o f pachyderms in a Big Top show.
W hen Dumbo runs out to the springboard, he trips over his
ears. Again, the conflict is with the situation. As Dumbo cum-
bles into the ball and topples the pyramid, the resulting calamity
and bedlam remind me of the coniic payoff in the “Squirrelly in
the Diner” chapter of Brad Bird’s The Iron Giant. It is also a
16
— 2. Dum bo —
pretty classic Charlie Chaplin kind o f mom cnt. Com edy is a

factor o f a character’s lim itations, which is why D um bo’s ears
are funny.
Chapter 10: “Dumbo’s Disgrace”

Dumbo experiences shame and embarrassment when he is used
as a circus clown. He also feels fear when he is forced to jump
o ff the burning tower into che net below. Audiences only
empathize with em otion and, in this case, the em otion is fear.
We feel sympathy (literally, “feeling for”) for Dum bo, but we
also feel a lot o f empathy (literally, “feeling into”). Tim othy
Mouse subsequently tries to cheer him up. By the end o f the
sequence, Dumbo is perfectly miserable and in tears. Conflict
with the situation.
Chapter 11: “Dumbo Visits His Mother”

This is one o f the most famous animation sequences o f all
time. Study it carefully. T h e acting is wonderful. No dialogue
passes between Dumbo and his mother, and there is no side nar-
ration from Tim othy Mouse. We are left to watch mother and
child try to touch one another even though they can’t see one
another. Note how much em otion there is in this exchange.
Their trunks touch and entwine lovingly. The action on both
parts is to touch, and the obstacle is with the situation.
Chapter 12: “Dumbo Gets the Hiccups”

This is a fun and expository sequence. The animators had to get
Dumbo, a baby after all, drunk and still make it all seem harm-
less. The acting lesson would be in the way that Tim othy Mouse
and Dumbo react to the champagne. Neither o f them has ever
been drunk before so they don’t know anything about trying to
17
— Acring in Animation —
preserve their dignity while drunk. They are simply taken along
for an alcoholic ride. Note the relaxation in their bodies and
the shifting power centers. When you get drunk, the power
center in your body becomes unstable. That is why you may
stumble and sway.
Chapter 13: “Pink Elephants on Parade”

This is a colorful, big-orchestra, extended Fantasia-likc sequence
and there is very little acring involved. The humor is based on
improbability and morphing (elephant trunks turn into trum-
pets; elephants turn different colors . . .). Iris the kind of lovely
stuff that we no longer see in animated features.
Chapter 14: “Up a Tree”

We meet the crows (animation director: Ward Kimble). Once
Dumbo and Timothy wake up and realize they are up a tree,
they both have conflict with the situation. Dumbo’s action is to
hang on and not fall. The obstade is gravity. In any negotia-
tion, there is a way to win and a way to lose. If he can regain
his balance in the tree, he wins; if he falls, he loses. He falls, of
course. Remember, comedy has to do with the character’s limi-
tations. I personally love the acring in this sequence. The crows
are fully realized characters.
Chapter 15: “When I See

an Elephant Fly”
The crows perform a show-stopping musical number in which
they mock Dumbo for thinking may be he can fly. The
sequence is exuberant and fun and good-natured. les just a
marvelous showpiece. After the singing stops, Timothy Mouse
shames the crows for having made fun o f poor Dumbo. The
18
— 2. D um bo —
crows shed tears o f empathy, and we know for sure they are
going to be friends.
Chapter 16: “Dumbo Flies”

The crows give Dumbo a “magic feather’Vplacebo and shove
him o ff a cliff. Dum bo’s inirial emotion is fear as he approaches
che precipice. O nce in the air, the emotion changes to happiness
and delight. Em otion tends to lead to action.
Chapter 17: “Dumbo’s Surprise”

Back under the Big Top, Dumbo is dressed as a clown and once
again poised to jum p from the burning building into the net
below. This time the perch is several times higher than it was last
time, creating the possibility o f real danger. As Dumbo plunges
toward earth, he drops the magic feather. Tim othy Mouse slides
to the end o f Dum bos trunk and pleads with him to spread his
ears and fly even without the magic feather. The acting note is
that emotion tends to lead to action. Dumbo is falling rapidly.
If he will not fly, he will likely die. The stakes could not be
higher. It is an adrenaline moment. That is why Tim othy Mouse
is so agitated. W hen Dumbo narrowly avoids disaster and soars
into the air above the circus audience, we feel relief and joy. In
acting terms, it is a dramatic m om ent because it deais with the
character s possibilities— rather than limitations— in life. Then
Dumbo gets back at all the people and animáis that have made
fun o f him. They are caused to trip, fall in buckets o f water, go
tumbling, and so on. At this point, it is they who have the con-
flict with the situation, not Dumbo. They are acting to protect
themselves and the conflict is that Dumbo is on their case.
The final sequence in which the circus train moves on to the
next town simply ties up the theme in a nice package. The
underdog has prevailed. Lesson learned.
19
3. Pinocchio
W a lt Disney Home Video (1940)

Directors: Hamilton Luske, Ben Sharpsteen
Writing Credits: Cario Collodi (novel The Adventures o f
Pinocchio), Aurelius Battaglia (story adaptation), William
Cottrell (story adaptation), Otto Englander (story adapta
tion), Erdman Penner (story adaptation), Joseph Sabo (story
adaptation), Ted Sears (story adaptation), Webb Smith (story
adaptation)
Animators: FrankThomas, OlÜe Johnston, Milt Kahl
(Pinocchio), Art Babbitt (Geppetto), Ward Kimball (Jiminy
Cricket), Bill Tytla and Bob Stokes (Geppetto), Bill Tytla (lead
Stromboli), Fred Moore (Lampwick), Norm Ferguson (Honest
John and Gideon)
Voice Cast: Mel Blanc (hiccup sound effecc), Don Brodie
(Barker), Walter Catlett (J. Worthington Foulfellow),
Frankie Darro (Lampwick), C liff Edwards (Jiminy Cricket),
Dickie Jones (Pinocchio), Charles Judels (Stromboli/The
Coachman), Christian Rub (Geppetto), Evelyn Venable
(The Blue Fairy)
The Blue Fairy was rotoscoped by Jack Campbell.
20
— 3. Pinocchio —
Ovcrvkw
The character o f Pinocchio appeals because he is such a typical
little boy. You could almost replace him with Mickey Mouse and
get the same effect. When he is excited, he is very excited, and
when he is afraid, he is terrified. He acts impulsively most o f the
time, just like a young boy might be expectcd to do. It is easy to
emparhize with Pinocchio because his every move is clearly
motivated by emotion.
Michael Barrier makes an astute observation in his book
Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in Its Colden Age
(Oxford University Press, 1999): “The question before Disney
had been, should he try to find some way to make Pinocchio lik-
able as a puppet, or should he try to make him likable by mak-
ing him less of a puppet and more of a boy?” (p. 239).
Amlysís
Chapter 2: “One Night, a Long Time Ago”
Jiminy Cricket struggles with the oversized book. This gives a
small amount o f conflict to a scene that is basically just expo-
sition. Very clever. You always want your character to do some-
thing. If Jiminy had not had to struggle with the book, he
would have just stood there and talked to the camera. The
cover is as heavy as a garage door to the little cricket, and the
page is like a giant sheet. Ask yourself if you would have thought
to add conflict by having him struggle with the page.
Note that the first time we see Pinocchio as a lifeless pup
pet, he has no eyebrows. It is significant that the animator left
21
the eyebrows for last because they are one o f the most expres-
sive elements o f the human face.
Chapter 3: “Little Wooden Head”

Geppetto gives Pinocchio his ñame. This involves zero con-
flict and is expository. Jim in y C ricket gets caught in the
internal m echanism o f a d o ck and alm ost gets crushed.
Low-grade con flict with situation. It is interesting to me that
the production team tried co put a bit o f conflict into each
scene, even if it is not m ajor and doesn’t have much to do with
anything.
Chapter 4: “Geppetto s Wish”

Figaro the cat has fairly constant conflict with his situation
in that he is trying to go to sleep and Geppetto continually
interrupts him. Geppetto himself has zero conflict. Once
Figaro and Geppetto are settled down, the conflict switches
over to Jim iny Cricket, who cannot get to sleep for the noise
o f the docks.
Chapter 5: “The Blue Fairy”

The Blue Fairy was a straightforward rotoscope and is therefore
the weakest character in the movie, in my opinión.
Chapter 6: “Give a Little Whistle”

Jiminy, newly anointed “Sir Jim iny Cricket,” the official con-
science for Pinocchio, attempts a father-son advice session. He
hems and haws, the same as most fathers do when they try to
give advice. This is conflict with the situation. It resolves itself
when he starts singing the advice in the song, “Give a Little
W histle.” Suddenly, he has no doubt at all and becomes as
graceful as Fred Astaire.
22
— 3 . Pinoccbio —
Chapter 7: “A Wish Come True”

Gepetto is frightened by a noise. He lights a candle, gets his pis-
tol, and searches for prowlers. Acting-wise, I can quibble with
the degree o f hand tremble, although I understand the trem-
ble is intended to set up the upcoming gag. In life, a nervous
person will act to co n tro l a tremble. Geppetto is clearly unac-
customed to using the gun to defend himself. It is big and heavy
and is an accident waiting to happen.
The gag happens when Pinocchio says, “Here I am!”, scar-
ing the cat, who jumps up Geppetto’s nightgown, which in turn
scares Geppetto into firing his pistol. This is a very funny
sequence. It reminds me of the circus sequence in D um bo when
the elephant tries unsuccessfully to participatc in the Big Top
act. O ne event triggers a series o f other events. T h e trick to this
kind o f gag is that each o f the resulting events must, in hind-
sight, be utterly logical.
Geppetto cannot believé that the puppet has come to life.
This is an adrenaline m om ent for the oíd guy. I like the choice
o f dousing himself with water. There were a lot o f possible act-
ing choices in that moment. People pinch themselves, for
example, when they want to test if they are dreaming. Dousing
himself with water was comic because it was so extreme.
Com edy is drama extended, elevated, exaggerated. In a sense,
the bucket o f water can be seen as an extensión and elevation of
a simple pinch.
Pinocchio sets his own finger on fire and doesn’t realize there
is a problem. This establishes that he is not lully a human boy yet
and it triggers an interesting empathetic response in the audience.
Think about it: W hen you see someone burn herself, don’t you
jump with alarm? T hat is because you empathize with the feel-
ing o f being burned. W hen Pinocchio sets his finger on fire, your
first impulse is to empathize, but the puppet himself does not
23
—* Acring in A nim ation
react! This immediately signáis that he is not yet human. Even if

he didn’t know ir was wrong, a human boy would have felt the
pam. Instead, che finger on fire provides conflict for Geppetto,
who has to spring into action ro save the puppet.
At the end o í the sequence, Cleo the fish has conflict with
the situation because Geppetto and Pinocchio have turned her
water smoky.
Chapter 8: “Off to School”

Note how Pinocchio is jumping around with excitement and
how he skips rather than walking or running when he heads off
for school. Emotion tends to lead to action. We empathize
with him a lot in this sequence. This is also an adrenaline
moment for Pinocchio. He will never forget his first day of
school, especially because this is the day he meets Honest
John and Gideon.
Chapter 9: “Honest John and Gideon”

Note the peculiar walk rhythm of Honest John and Gideon. It
is step-hold-step-hold-step-hold. Very interesting. The walk
itself is creepy and sneaky, so we have a feeling about these
characters almost from the instant they appear on screen. When
Pinocchio goes skipping past in the opposite direction, the con
tras! between the two styles o f walking is marked. Pinocchio is
innocent, while Honest John and Gideon are stealthy.
Chapter 10: “Pinocchio Is Led Astray”

Pinocchio first has conflict with the situation when Honest
John trips him with the cañe. At the point where Pinocchio says
he is going to school and attempts to leave, the conflict switches
to conflict with another character. The conflict is resolved
24
— 3. Pinocchio —
when Pinocchio stares dancing down the Street with the bad
guys. Remember, a scene is a negotiation and, in any negotia-
tion, there must be a way to win and a way to lose. In this one,
Pinocchio loses when he ¡oins Honest John, but he doesn’t yet
realize it.
Pinocchio’s decisión to go with Honest John at the begin-
ning o f the song “An Actor’s Life for Me” is interesting. Play it a
couple o f times and look closely. Pinocchio does not make a clear
decisión to accompany the fox and, in fact, appears doubtful
until the song begins. Really, more than making a career deci
sión, he is joining a fun dance. At this point, Honest John and
Pinocchio’s gaits are in sync. They both march in time with the
same music. Pinocchios transition springs totally from emo-
tion, not from a conceptual thinking process. I f he stopped to
think about what he was doing, he probably wouldn’t do it.
Pinocchio in fact hasn’t a clue what an actor is, what fame is, or
any o f that. H es just happy to go along.
Jim iny Crickets entrance is on the run. H es “late the first
day” and he’s trying to catch up with Pinocchio. Conflict with
situation. The next acting principie here happens when Jim iny
is surprised by Pinocchio dancing o ff with Honest John and
Gideon. Play an action until som ething happens to make you
play a different action.
Gideon hits Honest John on the head with a mallet for a
wonderful, elassie cartoon gag. W hat I like most about this
sequence is the way that Gideon reaets after he has hit Honest
John. First he runs away. He knows he is in deep trouble. Then
he returns and tries to figure how to get Honest John unstuck
from his stovetop hat. The gag would have been a little stronger
if Gideon’s thought process was a bit clearer. Indecisión is actu-
ally a series o f tiny decisions and changes o f mind. Gideon
appears generally perplexed, but he is actually making decisions
about how to proceed. His choice becomes clear when he starts
25
trying to pry the hat off Honest John’s head and then uses the
mallet again.
Chapter 11: “I’ve Got No Strings”

This is Pinocchio’s first real introduction to cruelty in life.
Stromboli hits him on the head after he trips in the opening
moments of his song, “I’ve Got No Strings.” It is a violent blow,
too, made all the more so because Pinocchio is such an innocent.
We see his look of surprise (acting is reacting), but before that
can transíate into real fear, Stromboli realizes that there is no
ftnancial gain in mistreating the puppet in public. He turns on a
dime and acts friendly again, and Pinocchio— ever the trusting
soul— immediately gets back into the swing of the party.
The action shifts back to Geppetto and his search for the
lost Pinocchio. Conflict with situation. You can also see a lot of
sadness in the droop ot Geppetto’s body as he is putting on his
coat to go search for the boy. Sadness will tend to make a char-
acter feel heavier.
Chapter 12: “Pinocchio Taken Prisoner”

Cheap gag involving garlic breath. Stromboli eats half a garlic
clove and then brings Pinocchio’s face cióse to his own.
Pinocchio’s eyes water. I could have lived without it, to be truth-
ful. I think gags should come from the logic of the scene.
Until the very moment that Stromboli locks Pinocchio in
the birdcage, the puppet is trusting. Even as Stromboli carries
him to the cage, Pinocchio is laughing, thinking this is all a fun
game. The transition comes when Pinocchio realizes his true
awful situation. This is where he comes face-to-face with cruelty
and recognizes it for what it is. He wants to escape. He has con
flict with another character and also conflict with the situation.
There is a wonderful tension-building moment when
Gepctto comes within feet of the captive Pinocchio in the rain.
26
— 3■ Pinocchio —
He calis out into the night, “Pino— ”, but the lasr part o f the
puppet’s ñame is drowned out by thunder. If it had not thun-
dered at that moment, Jim iny and Pinocchio would have heard
Gepetto, and the story would have come to a different and
much earlier conclusión.
Chapter 13: “The Blue Fairy Comes

to Pinocchio’s Aid”
This is an interesting and important sequence because it is the
first time we see Pinocchio in conflict with himself, which is a
hallmark o f humanity. Up until this point, the conflict has been
either with the situation or with another character. An element
o f human maturity is the ability to tell right from wrong.
Pinocchio lies to the Blue Fairy and his nose starts growing. He
keeps lying, choosing with each lie to lie some more. At each
step, he has the choice o f telling the truth. Finally, when his nose
is fully distended, he is ashamed and vows to be truthful from
now on. This is a key moment in Pinocchios journey from being
a puppet.
In the final moment o f this chapter, after Jim iny and
Pinocchio have escaped, Pinocchio calis out loudly and happily,
“Goodbye, Mister Stromboli!” 1 don’t like that moment because
it not logical and it was unnecessary. Pinocchio surely knows
that Stromboli is a bad guy at this point, and he would be smart
enough not to cali out to him. The objective in the sequence is
to escape. Calling out like that compromises the negotiation
and makes Pinocchio appear rather stupid.
Chapter 14: “The Coachman’s Proposition”

This sequence is interesting to watch because we have a new
character and a change o f atmosphere, but when you look
underneath, there is not much going on. T h e cigar jokes take
up a lot o f space. W hen the Coachm an mentions Pleasure
27
—* Acting in Animation —
Island, it ¡s confusing that Honest John and Gideon have such

a shocked and fearful reaction. Ir doesn’r make sense, if you
stop to chink about it, because we have established by rhis
point in the story that these guys have zero scruples. As the
sequence ends, it seems that Honest John and Gideon will be
unwilling accomplices to the kidnapping o f Pinocchio. Why
should they be unwilling? They will, after all, be weil paid
and, up until now, they have had no problem with selling
Pinocchio down the river.
Chapter 15: “Honest John Waylays

Pinocchio Again”
Pinocchio has conflict/negotiation with another character,
Honest John. Significantly, Honest John and Gideon literally
lift Pinocchio off the ground and carry him off to the boat. The
puppet is thereby relieved o f the necessity to resolve the con-
flict. I wish that Pinocchio had been allowed to stick with the
conflict with another character and then be carried to the boat
calling out for Jiminy. This would have played out stronger in
the next sequence when Pinocchio first meets Lampwick. The
sequence has Pinocchio repeatedly attempting to explain to
Lampwick that the ace o f spades Honest John gave him is a
“boat ticket.” It would have worked better, in my opinión, if
Pinocchio were doubtful and fearful about this new journey.
After all, he does not know that Jiminy is riding underneath the
wagón. All he really knows is that he is alone and going to some
new and maybe fearful place. It would have been effective sto-
rytelling to allow him to be afraid.
Chapter 16: “Pleasure Island”

This is the first time we see Pinocchio eat anything. He eats
pie and ice cream. Humans eat; puppets don’t. Though it
would not register on the average movie viewer, this bit of
28
- 3. P inocchio —
business helps establish tliat Pinocchio is now much more

human than puppet.
W hen Pinocchio says it is “fun to be bad,” you get the
sense that he really doesn’t know what “bad’’ means. I wish he
had been allowed a decisive mom ent where he makes a clear
choice to do a bad thing. For example, Lampwick tosses a
brick through a beautiful stained-glass window. It would have
been nice il Pinocchio had also picked up a brick, hesitated
(conflict with self), and then tossed his brick, too, through a
pretty window.
Chapter 17: “Later That Night”

Pinocchio has conflict with the situation when he smokes the
cigar.
Jim iny has indirect conflict with another character, namely
Lampwick. He loses that negotiation and heads for the boat.
Play an action until som ething happens to make you play a
different action. Jim iny sees the Coachman rounding up boys
who have turned into jackasses, and he immediately changes
course, returning to save Pinocchio from an awful fate.
This is a wonderful sequence because it is nightmarish. A
psychiatrist told me once that the difference between a dream
and a nightmare is that nightmares deal with mortality. When
the boys turn into jackasses, they lose their ability to funcdon as
humans. In other words, if they live as jackasses, they perish as
humans. Nightmare. Excellent storytelling, particularly since
the target audience for this movie is young.
Chapter 18: “Lampwick Makes

a Jackass of Himself”
Pinocchio, watching Lampwick turn into a jackass at the pool table,
nrst decides not to drink beer and then, separately, not to smoke
any more cigars. It is late in the game, but he is making choices.
29
— Acring in Animation ■
—
Pinocchios reacción to Lampwicks transformación is illogical.

He laughs on the line, “You sure do!” and then brays like a jackass.
I can see why it was done chis way. The animator wanted to set up
thc transformación from laugh to braying. Still, the reacción is an
illogical progression from what transpired only momencs earlier.
Pinocchio decided not to smoke or drink, and at least part of the
decisión was based on fear. The logical extensión would have been
more fear. Anyway, it would be terrifying— not funny— to see
your friend turn into a jackass right before your eyes.
As Lampwick becomes 100 percent jackass, Pinocchio is
wrenched with fear. This is logical and right. The sequence is
brilliant and terrifying, full o f emotion. I very much like it that
Lampwick kicks and bucks in his resistance to being a jackass.
Humans act to survive. His conversión into a jackass is a con
versión into death. It helps creare in the audience a sense of
empathy when he fights the transformación so much.
By this point, Pinocchio is scared out o f his wits and he has
extreme conflict with the situation. Jiminy s arrival resolves that
conflict as he leads Pinocchio to safety.
Chapter 19: “Sad Homecoming”

Conflict with the situation as Pinocchio discovers Geppetto is
gone. Then comes the message, presumably from the Blue Fairy,
explaining about Monstro the whale.
Pinocchio, now functioning as a human, immediately opts
for saving Geppetto from the whale. He has zero concern for his
own safety. His priority is to save his father. This would not, by
the way, be altruistic behavior. Pinocchio would probably not
want to live knowing that his father was dead.
At this point, we could also say that Pinocchio becomes a
hero. A hero is an ordinary person who overcomes great odds
or a great enemy to achieve a positive goal.
30
—* 3■ Pinocchio —
Chapter 20: “The Undersea

Search for Geppetto”
This totally illogical underwater sequence goes on far too long
before Pinocchio finally winds up face to face with Geppetto. I
suppose the storytellers wanted to have some fun with the
underwater fishy environment, but the whole thing doesn’t
make much sense. Why doesn’t he drown?
The sequence with Geppetto in the whale’s belly is expo-
sition. He has conflict with his situation, but there isn’t much
he can do about it. Therefore, it is not a real negotiation.
Chapter 21: “Monstro Awakens”

This is an extended action sequence. Lovely animation, not
much going on performance-wise. Pinocchio tries to escape
Monstro’s gaping and hungry mouth. Meanwhile, Geppetto
finally has some físh to eat in the whales belly.
Chapter 22: “A Soggy Reunión”

Pinocchio is capable o f abstraer thought, another hallmark o f
humans. He figures out how to make the whale sneeze! Even
Geppetto, theoretically the brighter and wiser, doesn’t think
o f that.
Chapter 23: “A Whale of a Sneeze”

Magnificent action sequences as the whale sneezes and chases
Pinocchio and Geppetto. The conflict is obvious. This is a won-
derfully tumultuous event, and it perfectly sets up the ending of
total stillness as we learn that Pinocchio may have drowned.
Pinocchio is a true hero now. He has overeóme the odds
and saved his father’s life.
31
— Acting in Animation
Chapter 24: “The Dream Fulfilled”

Pinocchio is on his deathbed, lifeless. Geppetto, Fígaro, Cleo,
and Jiminy mourn. Then the Blue Fairy carries out her side of
the deal, bringing the puppet ro life— as a real boy.
Emotion tends to lead to action. Everybody celebrares.
Jiminy has a quiet moment with the Wishing Star— I mean,
Blue Fairy— outside. The End; music np.
32
4. T reameP¡and
W a lt Disney Pictures (2002)

Producen Roy Conli
Directors: Ron Clements, John Musker
Writing Credits: Ken Harsha (story), Barry Johnson (story
supervisor), Kaan Kalyon (story), Mark Kennedy (story), Sam
Levine (story), Donnie Long (story), Frank Nissen (story),
Terry Rossio (costory), Robert Louis Stevenson (novel Treasure
Island)
Animators: Mark Austin (animator B .E .N .), Noreen Beasley
(rough inbetweener Amelia and Scroop), Nancy Beiman
(supervising animator Billy Bones), Doug Bennett (animator
B .E .N .), Bill Berg (clean-up co-lead John Silver), Eric Daniels
(C G I lead animator John Silver), Ken Duncan (supervising
animator Captain Amelia and Scroop), Eric Gervais-Despres
(scene planner), T. Daniel Hofstedt (supervising animator
Mister Arrow), Glen Keane (supervising animator John
Silver), Vera Lanpher (clean-up supervisor), Karen Lundeen
(clean-up colead John Silver), John Musker (developer),
Sergio Pablos (supervising animator Dr. Doppler), John Ripa
(lead character animator Jim Hawkins), M arc Smith (anima
tor John Silver), Mike Show (animator M orph), Oskar
Urretabizkaia (supervising animator B .E .N .), Kevin
Waldvogel (animator), Dean Wellins (animator)
Art Director: Andy Gaskill
33
Voice Cast: Roscoe Lee Browne (Arrow), Cory Burton (Onus),

Dañe Davis (M orph), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Jim Hawkins),
T o n y jay (Narrator), Austin Majors (Y oungjim ), Patrick
M cGoohan (Billy Bones), Michael M cShane (Hands), Laurie
M etcalf (Sarah Hawkins), Brian Murray (John Silver), David
Hyde Pierce (Delbert Doppler), Martin Short (B .E .N .), Emma
Thom pson (Captain Amelia), Michael W incott (Scroop)
OverView
Treasure P la}iet '\i what Hollywood calis a high-concept film. The
pitch session behind it can be summed up as “ Treasure Islan d
meets Star Wars.” High concept often succeeds at the box office,
but this time it did not, even in the hands o f a stellar production
team and tens o f millions o f dollars in Disney promotion.
There has been plenty o f industry debate about what went
wrong with Treasure Planet. W ithout any doubt, it is a drop-
dead beautiful movie to watch, with those nineteenth-century
ocean ships cruising through outer space.
My personal view is that the concept pitched betrer than it
executed. The single most troubling issue is the way that some
o f the leading chatacters frorn Stevenson’s original Treasure
Islan d are converted into aliens. Aliens in movies are tricky in
the first place because we humans empathize with other
humans. If you want an audience to empathize with an alien,
you have to humanize him so that we can relate to him emo-
tionally. W hen a storyteller announces that a character on screen
is 80 percent human and 20 percent dog, which is the case o f
Delbert Doppler, we in the audience are already scratching our
heads a bit. As we move through the chapters o f the D V D , I will
point out where I think the problems arise. Many readers will
disagree with me, I suspect, but I hope my take on the movie at
least encourages discussion.
34
— 4. Treasure P lanet —
The D V D o f Treasure P lan et ineludes an invaluable visual

commentary that I think is essemial viewing for readers o f this
book. The producen codirectors, and various key animators
explain what they were trying to accomplish and how things
evolved during producción. Given thar the movie ultimately
does not work very well, it is useful to keep those visual com
mentary observations in mind.
Analysís
Chapter 1: Opening Credits/
“A Young Boy's Dream”
According to the visual commentary, the prologue sequence that
appears in the movie was added late in producción, evidently
after some test screenings. Hollywood studios are very fond o f
test screenings. The problem with them is that the filmmakers
may begin to distrust their own best judgment about what will
work and what won’t, and they will try to adjust the movie to
get the best test numbers. Test screenings for Treasure P lan et
indicated that the audience found the original opening “too
dark,” and so they carne up with this new, sweeter, more Disney-
esque prologue. The original opening sequence is fortunately
included on the D V D under “Deleted Scenes.” For my money,
the way they had it in the first place was much stronger than
what they wound up with after test screenings. T h e current pro
logue is a flashback bedtime sequence that introduces Jim
Hawkins as a young child. In it, we learn that he is a typical boy
with a bigger-than-life imagination and has a loving relationship
with his mother, Sarah. In terms o f acting and scene construc-
tion, the movement and behavior o f the two characters works
fine, but the scene is 100 percent exposition. It lacks negotia-
tion. Also, I think it would have been nice to have Jim s father
35
— Actillg in Animation —
stick his head in the room at some point. Throughout the

movie, the father is something o f a mystery figure. If we had a
glimpse into the son’s love for his father, then the father’s even
tual disappearance would have more impact. This bedtime scene
probably was the best opportuniry to introduce that character.
Instead, the entire scene involves only mother and son.
There are two much larger problems with this prologue
though. First, because of the cozy bedroom setting, the audience
understandably thinks the action is taking place on Earth,
maybe in the nineteenth century. In fact, Jim and his mom are
on the planet Montressor some time in the distant tuture.
Second, the audience is led to believe that the entire concept of
a planet that contains hidden treasure is an idea from a child’s
storybook. lt is fodder for a bedtime story. It will not be until
Chapter 3 that the audience learns the treasure is real! In my
view, therefore, the prologue as it is presented muddies the story
at a time when the audience is forming initial impressions. It is
beautifully animated o f course but, in terms o f story develop-
ment, it puts a burden on the audience to unscramble events,
characters, and time frame in Chapter 3.
Flashback is a risky and often overused device tor storytelling
anyway. Robert McKee ofters a useful perspective on this in his
invaluable book Story; Substance, Structure, Style, an d the Principies
o f Screenwriting (HarperCollins 1997, pp. 341-43). Though I
have seen flashback work successfully many times in movies, I
still very much prefer that a story be exposed in a linear ongoing
fashion.
The action then shifts to “twelve years later” when fifteen-
year-old James is hot-rodding on his solar-board. There are no
real negotiations o f any kind in this opening chapter. The boy
has a bit of conflict with his situation because he wants to read
his book rather than go to sleep and, later as a teenager, he has
conflict with his situation because he is risking his lite by driving
36
— 4. Treasure Plariet —
too fast. Overall, however, there is nothing dramatically going

on in the First chapter. The solar-boarti sequence is straightfor-
ward video game stuff. Its not realiy a structured scene, and it
goes on too long. Signifícantly, this too was added late in pro-
duction, along with the new prologue.
Chapter 2: “The Warning”

A basic tenet o f effective screenwriting is “Show. Don’t tell.” In
this chapter, the storytellers unfortunately do a lot o f telling.
When the robot-police bring Jim home, we learn from their
conversation with his upset mother that the boy has a history of
truancy and is on probation. After the cops leave, Jim goes off
to sit on the roof and sulk and we get more expository Informa
tion from an eavesdropped conversation between Sarah and Dr.
Delbert Doppler. They talk about how Jims father “left” when
he was young and how he has been unsettled ever since. This
Information is important! Ideally, it would have been delivered
within a structured scene that involved conflict, negotiation,
and resolution. It is not enough that the characters are generally
upset and unhappy.
In the visual commentary, the producer and directors use
the word “sympathy” when talking about building feeling into a
character. There is a big difference between sympathy and
empathy, and I frequently hear knowledgeable people in the
animation industry get them mixed up. Sympathy literally
means “feeling for” and empathy literally means “feeling
into.” You as an animator want to generate a sense o f empa
thy— not sympathy— in the audience. You’ll gain empathy
when the character acts to survive. In this sequence, Jim goes to
sit on the roof and sulk, and we feel sorry for him. Sympathy
instead of empathy. He overhears his mother telling Dr.
Doppler about his troubled childhood. The visual commentary
37
explains that the initial idea was to leave Jim out o f the scene
altogether, but it was decided it would build “sympathy” for him
if he overheard his mother talking. T h e directors decided that
the conversation between Sarah and Dr. Doppler would play
best if it was reflected in Jim s face. It seems to me the scene
would have played better if we had either stayed in the room
with Sarah and Dr. Doppler or, even more preferable, if the
scene had been written in a way that included Jim in the actual
dialogue. It doesnt help things to establish him this early in the
movie as depressed and passive.
Regarding the character design o f Delbert Doppler, super-
vising animator Sergio Pablos explains in visual commentary
rhat Doppler was first conceived as 100 percent human, but the
decisión was made to try something more extreme. He carne up
with a way that Doppler— an alien— could be 80 percent
human and 20 percent dog. He figured that would help estab
lish that the action takes place somewhere in the distant future.
I appreciate his logic, but the dog ears bothered me for the entire
movie because I couldn’t figure how it worked in an evolution-
ary sense. At what point did humans start mating with dogs?
Maybe it was a cloning experiment gone awry? Later in the
movie, Doppler will mate with the very feline Captain Amelia
(also an alien), and they will have a baby. Given that she is 20
percent cat and Doppler is 20 percent dog, what does all o f this
mean for interspecies evolution? The bottom line for me is, I
wish they had stuck with their original conception o f Dr.
Doppler (and Captain Amelia) as 100 percent human. If they
wanted to make these characters more interesting, there were
myriad ways to do it in terms o f character development.
The arrival of Billy Bones, the turtlelike character who is
hiding the map ofTreasure Planet, is a strong plot point and
swings the action forward. Jim rushes from his roof perch to
help pulí Billy Bones from his wrecked ship. The physical
38
action is motivated by em otion, and it works. T h e action is to

pulí the man out to safety; the objective is to save his life. The
obstacle is that the ship might blow up or som ething. Conflict
with the situation.
The marauding space pirares charge in, ransacking and
burning the Denbow Inn to the ground. This is a visually daz-
zling sequence but doesn’t offer much in terms o f scene struc-
ture. We learn that the pirares are bad guys. Jim , Sarah, and
Delbert have to escape out the back in order to save their Uves.
It would have been nice if, say, Jim had tried to save a favorite
picture o f his dad. Then we would have learned something
about his character and feelings.
Chapter 3: “Jim s Quest”

The action takes place in Dr. Doppler’s observatory. T h e place
is opulent, which establishes that the Doctor has enough money
to finance the upcoming expedition to Treasure Planet.
Jim accidentally opens the spherical map to Treasure Planet.
This sequence contains visual delights but is mainly expository.
We learn about the solar system and also that the characters are
not on earth but on the planet Montressor.
W hen Delbert points out the position ofTreasure Planet on
the map, we in the audience have to figure out ifTreasure Planet
is a real place or something from a child’s storybook, which is
what we were led to believe in the Chapter 1 bedtime sequence.
This is confusing storytelling.
W hen Jim announces that “this is the answer to all our
problems,” he begins to negodate with his mother (conflict
with another person) about whether he can go on the journey
to find the treasure. It’s a confusing negotiation, though,
because she is actually arguing that Jim has lost his mind. Her
contention is that Treasure Planet doesn’t exist at all. According
39
to her, che boy is confusing fantasy with reality. Is Jim really

crazy? WasTreasure Planet ¡use a boy’s storybook bedtime ching?
Did his tather’s departure send Jim totally o ff che deep end? Are
we really lost in space? The acting is good in chis sequence, but
che writing is weak. We should not, here in Chapter 3, be debat-
ing whether or not Treasnre Planet actually exists. Much o f the
problem springs from the changed prologue.
In terms o f performance, both Jim and Delbert get excited
by the discovery on the map and begin jumping around in
anticipation o f a grand adventure and super riches. Emotion
tends to lead to action. But once again there is no negotiation.
T h e character movement is justified in emotional terms, but
the scene lacks structure. Delbert, meanwhile, keeps talking
about what a brilliant sciencist he is, but the evidence on-screen
is that he would have difficulty draining the bathtub. In the
visual narration, we learn that the little dance Delbert does
(“Go, Delbert! Go, Delbert! G o, Delbert!”) originated as an ad
lib by the voice actor, David Hyde Pierce. They kept ¡t in
because they thought it was cute. It is cute, but I think it makes
the character seem unduly silly— especially since in the next
chapter we are expected to believe that he is organized enough
to have hired the entire crew o f the RLS Legacy.
Chapter 4: “The RLS Legactf'

We see the spaceport for the first time. It is a visually exciting
place and we get a glimpse o f some wonderful space creatures.
For some reason, Delbert is wearing a space suit, but nobody
else is. Why? I f they don’t really need suits, then this is a wasted
bit of gag. For Jim , arrival at the spaceport would be an adren-
aline moment.
Phe flatulent alien character is an excuse for potty humor
and doesn’t contribute anything to the story.
40
— 4 . Treasure P lanet —
We discover that the captain o f the R.L.S. Legacy is a super-

competent alien female (80 percent human, 20 percent cat). That’s
fine, except that we soon learn that she did not hire her own
crew— Delbert did. My reaction is that, based on Delbert’s char-
acter development so far, he is too inept to have hired the crew.
Captain Amelia is, according to the bonus extras narration,
based on a cat. T h e animators tried explicitly to make her
behave in a catlike way, and yet they wanted her to be 80 per-
cent human. T hat is a good idea, but there is a trap in it. Cats
don’t show a lot o f facial emotion or reaction. They do what
they do and are very independent souls. It is hard to know how
Captain Amelia feels most o f the time.
Chapter 5: “John Silver”

Jim and Delbert meet the cyborg John Silver. There is immedi-
ate tensión between Jim and John Silver, but it does not mani-
fest itself as a negotiation. John Silver casts sneaky glances at Jim
and is seemingly up to no good. He is physically powerful and
can do terrible things with his mechanical arm. We also meet
the character Morph. In the visual narration, someone says that
Morph is “all feelings and no intellect.” Though I appreciate the
intent, the fact is that feelings (emotions) are autom atic valué
responses. You can’t have “feelings and no intellect.” It is a
contradiction. This particular character will morph playfully
into this or that object all through the rest o f the movie, but it
does not display any emotional range until the very end o f the
movie, when it has to decide whether to go with John Silver or
stay with Jim . It is an inhuman thing, not empathetic. The main
lunction it seems to provide is to be a sounding board for John
Silver and Jim from time to time. I f Morph were not there,
they’d be talking to themselves.
41
Chapter 6: “Setting Sail”

Let’s talk for a minute about Captain Amelia. Note that she is very
cerebral. That is a perfectly fine quality for a ship captain, but we
have the challenge of establishing empathy for her. Humans
empathize with emotion. Dr. Doppler is also an alien, but he dis-
plays more emotional range than Amelia. 1 would, for example,
like to know how she feels about being a ship captain. One oppor-
tunity would be when the ship accelerates into space and she
advises Doppler, “Brace yourself, doctor.” It would have been
effective to have another sbot of her, maybe a médium close-up
that would allow us to see emotion. Does she enjoy the sensation
of sailing? Does it thrill her? Is she in her element? Where was she
born? How did she come to be a captain in what is obviously a
man’s domain? There are zero other female characters of any sig-
nificance in the movie except for Jims mother, Sarah, and she is
pretty traditional. Captain Amelia is an important character on
several levels, and the movie would have profited by allowing us
insights into her valué System and emotional life.
1 like the shot of Jim as he gazes in wonder at the space
whales. The sight of them makes him happy. Note his expres-
sion. Notice that his happiness makes you empathize with the
character and feel happy, too.
A iterjohn Silver tosses Mr. Mop and Mrs. Bucket into Jims
hands, Jim goes into a kind o f sulk. He’s angry, but the emotion
is not leading to any action. Acting is doing; it is not enough
to simply convey feelings. Emotions alone carry zero theatrical
currency.
Jim gets into a physical confrontación with the lobsterlike
Mr. Scroop. Conflict with another character. The problem is
that Jim is purely a victim in the confrontación, and it falls to
John Silver to rescue him. It would have been stronger if Jim,
even while pinned to the mase by Mr. Scroop, had at least tried
42
to free himself. He could have reached for a weapon or some-

how acted to deferid himself.
Chapter 7: “A Mutiny in the Making”

At the top of this chapter, John Silver conspires with his fellow
pirates. T h e room is full to the brim with colorful characters,
and we do not care about any o f them . Mainly, this is because
they are aliens and do not have human-type em otion. John
Silver himself is an alien but, except for some fun he has with
the mechanical arm, he behaves as 100 percent human through-
out the movie, with a full spectrum of human emotion. It seems
to me that, in the case o f John Silver, the 80/20 percent
human/alien split is more like 95/05.
T h e action moves topside as we see Jim talking with
M orph. This short sequence contributes nothing and could
have been left out altogether. T h e visual narration says that the
directors were ambivalent ábout including this in the first
place. W hat we learn is that Jim is tired of mopping, and
M orph can turn into various forms, including a miniature imi-
tation o f Mr. Scroop. But we already knew that about M orph.
T h e sequence could have started instead with John Silver’s
entrance up the stairs.
If you are going to add gags to a sequence, ask yourself if the
information being communicated is useful to the story. Charlie
Chaplin had plenty o f gags in his movies, as did Mack Sennett’s
Keystone Kops. There are very good reasons why Chaplin
became legendary while the Keystone Kops faded away. A gag is
not in itself going to carry a whole lot o f voltage if it isnt
hooked into character development and story.
The scene between John Silver and Jim is well acted, but
the structure is weak. We have already established that Jim does
not like John Silver. O n what basis do we now get such an
43
extreme change o f heart? W hy is Jim so easily persuaded to start

telling John Silver about how his father abandoned him? It
makes sense that Jim would be grateful to John Silver for hav-
ing saved him from Scroop, but this much o f a change strains
credibility. It is one thing to be grateful and quite another to
start sharing intimacies.
Chapter 8: “I’m Still Here” (Jim’s Theme)

This is a transitional sequence in which Jim comes to see John
Silver as a father figure. The negotiation is between characters,
as John Silver is determined to exhaust Jim with manual labor
on the ship, while Jim is determined not to be broken. The tran
sitional point/resolution comes when John Silver observes Jim
asleep and protectively places a jacket over him to keep him
warm. In terms o f performance, the transformation on John
Silver’s face is the strongest moment in the entire movie so far.
It would have been nice if, after his transformation, we had a
close-up shot o f Jim reacting to the cozy coat.
Song: “I m Still Here” by John Rzeznik o f the Goo Goo
Dolls.
This sequence refers back to the prologue.
Chapter 9: “A Star Gone Supernova”

The visual narration says that the directors and producers con-
sider this scene in the boat to be some o f the best acting in the
movie, and I certainly agree. In the first place, it is well struc-
tured, which is a function o f writing. Second, there are clear
negotiations going on. John Silver and Jim are still negotiating
the level o f trust they will extend to one another, and we see a
moment o f real vulnerability in John Silver when he sadly
observes that you sometimes “give up a few things when chasing
44
a dream.” W hen he moves from one end o f the boat to the other
and places his arm around Jim , the move is motivated by em o
ción. Acting-wise, the move is correct and meaningful. I suggest
you play this sequence two or three times, focusing on the reac-
tion shots. Acting is doing, but it is also reacting. This excel-
lent scene between Jim and John Silver is very much based on
reaction.
After that sequence, the remainder o f the chapter is a long
acdon sequence with few surprises and only adrenaline rushes.
(An adrenaline rush is quite different from an adrenaline
m om ent.) Everybody is trying to survive. Mister Scroop proves
once again that he is a villain. Jim saves John Silver’s life, thereby
sealing their budding father-son relationship.
Chapter 10: “Getting in Too Deep”

After it is discovered that Mr. Arrow is missing, there is an
opportunity to display a bit o f emocional complexity in Captain
Amelia. I would have liked to see her betray more sadness before
she braces herself and instructs the crew to carry on. Her body
could have sagged. Mr. Arrow was apparently her main friend
on the ship, and the two o f them evidently went back a long way
together. His death was reason enough for a larger reaction from
the captain. A character’s strength is ofiten best exposed via
small glimpses o f vulnerability. Someone in the visual narración
says that there was at one time a scene in which Captain Amelia
tearfully withdrew to her cabin, but they decided not to use it.
They felt that the focus in the sequence should be on Jim , not
Captain Amelia. I think they could have tried to have it both
ways— with Captain Amelia and Jim both displaying emocional
reaction.
The bonus extras narration says that the scene between John
Silver and Jim is “a pivotal point in the movie.” l'he facher-and-
45
son relationship is cemented. The problem with the scene, as I

see it, is that when Jim cries out, “Don’t you see? I screwed up!”,
he slumps once again into despair. That is not an empathetic
acting choice. It generares sympathy rather than empathy. It
would arguably have been stronger if Jim had tried to do some-
thing about the feeling he is experiencing. Slumping against the
post is an emotional attitude, but it is not a strong acting choice.
Acting is doing. A scene is a negotiation.
We do indeed have a negotiation when John Silver says,
“Now you listen, James Hawkins. You have the makings o f
greatness in you. But you have to take the helm and chart your
own course. Stick to it no matter the squalls. . . .” Will Jim
accept the challenge and make something o f himself? O r will he
give up and spend the rest o f his life as a loser? Acting-wise, this
is a good moment. I wish that Jim were more defiant, more
resistant, and more intent on a contrary course o f action.
Somebody decided to make him a passive recipient o f John
Silver’s parental advice. It works, but the scene could have had
more theatrical tensión. For instance, after John Silver tells Jim
that he has the makings o f greatness in him, note that the next
shot has Jim sort o f buying into it. His expression says, “You
think so . . . ?” It would have been stronger if the expression had
been, “Screw you!” There needs to be a negotiation. He should
not just roll over and accept John Silver’s advice so easily. Note
that he puts his head on Silver’s stomach in the next shot. That
move says, “I accept what you say. . . . ” I think the negotiation
never really takes flight, and there is no back-and-forth. Silver
advises, and Jim accepts. Not enough.
Chapter 11: “Jim Hears the Truth”

The game o f hide-and-seek with Morph is contrived and doesn’t
carry any emotional voltage. Its only evident purpose is to place
46
— 4. Treasure Planet —
Jim within hearing distance of the conversation bctween John

Silver and the other pirates.
Jims reaction to the news that John Silver only cares about
treasure is interesting but somehow not very moving. The prob-
lem is that Jim has not displayed much depth up to this point
in the movie. If you are not very deep, you don’t have far to sink.
When Jim grabs a knife and punctures John Silver’s leg, his
moves are motivated by emotion. Very good.
Chapter 12: “Protecting the Map”

The only acting moment of significance is when John Silver can-
not bring himself to shoot Jim. Conflict with self. Internally, he’s
trying to decide if he’s really a good guy or a bad guy. He prefers
to be a bad guy, but his heart is saying he’s a good guy.
Chapter 13: “B.E.N.”

Jim meets B.E.N. (Bio Electronic Navigator), an alien character
that has been marooned on this odd planet for a hundred years and
has become loopy. The character is amusing but is initially too
ffenetic and disjointed to empathize with. Robots don t have real
emotion. As I said earlier in this analysis, if you start out with a
character being an alien, you have the challenge of somehow mak-
ing him significant to the viewer. We empathize with emotion.
When B.E.N. asks Jim to make a pit stop at “my place,” it
is apparently so he can go to the bathroom. Do robots go to the
bathroom? This looks like a bit o f contrived business. I would
have liked it better if he wanted to stop back home to get some
oil for a squeaky hinge.
The captain finally— for the first time in the movie— shows
a bit of vulnerability as she reacts to B.E.N .’s reference about her
and Delbert being a romantic couple. She is falling in love with
him. The audience is allowed to empathize with her at last.
47
— Accing in Animation
Chapter 14: “Bargaining for the Map”

This is mainly another action sequence. The scene between Jim
and John Silver doesn’t go anywhere. At this point, Silver has
bounced back and forth so much on the point o f whether he is
loyal to Jim or the treasure that we don’t know what he thinks.
Evidently he is coming down on the side o f treasure. Jims com-
mitment to stand up to him is late in coming. In terms o f scene
construction, the negotiations are weak. What does Jim want
from John Silver, especially knowing that only moments before,
he was shooting bullets at him? Jim keeps hoping against hope
that John Silver is his buddy, his new father, but all of the evi-
dence says otherwise. Jims persistence in believing only makes
his character seem weaker.
Chapter 15: “Sneaking Back on Ship”

The fight between Jim and Scroop is frustrating. Morph saves
Jims life and, in the final moments o f the conflict, Jim does not
overeóme Scroop. Instead, Scroop loses his balance and drifts off
into space. It would have been more emotionally satisfying if
Jim had more directly defeated Scroop. It would have better
helped define Jim as a hero.
Chapter 16: “The Discovery”

After all o f this long journey, the key to the opening o f the map
is left to coincidence. Jim is knocked on his hands and knees
and, voila!, he accidentally comes upon the very spot where the
map should be placed in order to magically open. This was too
much coincidence for me to accept.
48
Chapter 17: “The Treasure”

Another terrific and compelling action sequence. At the ulti
mare moment, John Silver has to choose between treasure and
saving Jim s life. Yes— no— yes— no. . . . Ambivalence is played
by making choices and then changing your mind. In the end,
John Silver chooses Jim over the treasure. By this point in the
story, however, it is hard to give him a lot o f points for morality.
It seems as though he could have just as easily gone the other
way and chosen the treasure. O f course that would have given
the movie an unacceptable ending.
Chapter 18: “The Escape”

Action sequence.
Chapter 19: “Silver and Jim Say Good-bye”

Tearful and heartfelt good-bye between Jim and John Silver. The
movement is motivated by emotion, but the sequences do not
offer much in the way o f negotiation.
Chapter 20: “Going Home/End Credits”

Jim comes home a hero, and his mom gives him a big hug. The
captain and Delbert have evidently gotten married because they
now have a baby with dog ears, just like Delbert. 1 suppose that
dogs are the dominant gene when it comes to 20 percent cat
versus 20 percent dog? Maybe the baby should also have had
cat whiskers.
49
5. Monsiers, me. a -
P ixar Animation Studios (2001)

Execudve Producers: John Lasseter, Andrew Stancon
Producer: Darla K. Anderson
Associate Producer: Kori Rae
Directors: Pete Docter, David Silverman, Lee Unkrich
Screenwriters: Andrew Stanton, Daniel Gerson
Story: Pete Docter, Jill Culton, Jeff Pidgeon, Ralph Eggleston
Story Artists: Max Brace, Jim Capobianco, David Fulp, Rob
Gibbs, Jason Katz, Bud Luckey, Matthew Luhn, Ted Mathot,
Ken Mitchroney, Sanjay Patel, Jeff Pidgeon, Joe Ranft, Bob
Scott, David Skelly, Nathan Stanton
Additional Storyboarding: Geefwee Boedoe, Joseph “Rocket”
Ekers, Jorgen KJubien, Angus MacLane, Ricky Vega Nierva,
Floyd Norman, Jan Pinkava
Animators: Scott Clark (directing animator), Rich Quade
(supervising animator), Glenn McQueen (supervising anima
tor), Doug Sweetland (directing animator), Kyle Balda, Alan
Barillaro, Steven Barnes, Bobby Beck, Misha Berenstein, Dylan
Brown, Brett Coderre, Tim Crawfurd, Ricardo Curtís, Dave
Devan, Doug Dooley, Ike Feldman, Andrew Gordon, Stephen
Gregory, Jimmy Hayward, Jesse Hollander, John Kahrs, Nancy
Kato, Karen Kiser, Shawn P. Krause, Wendell Lee, Angus
Maclane, Dan Masón, Amy McNamara, Jon Mead, Billy
50
— 5. M om ters, Inc. —
Merritt, Dave Mullins, James Ford Murphy, Peter Nash, Víctor

Navone, Bret Parker, Michael Parks, Sanjay Patel, Bobby
Podesta, Je ff Pratt, Bret Pulliam, Roger Rose, Robert Ff. Russ,
Gini Cruz Santos, Andy Schmidt, Alan Sperling, Patty Kihm
Stevenson, Ross Stevenson, David Tart, J. Warren Trezevant,
M ike Venturini, Tasha Wedeen, Adam Wood, Kureha Yokoo,
Ron Zoman
Voice Cast: John Goodman (James P. “SuIIey” Sullivan), Billy
Crystal (M ike Wazowski), Mary Gibbs (Boo), Steve Buscemi
(Randall Boggs), James Coburn (Henry J. Waternoose),
Jennifer Tilly (Celia), Bob Peterson (Roz), John Ratzenberger
(Yeti), Frank Oz (Fungus), Dan Gerson (Needleman and
Smitty)
OverView
M om ters, Inc. speaks to the power in a child’s cries and the even
greater power in a child’s laughter. It is very shamanistic film-
making, and I predict it will therefbre find its place among the
most classic o f U.S. feature animation.
Chapter 2: “Monster in the Closet”

We are in the training/simulation facility o f Monsters, Inc.,
where monsters are taught how to scare children. Mr. Bile tries
it but winds up scaring himsclf. This is a fun, well-constructed
sequence because we do not at first realize we are in a simulator.
I particularly like the way the way the animators build the kids
fear. T h e closet door créales open, which causes him to experi-
51
ence fear. Em otion tends to lead to acción, so he huddles down

further under the covers and sneaks a glance at the doset door.
The next cur to the closet door shows that what the kid sees is
just a football jersey.
The sequence in which Mr. Bile falls on the jacks and careens
around the room wrecking everything is marvelous. Again, emo
tion tends to lead to action. Bile scared the bejeezus out o f him-
self! Comedy is drama extended, heightened, oxygenated. Bile
could have simply fallen on the floor and deflated because he had
failed the scare test. It reminds me o f the Charlie Chaplin
sequence in G old Rush whcn the Tramp is celebrating Virginias
acceptance o f his dinner invitation. He could have just exclalmed,
“Yes!” or something, but instead, he jumps up on the bed, swings
from the rafters, kicks pillow feathers all over the room.
Chapter 3: “Mr. Waternoose”

Mister Waternoose enters and establishes a basic premise o f che
movie: Monsters are more afraid o f human children than the
children are afraid o f them. “Nothing is more toxic than a
human child,” explains Waternoose. O ne o f the student mon
sters loses it right there and stares screaming about how he won’t
go into the room with a child. Waternoose explains why it is
necessary to go in there. We have to do it in order to collect the
screams o f children in order to power Monstropolis. This is a
very smart piece o f writing because it establishes that every
time a monster enters a childs room, he has conflict with the
situation. Remember, every scene needs conflict— conflict
with self, with the situarion, or with another character.
Chapter 4: “Morning Workout”

Sulley and Mike are introduced. In the audio narración, director
Pete Docter says that John Goodman (voice o f Sulley) and Billy
52
— 5- M onsters, Inc. —
Crystal (voice of Mike) did much o f rheir recording while in the

studio together. This is a departure from the way most voices are
recorded for animated films, and 1 think it made a very big dif-
ference to the energy of this movie. Speaking from my back-
ground as an actor, I can assure you that acting alone is far more
difficult than acting with a partner. Acting is reacting. If the
other actor isn’t there, you either have to depend on something
that was recorded earlier or on your imagination.
The morning workout routine establishes how hard Sulley
works to be good at his job of scaring children, The relationship
between Sulley and Mike is not really clear yet, but we presume
they are friends just based on the fact that Mike is in Sulley’s
bedroom in the morning.
In terms of scene construction, Sulley has conflict with his
situation because he would probably prefer to sleep in. Mike
also has conflict with Sulleys preference for sleeping. It is all
resolved as Sulley gets enthusiastically into the exercising. By
the end of the scene, there is no conflict, which is okay. It is
resolved.
When the Monsters, Inc. commercial comes on televisión,
Mike immediately runs to watch himself on TV. The acting note
here is that you should play an action until something happens
to make you play a different action. The commercial is the
thing that happens to cause Mike to do something else. The
transition is seamless, as it should be. It is motivated by emo-
tion, as it should be. And it exposes more information about
Mike’s character, namely that he is something of a ham.
I like Mike’s reaction to the fact that his face on T V was cov-
ered by the Monsters, Inc. logo. We see him think it through.
Always try to anímate thoughts. The thought process seems to
be, “How do I feel about this? Am I disappointed? No, heck, at
least I was on T V !” And he celebrares. There is a very funda
mental principie of empathy at work here. We empathize with
53
—•Acting in Animation —
emotion, and we are attracted to the survivaJ mechanism. If

Mike had gone into a funk when he saw his face covered by the
logo, we would have felc sorry for him, but we would noc have
felt as much empathy. That single moment was very imporcant
in the introducción o f this character. It shows emotional range,
internal negotiation. Very nice.
Chapter 5: “Monstropolis”
This is what I cali a connective scene. Not much conflict, but it
exposes some information and gees the characters from one
place to another. Every movie has connective scenes. You just
cant overuse them. Audiences are looking for conflict, negoti
ation, and resolution.
Note that when Sulley and Mike leave their apartment and
head for work, a family o f birds is in the background. The
female bird tells her husband to have a good day, he assures her
he will, and then he flies o ff into che sky. The scene goes by so
fast that you might miss it if you arent looking for it, but it is a
marvelous bit. It establishes the kinds o f people/creatures that
live in Monstropolis and, o f course, a work-bound bird would
fly, not walk.
Newspaper in stand: “Rolling Blackout— Scream Shortage.”
Children are increasingly hard to scare in modern times. This
helps establish conflict. A Pixar animator told me once that, in
that studio, they have a policy o f always trying to “sand the
underside of the drawer.” That is an excellent policy for story-
telling. Audiences are very smart and they pick up more tiny
details on-screen than you might think they would.
Chapter 6: “Monsters, Inc.”

This is mostly connective, too. Mike’s relationship with Celia is
established, and the Pixar team stuck in an homage to stop-
54
— 5. Motisters, lnc. —
motion legend Ray Harryhausen. We are starting now to see

that Mike is wound up like a top 100 percent of the time. Note
his internal rhythm. Every character has a rhythm.
The movement ot Mike and Sulley is purposeful because
they are both heading for the Monsters Floor. They’re going to
work. The purpose o f movement is destination.
Chapter 7: “Randall”
We return to scenes with conílict. Mike has conflict with the sit-
uation when he can’t get his locker door to stay closed. Then
Randall appears and, immediately, the conílict shifts from con
flict with situation to conflict with another character. Once
again, the transition is seamless.
Randall is a bully, and the storytellers have used this char
acter trait eífectively in this sequence. They needed to establish
that Sulley is in head-to-head competition with Randall, but
they still needed to have a justification for Randall turning up in
the locker room. Evidently, he was motivated to come to the
locker room by the prospect of intimidating Mike and bumping
chests with Sulley. Renrember, your characters need to have a
reason for entering a scene plus a reason for exiting.
Chapter 8: “The Scare Floor”

This sequence works on several levels at once. We get our first
look at the actual mechanics of the scare procedures, more char
acters are introduced, and further conflict is established. There is
conflict with the situation for every character we see. Yes, they are
in conflict with one another in that there is a competition, but
this is not a conflict between characters because there is not a
clear negotiation. Sulley is in conflict with Randall, but it is indi-
rect, through the numerical scoreboard. In an acting sense, his
conflict is with his situation. He is negotiating to hit ever higher
55
scare numbers. As he accomplishes that, he simultaneously wins

against Randall. It is very clever writing and scene construcción.
Much information is being exposed via well-constructed negoti-
ations that are being played out in the present moment.
Observe that the movie has so íar not used a single moment
o f flashback. And look at how much information they have con-
veyed in these first eight chapters. It is quite an impressive
accomplishment.
Chapter 9: “2 3 - 1 9 ”
The purpose o f chis scene is to establish one more time how
toxic human children are to the monsters. George gets a child’s
sock on his back and has to be decontaminated. The Child
Detection Agency (CDA) springs into acción. The acting prin
cipie is that you play an action until som ething happens to
make you play a different one. George emerges from the child s
room feeling very good about his scare numbers for the day. The
sock on his back is the thing that happens to cause him to play
a different action. So, too, does the sock cause everybody on the
Scare Floor to play a different action. The CDA arrives, full o f
motivation to enter the scene. This sequence is an adrenaline
m om ent for George. H e will never forget the day he got the
sock stuck on his back.
O nce the sock is destroyed and George is decontaminated,
Mr. Waternoose settles down with a cup o f sludge as he
bemoans the difficulty o f running the family business. Conflict
with situation.
Chapter 10: “End o f the Day”

Mike: “The love boat is about to set sail . . . 1 tell ya, buddy, that
face ol hers makes my heart go— Yikesü” This is a good
example o f playing an action until something happens to make
56
— 5- Monsters, fue. —
you play a different one. Roz appears unexpectedly, motivating

M ike’s extreme reaction. It also is a good example o f the prin
cipie that acting is both doing and reaedng. To break it down
even further, into a thought process, M ike is thinking about
Celia when Roz appears. T h e thought process is: “W h a t’s this?
O hm igod, its Roz!” T h is leads to the physical action in which
he cowers and proteets him self with his arms. T h at is a defen-
sive gesture wholly motivated by fear. Then when he adjusts to
Roz being there, he knows she won’t hurt him and so he relaxes
his body a bit. T h e more specific the acting choices, the better
it will play.
Roz’s entrance gives M ike conflict with the situation. Her
exit is followed by Celias entrance, which further extends con
flict with the situation. W hen Sulley offers to file M ike’s paper-
work for him , that resolves the negotiation. M ike exits to go to
dinner with Celia.
Chapter 11: “B oo!”

T h e thing I like most about this chapter is that it closely follows
Sulley’s thought process. N ote how specific his thoughts are
when he first discovers the door on the Scare Floor after hours.
T h e thought process goes this way: “W hat is that, a door? Yes,
it is a door.” T h en he looks left and right to see if maybe some-
one is working late. “N o, nobody here.” He approaches the door
and looks at the control panel. “Som ebody must have forgotten
to send the door back up after they got o ff w ork.” T hen he looks
up and sees the bright red light on the door. “N o, the door is
ready for a scare monster to enter. This is weird.” He opens the
door and peers inside, thinking he will see a scare monster in
there. “N o, the room is quiet, and the kid must be sleeping.” He
backs out o f the room and closes the door. He looks again at the
red light over the door. “It must be broken.” He taps the light to
57
see if ir maybe has a short in it. He hears the thump-thump sound.

He looks to the left and the right, searching for where that sound
is Corning from. “N o, it isn’t to the left or right.” Thum p. He looks
down at the floor. A human child! Transition! Acting rule: Play an
action until som ething happens to make you play a different
action. As I counted them, there are at least seventeen specific
thoughts in a forty-five-second sequence, beginning with Sulley s
discovery o f the door and ending with his reaction to Boo.
T h e remainder o f the chapter proceeds action to action to
action as Sulley tries to get rid o f the kid and the evidence.
Extreme conflict with the situation. T h is is also an adrenaline
m om ent for Sulley. W hen he turns eighty-five and looks back
on his life, he will always remember the day he met Boo.
Chapter 12: “Harryhausen’s”

Celia and M ike flirt with one another in the restaurant. Lovers
are very reactive to one another. N ote the eye contact and body
language.
W hen Sulley turns up outside the window at an inoppor-
tune m om ent, it shifts the action into another transition. M ike
has been playing an action (courting Celia) in pursuit o f an
objective (something rom antic after dinner, perhaps?) while
overcoming an obstacle (his own lack o f grace). Sulleys face in
the window introduces a whole new form of conflict.
W hen Boo gets out o f the carrying case inside the restau
rant, all hell breaks loose. Study how specific are the reactions o f
the background characters. You have a room full of them, and
each has a unique life and a valué system.
Also, notice the background characters when the interviews
are happening on the Street. “I tried to run from it, but it picked
me up with its mind powers and shook me like a dog.” Just like
in real life, locáis are fascinated by the presence o f a camera and
58
— 5. Monsters, b u . —
are waving and grinning, hoping to see themselves on the

evening news. Thac is a well-observed moment. Shakespeare says
that actors should hold the mirror up to nature. A scene can be
brought to life with compelling background performances.
Chapter 13: “Back o f the Apartment”

Sulley and M ike go from acting-moment to acting-moment try-
ing ro calm down Boo so they can have a second just to consider
how to proceed from here. T h e obstacle is that a two-year-old
child is unpredictable.
Observe that Boo is not often pushed to behave in ways that
would not be credible for a two-year-old. We in the audience
recognize that because we have all been around little kids at one
time or another.
Chapter 14: “Bedtime”

M inor quibble: At the top o f this sequence, Mike is still over the
top. He is yelling about how Boo is a killing machine, and he is
still calling her “it” instead o f “she.” This feels a bit pushed to
me. I think Mike would be smart enough to figure out that if he
yells like that, he is going to upset the kid and maybe make her
start crying again. It feels to me like he would be walking on
eggshells instead o f charging like a bull.
This is a transitional scene because first Sulley and then
Mike have to start coming to terms with the realiry that Boo is
nonthreatening. They have been conditioned to be afraid ot
human children. After this scene, Sulley and M ike will both be
on the same page in their efforts to return Boo to her home.
Chapter 15: “Sneaking Boo to Work”

As M ike and Sulley enter the main Monsters, Inc. building at
the top o f the chapter, they expect to encounter a relatively nor-
59
— Acting in Animation -
mal working environment. They do not know that the CDA

teams are swarming over the place. W hen they see all those
orange suits, they react. T h e acting principie here is that you
act on expectation. In other words, M ike and Sulley have every
reason to expect that, inside the front doors o f the company,
they will see a certain kind o f behavior and environment. W hen
they discover that the reality is different from that, then they
react and shift gears. In life, we always act on expectation. You
are, at this very moment, expecting that I will finish up this
thought and then get on to the next acting point, and so you are
reading along accordingly. I f I STA R T SC R E A M IN G AT YO U
A N D T E L L IN G Y O U T H A T A TA RA N TU LA IS O N Y O U R
SH O U L D E R , Y O U W IL L BE SURPRISEDÜ! Heh.
Chapter 16: “Potty Break”

Bathroom hide-and-seek. There is not a lot o f conflict in this
scene, but it is fun anyway and it establishes that Sulley has
actually begun to enjoy Boo’s presence. Em otion tends to lead
to action.
Chapter 17: “Randall’s Plot”

M ike discovers Sulley playing hide-and-seek with Boo. Sulley
refers to Boo as “she,” Mike is sdll referring to her as “it.” I think
it is time for M ike to get off the “it” thing. This is a script issue,
not an animation issue. T h e animation is swell. All o f the move-
ment is motivated by emotion, and the characters have clear
motivations for entering the scene.
Did Randall go to the bathroom before he washed his hands?
The sequence in which Randall knocks open the stall doors
is excellent. The forcé with which the doors open show that
Randall is very strong and could do damage to you if he got hold
o f you. It also makes him quite animal-like. That staccato move-
60
— 5. Monsters, Inc. —
ment from one stall door to another is very much like lizards
move in the wild. They scoot a short distance and stop very still.
Then they scoot and stop again. Humans don’t move like that.
In terms o f scene construction, all o f the characters have
conflict with the situation.
Chapter 18: “The Wrong Door”

Mike discovers that Sulley has named the kid Boo. “I f you ñame
it, you will get attached to it!” he protests. This explains why
Mike continúes to refer to Boo as “it,” but I really think this was
not necessary. I can’t see how the plot would have been hurt if
Mike was allowed earlier to recognize the gender o f the child. If
Randall can see it, why can’t Mike? It would have made Mike a
bit more accessible if he warmed to Boo earlier.
The kissing sequence in the hall between Mike and Celia is
cute and motivated. W hen Mike drops Celia and runs for his life,
I would have liked to see Celia swoon a bit. Mike is a big take-
charge kisser, after all. Instead, she was left sort o f muttering.
Chapter 19: “Mike on the Run”

Mike tries to find a place to hide from Randall. Running is the
action, and escaping Randall is the objective. The obstacle is
that Randall is faster than Mike and can be invisible.
T h e transaction between Randall and M ike in the hall-
way is basically a status negotiation. Randall is a bully. Mike
acknowledges the strength and dominance o f the bigger char-
acter. Notice how physically cióse Randall gets to Mike? Each
o f us has a space bubble around us, an area o f personal space
into which we only allow family and intim ates. We get
uncom fortable when a stranger gets into our space. We in the
audience empathize with the feeling o f being intruded upon
that way.
61
Chapter 20: “The Trash Compactor”

There is an oíd rule o f comedy that says you can’t repeat the
same gag more than three times. W hen Sulley is watching the
trash compacting machine, he faints four times. T h e fourth one
doesn’t work. W hen he sees the final block o f compacted metal,
supposedly containing the remains o f Boo, it would have
worked better if he had approached it, maybe put his hands on
it, and then sagged forward onto it. To have him faint again
and fall over backward doesn’t work, especially because in the
next sequence, we see him sadly carrying the cube o f metal.
Chapter 21: “Mike Kidnapped”

There is a nice transitional momcnt when Sulley changes tactics
and decides to go after Randall. Sulley is under the worktable,
holding Boo. Randall is invisibly lurking. After Randall leaves,
there is a microsecond transition that you can see if you slow
down the replay. You can see Sulley think “Enough is enough,”
shift his body into an attack gear, and statt chasing Randall. The
motivating emotion is anger. Sulley has been pushed around
enough. He is not going to be afraid o f Randall any longer.
Chapter 22: “The Scream Machine”

This is a well-constructed scene. I f we didn’t know before that
Randall is a full-tilt villain, we do now. A villain can be defined
as a regular person with a fatal flaw. Randall s fatal flaw is
am bition. This scene shows the extreme lengths he will go to in
order to achieve power over others. It took a lot o f effort to build
the Scream Extractor!
Randall s objective is to knock ofl the competition and
emerge at the top o f a new Monsters, Inc. power structure. The
action he is playing is to test out the Scream Extractor. If Boo
62
— 5 . Momters, Inc. —
had been in rhe box as he thought she was, he would be well

along his way. Instead, M ike was in there, so Randall has to try
a new course o f acción.
Randall has undergone a transformación and is determined
to save M ike and stop Randall. He is taking calculated risks as
he unplugs the Scream Extractor and then frees M ike.
An awful lot o f información is being exposed in this chap-
ter, and it is 100 percent justified by the ongoing acción in the
story. It is a pretty perfect sequence, and it works emotionally.
By now, we in the audience are rooting like crazy for M ike and
Randall and Boo.
Chapter 2 3 : “Sulley Scares Boo”

I very much like the m om ent in which Mr. W aternoose says, “It
is all about presence, about how you enter the room !” And at
that very m om ent, Sulley, M ike, and Boo enter the room. The
forcé with which Sulley knocks open the door is significant. He
is physically powerful and is on a mission. He enters with
authority and determinación.
T h e sequence leading up to Sulley’s magnificent roar
involves wonderful acting. Sulley is trying his best to make his
point with Mr, W aternoose, but Waternoose is playing a status
transacción. Finally, out o f exasperación with Waternoose, Sulley
lets loose with the m other ot all roars. M y sense is that he is
actually roaring at Waternoose! He is roaring at the awful situa-
tion he is in with Boo. Lovely acting. Play this sequence slowly
a couple o f times. W atch the thoughts and transitions.
W hen Mr. Waternoose sees Boo, he exclaims, “A child!”
M ike steps in and reassures him, “Sir, she’s not toxic. . . .” At
last! M ike is referring to Boo by her gender instead o f as an “it.”
I only wish we in the audience had been allowed to see that
character transition. It happened o ff camera.
63
The Sulley and Boo scene that comes toward che end o f the
chapter is marvelous. Sulley has to come face to face (vía T V
replay o f the previous simulated scare sequence) with the reality
o f what his life has become. He is a person who scares little kids
for a living. Watch how his expression changes like currents in
the ocean as this slowly occurs to him. I pardcularly like the very
slight twitch in his right eye’s lower lid. It is extremely subtle but
signifies a moment o f truth. M om ents o f truth and insight tend
to be very still. Tim e seems to stop.
Chapter 24: “Banished”

M ike and Sulley have a magnificent scene in which they both
come to terms with basic valúes in life. M ost o f it is nonverbal.
Acting has almost nothing to do with words. Play this sequence
a couple o f times and watch the back-and-forth between them.
It is all in the eyes.
Sulley makes the decisión to go save Boo even though that
means leaving M ike and maybe freezing to death on the way. He
is a changed character from the one we met at the beginning of
the movie. He is more mature, more knowing, and has turned
into a hero. This is excellent storytelling.
Chapter 25: “Sulley Rescues Boo”

W e learn that Mr. Waternoose has been in cahoots with Randall
all along. His motivation is monetary, to “save the company.”
I like the way that Sulley pulís the door o ff the secret tun-
nel to the Scream Extractor. For the first time in the movie, he
is using his incredible strength purely for good. He is going to
rescue Boo. I f you play that sequence slowly, you will see that his
left arm trembles with the strain o f breaking the door from its
hinges. That, too, is excellent performance because it establishes
the degree o f com mitment Sulley has.
64
— 5. Monsters, ¡tic. —
Chapter 26: “Schmoopsie Poo!”

The important transition in this scene belongs ro Celia. Talk
about connecting che docs! W hen she sees Boo, she realizes in a
flash that Mike is telling her the truth about the conspiracy. She
hears Randall chasing up the hallway and immediately chooses
to help thwart him.
Chapter 27: “The Door Vault”

This is plain old-fashioned Hitchcockian storytelling and it is
delightful. All that action on the roller-coaster world o f doors is
breathtaking. I love the way they have Sulley, Mike, and Randall
chase in and out o f various countries. And the payoff is good,
even if it is a bit o f a stretch to believe that Boo could be mature
enough to jump on Randall s back at the very last moment. T hat
kind of thinking isn’t typical o f a rwo-year-old, even one that is
no longer afraid o f monsters. But it’s a small point, really. By this
time, we in the audience are looking for resolution. It is time for
the movie to be over and so we don’t look too carefully at
whether or not Boo’s behavior is logically appropriate. I f it had
happened earlier in the movie, we would have.
Chapter 28: “Tricking Waternoose”

Sulley and Mike set up Waternoose to expose himself as a traitor
to Monstropolis. Waternoose evidently has no compunction about
bringing real children into the city, just as long as it saves the com-
pany’s bottom line. He is captured and taken off by the CDA.
C D A Number O ne turns out to be Roz the bookkeeper. I
like the way her entrance establishes a certain humanity in her.
Up until now, she has just been a shrew, a bully to Mike. Now
we see that she has a tender core. Her instructions regarding Boo
are actually quite humane and appropriate. Sulley should send
65
her back home but, after he does so, her door is to be shredded
so that she is never seen again.
Sulleys reaction to the news that he will never see Boo again
is good acting. Watch his body sag.
Chapter 29: “Good-bye”

More excellent performance. Sulley is very reactive to the
moment once he is in Boos bedroom. He is stalling, not want-
ing to go back to Monstropolis. He plays with her and, finally,
realizes that the time has come. In the audio narration to the
movie, Pete Docter menrions how they tried to make Sulleys
eyes just a little misty in this sequence. That is a very wise
choice. Full tears would have been too much. Sulley would not
want Boo to see him cry. This is a good reflection o f how people
behave in real Ufe. We do not easily share our em otions with
one another. Shakespeare again: hold the mirror up to nature.
Chapter 30: “The Laugh Floor”

A childs laugh can be more powerful than a childs scream.
W hat a lovely idea! W hat an excellent payofif for the story.
Chapter 31: “Kitty”

Mike is all heart, as it turns out. It took a lot o f effort to recon-
struct Boos bedroom door, but he did it out o f love. Sulley is
appropriately touched by the gesture.
It is perfect that we do not see Boo again at the end o f the
movie. We see her only as she is reflected in Sulley s face and in
his emotional reaction to her. Sometimes when you are telling
a good story, you have to know when to stop.
Chapter 32: End Credits
6 6
Stud io Ghilili (1988, original Japanese versión; 1998, English
versión)
Producen Tohru Hara
Director: Isao Takahata
Screenwriter: Isao Takahata
Based on che novel by Akiyuki Nosaka
Editor: Takeshi Seyama
Art Director: Nizou Yamamoto
Animators: Hideaki Anno, Yoshiyuki Hane, Kuniyuki Ishii,
Sodatsu Ishikuro, Megumi Kagawa, Hideo Kawauchi, Masuji
Kigami, Yoshifumi Kondo, Noriko Moritomo, Hiroshi Ogawa,
Toshiyasu Okada, Reiko Okuyama, Shunji Saida, Akio Sakai,
Michiyo Sakurai, Noboru Takano, Kitarou Takasaka, Yasuomi
Umetsu, Shójuró Yamauchi, Atsuko Otani, Noriko Ozeki
Voice Cast: Tsutomu Tatsumi (Seita), Ayano Shiraishi
(Setsuko), Yoshiko Shinohara (Mother), Akemi Yamaguchi
(Aunt), Rhoda Chrosite (Setsuko, English-language versión),
Crispin Freeman (Doctors, Oíd Man, English-language ver
sión), Dan Creen (additional voices, English versión), Amy
Jones (Aunt, English-language versión), George Leaver
(additional voices, English-language versión), J, Robert
Spencer (Seita, English-language versión), Nick Sullivan
67
(additional voices, English-language versión), Verónica

Taylor (M other, English-language versión)
OverView
Seita and his four-year-old sister are orphaned in the W W II
Allied attacks on Kobe, Japan. This is the story o f their ulti-
mately futile attempts to survive. As Roger Ebert said in his
C hicago Su n-T im es review, “T h is is one o f the greatest anti-war
movies ever made. It just happens to be anim ation.” T h is kind
o f plot line autom atically sets the m ain characters into conflict
with their situation. Even connective scenes will have conflict.
Conflict is an essential elem ent o f drama and so, from a story-
telling perspective, this movie begins with runners already on
first and second base. Music is also used very effectively in G rave
o f th e F ireflies to establish mood.
Analysís
Chapter 1: “Opening”
T h e story begins with its resolution. T h e spirit o f Seita, a deceased
fourteen-year-old Japanese boy, faces the camera. He is dressed in
what appears to be neat military garb, and he has a haunted
expression on his face. He looks into the camera and says simply:
“September 21, 1945. That was the night I died.” T h e camera
pans away from him and moves into a dingy, mostly deserted
Japanese train station. W e discover the real-life fourteen-year-old
Seita at the moment o f his death, sitting collapsed against a pillar.
He is emaciated, he has sores on his body, and his clothes are in
tatters. T h e camera begins with his shocless feet and moves slowly
up his body until we see that his breathing is shallow and that he
is near death. In movies, the audience will figure everything
68
— 6. Grave o ft h e Fireflies —
shown on screen means something, and they will continually be

trying to make sense o f it. The opening sequence of this movie is
very powerful visually and requires the audience to start right out
by working hard. We see that the boy in uniform is the same one
who leans against the column; we see that, in death, he is restored
to physical health; we see that, even in death, he appears tor-
mented and torturcd, and we see that he must have gone through
seven stages o f hell in order to get into the awful condition at the
time o f his death. I like the way the camera begins with a study
o f the boys bare feet. Bare feet tell a story all by themselves. By
the time a boy is shoeless in the middle o f a city, his situation
would be dire indeed. This is wonderful storytelling. Only forry
seconds have elapscd since the movie began and, so far, there has
been only that single line, “September 21, 1945. That was the
night I died.” Already, a powerful mood has been established.
It is an interesting storytelling device to disclose the ending
o f the story at the beginning. Because the audience knows how
it ends, every scene in the movie will be measured against what
they already know will be the ultimate outcome. Many play-
wrights and novelists have successfully used this device. Harold
Pinters play Betrayal, for instance, has such a structure and is
one o f my favorites.
A person on the train station cleaning crew discovers Seita’s
lifeless body and searches through his pockets, looking for iden-
tification. He finds only a rusted candy tin that appears to be
rubbish. No candy in it, only a white powder. He does not real-
ize that the powder is actually the cremated remains o f Seita’s
four-year-old sister, Setsuko.
W hen the worker tosses the can into some bushes otitside
the station, the lid comes o ff and some o f the ashes spill onto
the ground. Setsuko’s spirit magically arises into the night, just
like so many lovely fireflies, and she is soon joined by the spirit
Seita. They begin a journey back through their Iives. From this
69
— Acting in Animación *—
point on, Grave o f tbe F ireflies will move back and forth
between che afterlife perspective and the present-moment per-
spective. The amazing thing about chis opening chapter is
how much information the director and animators conveyed
without words. It is extraordinarily effective filmmaking.
Chapter 2: “Air Raid”

In this series of sequences, we see firsthand the horrors of a mas-
sive napalm bomb attack on a city. All o f the characters have con-
flict with the situation. The air attacks amount to a huge
adrenaline moment for all of the characters. If they survive the
attack, they win; if they die, they lose. As it evolves, Seita and
Setsuko’s mother is killed in these attacks. She loses, but her chil-
dren live and survive for the time being. The tensión in the chap
ter builds as the American B-47 aircraft get ever closer and then
begin dropping bombs. Because the napalm bombs are delayed-
reaction devices, there is an unexpected escalation in tension/con-
llict even after the bombs hit the ground and buildings. We think
we have seen the worst of it, and then the bombs turn into explo-
sive fiery infernos. Note that when Seita emerges from his home
after the first bombardment, he erroneously concludes that the
worst is over and that he has survived. His gait suggests that he
believes the conflict has been resolved. But then the bombs start
fires, and Seita is terrified. Emotion tends to lead to action. Note
that his pace quickens considerably. Seita carries his frightened sis-
ter to a dried-up canal and hides among some bunkers. The child
is clearly terrified and clings trembling to her brothers arm.
Chapter 3: “We’re Safe Here”

The first images in this chapter are of dead soldiers, terrified and
huddled citizens, uncontrolled fire, and even one man commit-
ing hari-kari. 1 think part of the reason these images are so
70
— 6. Grave of íhe Fireflies —
powerful and eniotionally compelling is precisely because they

are animated. Animation is not real; war is. We in the audience
are being forced to sepárate the two. It is a lesson in life; it is
shamanistic storytelling. I very much like the way the anima-
tors are making the audience do so much work.
As the city burns, we cut to the sweetness and innocence of
Setsuko, a young child. She is comtorted and delighted with her
small purse that is filled with colorful buttons. Seita is charmed
and tells her that she is indeed rich, which delights her. Note
that her laugh is genuine. Children this age are incapable of
playing social games. If they are sad, they cry; if they are happy,
they laugh. Even with a horrible war within easy earshot, this
fact of life is true. The sequence is important because it helps
establish just how much we lose when a child dies. The world is
that much less innocent. It also helps further display the valúes
of Seita. It is clear that he will protect his sister with his own life.
Seita and Setsuko walk into the devastated city that was
their home. They search for their rnother. Seita develops an irri-
tation in her eye from the napalm fumes. Their situation
becomes even more dire, and we easily empathize.
Chapter 4: “My Mother”

This chapter contains one of the most extraordinary and pow
erful sequences in the en tire movie. It Iiterally takes my breath
away, and I want to speak about it at some length.
The sequence happens at the playground area after Seita has
given Setsuko their mothers ring for safekeeping. The child is
disconsolate and wants to see her mom. Seita cannot comfort
her this time, and so he leaves her crouching and alone and sob-
bing, and he walks a short distance away to the playground pulí-
up bar. There is a very long hold on this tableau, the child crying
in the foreground and Seita sitting slumped with his back to us
71
— Acring in Animation —
in the background. Then, suddenly, Seita springs up, tellíng his

sister ro watch him because this is something he does very well.
He leaps up and grabs the pull-up bar and begins to do flip after
flip after flip. This is the point at which I lost my breath.
We humans act to survive. Seitas situation is dire. His
mother is dying, his father is somewhere ac sea fighting a barde,
their home is burned to the ground, and the city is in ashes. He
is only fourteen years oíd and has to care for his sister, who is
every inch a child chat needs her mom. He is feeling impotent,
powerless. It requires an act o f almost heroic willpower to leap
onto the pull-up bar. With that action, he reduces the terrible
world to one that he can briefly control and even master. We in
the audience empathize with his fear and determination. We can
feel his strength. The acrobatics on the bar become metaphoric.
No! I will not die! Awesome filmmaking. Animators are
shamans. You draw a circle in the dirt, and the tribe gathers.
They are looking for lessons in life. The roots o f theatre are in
stories o f survival. The human spirit is on powerhd display in
this sequence.
Returning now to the top of the chapter, Seita sees his
mother, who is obviously suffering from fatal wounds. This would
be an adrenaline moment for him. Despite the obvious, he hopes
against hope that she will survive. There are severa! important act-
ing notes to consider. A bespectacled man, presumably a doctor
or medical volunteer, gives Seita his mothers ring, which has been
cut from her finger. As Seita handles the ring, he feels cióse to his
mother, and we empathize. In acting, this is known as a “sense
memory.” The ring will reappear throughout the story, each time
delivering an emotional punch. Next, note that after Seita sees his
bandaged and bleeding mother, two subsequent shots involve
very long holds. This stillness is a strong device in Japanese ani
mation. In the first, Seita stares at the distant devastation and still
burning fires. Then we have a medium-close shot of his face.
72
— 6. G rave o f tbe Fireflies —
Despite the fact that there is zero movem ent in the anim ation, we
em pathize w ith Seita’s pain. W e see him com ing to terms with
how dire his situation really is. We get a glimpse into the emo-
tional journey o f a boy who will too soon becom e a man.
Later, Seita and Setsuko niove into the hom e o f their aunt.
Seita leaves his sister there for the m om ent and visits the hospi
tal where his m oth er was taken. T h ere his worst fear com es true
as he learns that she has died. H e attends her crem ation and car
nes her ashes hom e in a small wooden box.
Chapter 5: “W elcom e Back”

Seita hides the box con tain in g his m oth er’s ashes in the bushes
outside his au n t’s house. T h is is an indication that he has con -
flict w ith h im se lf as well as co n flict w ith the situ ation. How
and when should he tell Setsuko that their m other is dead?
Now? Later? Yes, now; no, later. . . .
Setsuko hears the front door open and runs excitedly and
expectantly into the foyer to see her m other. E m o tion leads to
action. Setsuko’s entrance reflects happy expectation. W hen
Seita lies and tells Setsuko that their m om is still sick, he does so
with his back to the child. A cting-w ise, that is right. H is face
would betray the lie. Setsuko returns to her toom where she
takes her m om ’s ring from her purse and holds it. Again, we
em pathize w ith the em o tio n o f sense m em ory.
T h e next day Seita returns to the burned-out remains o f his
form er hom e and digs up supplies he had buried prior to the air
raids. T h ere is a vat containing dried fish, butter, eggs, and a tin
o f fruit candy. T h is is the same tin we saw in the first sequence
o f the movie. It will later contain the ashes o f Setsuko and so has
instant em otional im pact on the audience.
As Seita heads back to his aunt’s house with the supplies, he
com es across a broken water m ain and pauses to bathe. It is a
73
—* Acting in Animarion *—
simple pleasure that happens amidst the ruins o f the ciry. It is

another act o f survival and carríes with it more emotion than
would a simple bath in another context.
Chapter 6: “She’s Dead?”

The primary purpose o f this chapter is to establish that Seita and
Setsuko are increasingly isolated. When Seita tells his aunt that
his mother is in fact dead, she does not try at all to comfort him.
This would be a moment o f tender vulnerability for the boy, and
we empathize with his fear and sadness. We know how it feels to
want to be held. The boy is no doubt tired o f having to be
strong and could do with a good cry and a soft shoulder. The
aunts true color is selfishness. The instant after she gasps with
surprise, “Shes dead?”, the aunt reprimands Seita for having
hidden the bad news. The acting lesson here is in how quickly
the aunt evidently changes her colors. A person does not fun-
damentally change from generous to selfish in a moment. The
fact that her behavior shifts so dramatically and so fast shows
that selfishness and coldness is her true self. It has been there
all along, and the warm hospitality we have been seeing was a
fa^ade. You could read even more into the transformation, in
fact. Her turn mirrors the betrayal of the simple world Seita
and Setsuko occupied before the bombs dropped. Nothing is
what it appears to be.
As was the case in Chapter 3, we now have sequences that
emphasize the innocence in Setsuko. The first is when Seita
takes a bath with her and catches bubbles in the washcloth. It is
such a simple, childlike pleasure! And later when they go into
the night and catch fireflies. In story structure, it is significant
that capturing fireflies happens now rather than earlier. We can
sense that the aunt is ultimately going to turn against them,
Fireflies have a bright and short life. The same fate awaits Seita
and Setsuko.
74
—■6. Grave o f the Fireflies —
Chapter 7: “Not Again”

We all can relate to hunger. It ¡s basic, a primal drive. W e must
eat in order to Uve. This sequences o f chis chapter show that
Seita and Setsuko are not getting proper nutrition. The child is
developing rashes. We also learn that Seita’s former workplace
was bombed and so he has no place to work; and his school
burned down. He has no place to go. He is dependent on his
aunt, and she is giving preferential treatment at the dinner table
to her male boarder, her daughter— and to herself. It is increas-
ingly clear that his aunt does not want him and Setsuko to be
permanent houseguests. Note that she carefully gives Seita and
Setsuko broth only, while giving her daughter and the boarder
rice. The food she is dispensing is, o f course, the same that Seita
brought to the aunt in Chapter 5.
Chapter 8: “The Beach”

Seita takes Setsuko to the beach. They run and play. Increasingly,
they can find relief only in the simplest things. Hunger is a con-
stant companion, and the child is getting sicker. The accompa-
nying music to their beach romp is bright and light. The beach
itself has no signs o f war. They play and therc is no overt conflict
except that Setsuko has a pronounced rash on her back.
Exhausted from play, they collapse on the beach and Setsuko
plays with a crab. She follows it until she comes across a dead
man under a mat. The reality o f their situation again chases away
the few pleasures they can find. Seita pulís her away from the
corpse and they go for another swim. In the water, Seita has a
fantasy o f life as it used to be when their mother was alive and
there was plenty to eat. Then air-raid sirens break the pleasant
fantasy, bringing him back to brutal reality. We see another
approaching formation o f B-47s on the horizon. T h e conflict in
the beach scenes is with the situation. Remember, the element
75
o f conflict/obstacle is necessary for strong storytelling. As I

mentioned at the beginning o f these notes, G rave o f th e
F ireflies has built-in conflict from start to finish because it
¡nvolves these two people trying to survive in an inhospitable
environment. So, yes, the playing on the beach is fun and seem-
ingly untroubled, but it only works emotionally because o f the
underlying conflict/obstacle.
Chapter 9: “They’re M amas!”

T h e most com pelling acting lesson in this chapter is the way
that Setsuko struggles to protect her mom’s kimonos. The aunt
wants to trade them for rice, but the robes are one o f the
remaining few emotional links Setsuko has to her mother. Note
how far the animators went with the sequence. The child liter-
ally tries to wrestle the kimonos out o f her aunr’s grasp. In such
a structured society, it would be remarkable for a child to con-
front an adult this way. The fact that she does so lets us see the
depth o f the child s desire to survive. Her grasp on her aunt s
arm is almost primal.
Later at dinner, aunt serves up some o f the rice that carne
from the kimono trade. Again, she shortchanges Seita and
Setsuko in favor o f her daughter and border. W hen Seita objects
that “it is our rice,” the aunt turns even more ugly, ordering
them to henceforth make their own dinners. She tells them they
are ungrateful and suggests they go live with relatives in Tokyo.
Seita would happily do that if only he knew how to contact
those distant relatives. He and his sister are being pushed out of
what amounts to a temporary nest.
Chapter 10: “7 ,0 0 0 Yen”

Seita and Setsuko visit the bank to see how much money their
mom had in her account. W hile Seita is inside the bank, Setsuko
76
— 6. Grave o f the Fireflies —
observes a loving and happy mother daughter scene on the side-

walk. It makes her feel sadder and more isolated. Notice Setsuko’s
power center in this sequence. She crouches, shrinking ever
smaller. Like a firefly, her light is getting dimmer. Seita comes
out o f the bank and, when she complains of hnnger and thirst,
he offers her another fruir drop. This time she does not squeal
with glee at the prospect. Fruit drops no longer satisfy. Later,
Seita uses money from the account to purchase a stove, some
food, a comb for Setsuko, and an umbrella. Again, we have a
sequence o f childlikc happiness when they walk home with the
rain beating on the umbrella. Em otion tends to lead to action.
They sing a child’s song. Simple pleasures are getting fewer, but
they still work.
Seita cooks dinner for Setsuko and himself. They stuff their
tummies and then lounge. Note that when Seita kicks back on
the mat and sighs with pleasure at his satisfied appetite, young
Setsuko anxiously continúes to eat. Her eating has shifted from
a pleasurable thing to som ething essential for survival. There
is a determined and primal quality to it.
Chapter 11: “Rice for Two”

Their circumstances worsen when Setsuko goes for his rice
ration. There is not nearly enough to sustain him and Setsuko
until the next ration in July. Still, Seita acts to protect Setsuko’s
innocence and happiness. On the way back home he gives her
the last o f the fruit drops. A cting note: There is a small nego-
tiation (conflict with situation) in this brief sequence.
Setsuko’s cry is a negotiating ploy. A child cries when she
wants or needs something. In this case, it works because Seita
finds a couple o f remaining fruit drops that are stuck to the
inside o f the can. He shakes them into her hand. She wins the
negotiation.
77
Later at home, they fill the empty fruit drop tin with water,
swish it around and enjoy a little tea party. O ne more simple
pleasure. Significantly, however, the fruit drops are now gone.
That pleasure at least will no longer be available.
Chapter 12: “So Selfish”

Setsuko has nightmares and screams for her mother. The aunt
comes into the room and reprimands her for the noise, which is
keeping her daughter and boarder awake. She tells them they are
nothing but pests and trouble. Seita puts Setsuko on his back
and walks into the firefly-filled night, trying to calm her back to
sleep. Suddenly, we hear another air-raid siren. Note the long
shot o f them running and hunting for a place to hide. At one
point, they are precisely the same size as the fireflies. They and
the fireflies are siblings in a way.
After the aunt scolds them for playing the piano when “a
war is going o n ,” Seita has a good idea: he and Setsuko will go
live in a bomb shelter. Note the shift in their energy. There is
a spring in their step. T h e reason this works is because they
have found som ething they can do to survive. They are feeling
empowered. They return to their burned-out former home and
retrieve as many belongings from the rubble as they can, load
everything on a cart, and head for their new home in the shel
ter. As they disappear out o f sight down the road, we hear
Setsuko giggling with glee at the new adventure.
Chapter 13: “Let’s Eat”

They prepare their new home and gather supplies. Note once
again the physicality o f the child. W hen she is happy, she is
very happy. She disguises nothing emotionally. Also, did you
notice that the first Ítem Seita unpacks in their new cave
home is the box containing their m other’s ashes? T hat is
78
excellent story development. T h e animators could have, by

now, put that box aside. T h e fact that they carry it on through
the movie adds to our experience o f empathy with the two
main characters.
They eat the last o f their rice. At this point in the story,
Setsuko and Seita begin to live o ff the land. They have no more
access to store-bought food and so they plan to eat frogs and
mollusks and wild herbs. We notice that both o f them are now
scratching rashes.
Chapter 14: “Fireflies”

Setsuko is afraid o f the dark and so they collect a lot o f fireflies
and release them inside the mosquito netting o f their bedroom.
It is another moment o f innocent pleasure, and it leads to Seita
thinking o f his father and a majestic naval review he watched
some years earlier. It is a memory o f happier days. Setsuko falls
asleep. Acting note: After Setsuko is asleep, Seita moves to hold
her. She pushes him away. He turns his back on her and pulís
him self into something cióse to a fetal position. Em otion tends
to lead to action. He needs to be held. Setsuko is not the one to
be holding him, and so he holds himself.
Chapter 15: “SoYoung”

Setsuko is burying the fireflies that gave so much light and hap-
piness the night before. She tells Seita that she knows their
mother is dead and also in a grave because their aunt told her.
At this point, Seita breaks down and cries. At last he can grieve.
Acting note: Even as he cries, he stands erect and facing
Setsuko. He is strong and weak at the same time. Setsuko
breaks his heart further when she asks, “W hy do fireflies have to
die so soon?” The camera tracks to the inside o f the shelter
where two fireflies hover momentarily around their mom’s box
79
— Accing in Animation —
o f ashes, and then their lights go out, leaving the cave in dark-
ness. Another possible interpretation o f the two fireflies is that
they represent Setsuko and Seita. The fact that there are only
two fireflies definicely caught my attention.
Chapter 16: “Ghost!”

A gang o f boys happens by che shelter while Setsuko and Seita
are away. They make fun o f whoever lives there, tossing around
the dried frogs and grated soybeans. The relevant story point is
that, clearly, this kind of food is inadequate for survival. When
the boys run away, I like it that one o f them returns briefly to
get the bucket. I realize this may seem on the surface to be
insignificant, but all the animators really had to do was get the
boys off screen. It required extra animation work to have him
return to fetch his bucket. I believe that excellent storytelhng is
greatly enhanced by such attention to detail.
Then the scene shifts to Seita trying to purchase rice from a
farmer. The farmer will not sell and will not share. Notice that
both Seita and Setsuko are scratching their rashes continually.
The symptoms of malnutrition are getting worse.
On their way back to the shelter, there is an air attack and
they di ve for cover in a vegetable garden. When Seito sees the
approaching jet and reacts, freeze-frame and watch the next
few seconds slowly. Note his protective embrace o f Setsuko.
Note that when he dives for cover, he literally dives headfirst.
Hidden amid the vines, Seita discovers ripe tomatoes. Food!
People will act to survive, even if they must steal.
Chapter 17: “My Sister’s Síck”

This chapter is gut wrenching because it is so primal. We are lit
erally reduced to focusing on bodily functions. Setsuko has diar-
rhea, another sign of malnutrition. Seita sneaks luto a nearby
80
vegetable garden to steal food fot lier and is caught by the

farmer. Even as he is being beaten, he still tries to make away
with the sugar cañe. He does not simply flee. If he had fled, 1
suspect he could have outrun the farmer. But the conflict he has
is not only with the farmer but with the fact that his sister is sick
and needs food. He has to choose between his own survival and
hers. In the end, he is beaten severely and taken to the pólice.
After being released from pólice custody, he reunites with
Setsuko. Acting note: W hen she runs to him and hugs his legs,
Seita once again cries. This time his tears are more a sign o f
misery and despair than o f release. He is hungry, bruised and
battered, has a sick little sister, and is running out o f options.
Note that Seita begins crying while standing. He is strong and
weak at the same time. T hen he crouches and embraces
Setsuko and begins crying again. These are two related but
distinct acting beats.
Chapter 18: “Dinner”

Em otion tends to lead to action. Humans act to survive. Seita
has resorted now to stealing from people’s homes during air-raid
alerts. Hunger and fear are driving him. Setsuko meanwhile is
almost too weak to eat anything at all. She is fading fast now.
In the night, another air-raid alert sounds. Seita again robs
from homes. O n the way back to the cave/shelter, he pauses and
laughs out loud. Acting note: People rarely laugh out loud
when they are alone. Seita’s laugh is more manic than joyful.
There is an edge to it.
Chapter 19: “D octor’s Office”

Seita discovers Setsuko unconscious from hunger. He takes her
to a doctor, who diagnoses her with malnutrition but offers no
remedy. Seita reacts with anger. “W here do I get tood?!” he
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demands. Outside che doctor’s office he comes across a man cut-

ting and delivering ice. He picks up an ice chip o ff the ground
and feeds it to Setsuko. Note the stillness in this sequence. The
power is in what is not said. Together, they fantasize about the
wonderfu) foods they would most love to eat. Seita says he will
withdraw the rest o f their mom’s money from the bank and buy
food. Setsuko is beyond hunger and only wants to be held. He
promises that after he gets her food this time, he will never leave
her again. She smiles weakly. Acting note: Even as the final bits
o f life ebb from her body she manages a smile. People act to
survive. The last thing we do before we die is try to live. We in
the audience empathize.
Chapter 20: “Surrendered”

Seita goes to the bank and withdraws the final 3 ,0 0 0 yen. W hile
in line, he overhears talk o f Japan having surrendered. Then he
learns that the entire naval fleet had been sunk. He flies into a
violent panic, grabbing blindly at the man who delivered the
news. “Is my father dead, too? Is that why he hasn’t written?”
Acting note: Em otion tends to lead to action. The stakes are
high and he loses control physically. The man flings him to the
ground. Sieta races from the bank and careens down the Street.
After he calms down, he takes from his pocket a much-handled
photo o f his father. He realizes now that both o f his parents are
dead. He dejectedly continúes home to see Setsuko. Note the
shift in his power cerner. It is now much lower. His rhythm
has slowed considerably.
Chapter 21: “Rice Balls”

Setsuko is on her deathbed when Seita arrives. She is too weak
to move and almost too weak to speak. She has rolled mud into
pretend rice balls and generously offers them to him. He cries.
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Seita cuts a slice o f the watermelon he has brought for her and
puts it to her lips. She murmurs that it is “good.” He goes out
the door to prepare more food for her. However, she dies then
and there, while still holding the slice o f watermelon. A cting
note: T h is scene has a lo t o f stillness in it. W e are approaching
the end o f Ufe. N othing moves. T im e stands still. Gravity is
w inning the negotiation.
Chapter 2 2 : “Lovely Day”

Seita lies on the bed and holds his lifeless sister in his arms. N ote
how long the shots are held. O ne o f them is fully ten seconds
o f zero m ovement. Zero movement and yet the emotion and
sense o f loss that is conveyed is almost overwhelming. Hayao
Miyazaki explained in an interview once that this kind o f still
ness is called “m a.” Stillness is good in anim ation if it is fdled
with em otion and intention. Everything does not have to stay in
constant m otion. This is o f course one o f the distinguishing dif-
ferences between Japanese-style animation and that o f the West.
T hen we have a fantasy sequence in which a happy Setsuko
plays around the shelter door. She entertains herselfw ith various
games the same as any child with a normal life. She pricks her
finger while mending a shirt and tastes the blood droplet that
appears on her finger. W e leave her like that, happy and at ease.
T h e world is a less innocent place without her.
Chapter 2 3 : “The Funeral”

Seita prepares his sister lovingly and then cremates her on a
lovely hilltop. As the fire dies, so does the day. Fireflies spring to
life and fill the sky. Seita, in voice-over, tells us that he never
returned to the shelter he and Setsuko shared. W e know from
the first chapter where he went instead. And we know already
how the story ends.
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7. Toy storv 2
J ______ j
Pixar Animation Studios (1999)

Producers: Karen Robert Jackson, Helene Plotkin
Executive Producer: Sarah McArthur
Directors: Ash Brannon, Lee Unkrich, John Lasseter
Writers: John Lasseter, Peter Docter, Ash Brannon, Andrew
Stanton, Rita Hsiao, Doug Chamberlain, Chris Webb
Animators: Nicolás Alan Barillaro, Stephen Barnes, Bobby
Beck, Michael Berenstein, Ash Brannon, Jennifer Cha, Brett
Coderre, Scott Clark, Melanie Cordan, David DeVan, Mark
R. R. Farquhar, Ike Feldman, Andrew Gordon, Stephen
Gregory, Jimmy Hayward, Timothy Hittle, Christina Yim,
Kureha Yokoo, Nancy Rato, Adam Wood, James Ford
Murphy, Peter Nash, Anthony Scott, Doug Sheppeck, Jefl
Pratt, Karen Prell, Brett Pulliam, Bret “Brook" Parker, Michael
Parks, Sanjay Patel, Ross Stevenson, Tim Crawíurd, Sreven
Clay Hunrer, John Kahrs, Ethan Hurd, Karen Kiser, Bob
Koch, Wendell Lee, Peter Lepeniotis, Shawn P. Krause, Dan
Masón, Angus MacLane, Jon Mead, Billy Merritt, Karyn
Metlen, Valerie Mih, Mark Oftedal, Bobby Podesta, Rich
Quade, Mike Quinn, Roger Rose, Robert H. Russ, Gini Cruz
Santos, Alan Sperling, Doug Sweetland, David Tart, J. Warren
Trezevant, Mark A. Walsh, Tasha Wedeen, Kyle Balda (direct-
ing animator), Dylan Brown (directing animator), Glenn
McQueen (directing animator)
84
— 7. Toy Story 2 —
Voice Cast: Tom Hanks (Sheriff Woody), Tim Alien (Buzz

Lightyear o f Star Command/Buzz Lightyear of Star Command
II), Joan Cusack (Jessie the Yodeling Cowglrl), Kelsey
Grammer (Stinky Pete the Prospector), Don Rickles (Mr.
Potato Head), Jim Varney (Slinky Dog), Wallace Shawn (Rex
the Green Dinosaur), John Ratzenberger (Hamm the Piggy
Bank), Annie Potts (Bo Peep), Wayne Knight (Al “Chicken
Man” McWhiggin the Toy Collector), John Morris (Andy
Davis), Laurie Metcalf (Andys Mother/Yard Sale Woman),
Estelle Harris (Mrs. Potato Head), Jodi Benson (Tour Guide
Barbie/Barbie on Backpack), Joe Ranft (Wheezy the
Penguin/Heimlich the Caterpillar), Andrew Stanton (Evil
Emperor Zurg), R. Lee Ermey (Army Sarge), Jonathan Harris
(Geri the Toy Cleaner)
Owrvíw
This movie is a sequel to 1995’s Toy Story. In the first one, the big
event was that Buzz discovered he is a mass-produced toy; this
time the big event is that Woody discovers he is a collectible and
is even famous in some quarters of the world. Though I very
much like both movies, I think Toy Story 2 is more dynamic than
the original Toy Story, which is why I am including it in this book.
Chapter 1: “Opening Titles”

Chapter 2: “Buzz’s Mission”
We are watching actioivplay in the video game “Buzz Lightyear:
Attack on Zurg” but do not know it at First. The interesting
thing about this sequence in terms of acting is that everything
85
—1Acting in Animation —
che characters say is sort o f fake and melodramatic. In other

words, it sounds like bad voice acting. Stage actors learn early
in their careers that one o f the most difficult things is to
believably portray a bad or stiff actor. Bad actors don’t think
they are bad actors, which is the challenge. Even though we do
not know we are watching a game, we in the audience get the
sense that another shoe is going to drop sometime soon. And it
does so when the villainous Zurg blasts Buzz to smithereens.
Chapter 3: “Woody’s Lost H at”

We discover that the “real” Buzz and his buddy Rex the
Dinosaur are playing the video game. Em otion tends to lead to
action. Note how Rex’s trustradon is expressed physically. W hen
we first see Woody, he is searching for his hat in the chest o f
drawers. His behavior is strongly influenced by the pressure o f
time. Woody’s owner, Andy, is due to leave for cowboy camp
momentarily, so there is a lot o f urgency. In my acting work-
shops, I occasionally will demónstrate how the simple act o f
entering a room can be changed with nothing more than vary-
ing the time pressure. A person will move differently if he has a
lot o f time to complete an action. Also, it is when we get in too
big a hurry that we tend to hurt ourselves, which is what hap-
pens to Woody when he cascades to the floor. In terms o f scene
construction, W oody is playing an action (searching for his
hat) in pursuit o f an objective (being ready when Andy comes
to fetch him for cowboy camp) while overcoming an obstacle
(tim e pressure plus disarray in the room). Notice that Mrs.
Potato Head is reading a book when Mr. Potato Head runs in to
tell her he has found her missing ear. The acting note there is
that you should play an action until something happens to
make you play a different action. She is reading the book. He
enters and interrupts that, so she shifts to a diflerent action.
86
Chapter 4: “It’s Buster”

The sequence with Buster the dog is delightful. Dogs have their
own instinct-based short-term spectrum of thinking and their
own brand of emotions. Buster exhausts himselfin his search for
Woody, and then we have the turnabout in which we in the
audience learn it is all a big gante. It is wonderful that the dog
knows the toys live, but still remains a dog. It would have
wrecked everything if the storytellers had opted to let Buster
speak words after the toys come to life.
Woody’s reaction to Lteing shelved is excellent. I suggest you
play it several times slowly and watch the thought process. He
first realizes Andy is leaving for camp without him. Then he
realizes he has been shelved. Then he checks his arm to see how
bad the damage is. Then he realizes all the other toys are watch-
ing his misfortune and are feeling sorry for him. He is very sad,
and the sadness (emotion) is what leads him to withdraw to the
back of the shelf, out of sight. The more specific the character’s
thought process, the better the performance.
Chapter 5: “The Nightmare”

The difference between a dream and a nightmare is that night-
mares deal with mortality. In a nightmare, you face your death.
That is why you wake up sweating and sometimes even screaming.
Chapter 6: “Wheezy”
This sequence doesn’t have a lot o f conflict. Mainly, ic is an
expository way of imroducing a new character, Wheezy. For me,
the most important part o f the scene is the Information that
Andys mom lied to him about getting Wheezy’s squeaker fixed.
Given that Wheezy is probably clinically depressed by the time
we meet him, his behavior makes sense. Hes looking at his own
87
— Acting ¡n An im ation —
mortality, which ¡s sort o f fitting considering wc mcct him just

after W oody’s nightmare.
Chapter 7: “Yard Sale”

W oody rescues Wheezy. N ote that his actions change but the
objective remains the same. Play an action until som ething
happens to make you play a different action. First he calis
Buster the dog. T hen he tries to clim b down from the upper
shelf and falls. O nce on Buster s back, he has the dog gallop for
the yard sale. T h e objective all along is to rescue Wheezy. The
obstacles are several, all with the situation: (1) He’s a toy and so
has to hide the fact that he lives, (2) his small size makes it dif-
Ficult to get down o ff the top shelf in Andys room, and (3) his
arm is ripped, so he has to do everything one-handed. O ne
action is connected to the next up to the point where W oody is
accidentally tossed from Buster’s back, at which point the objec
tive changes. After he falls and Buster heads inside the front
door o f the house, Wheezy is officially rescued but W oody is in
serious danger. His objective now changes to saving himself. His
first new action is to try to run into the house, but he is seen by
a human and must instead pretend to be lifeless. T h e obstacle is
that he is a toy and that he is in the open yard instead o f the rel-
ative safety o f Andy s room.
Chapter 8: “Kidnapped!”
This sequence would be an adrenaline m om enr for Woody. He
certainly will never torget the day Big Al srole him away from
the yard sale.
W hile Woody is pretending ro be a lifeless toy the action in
the scene shifts ro negotiations between Al and Andys mom. Ais
objective is to get Woody. His first action is to try to cheat Andys
mom with a low-ball offer. She notices Woody and retrieves him
88
from Ais arms, explaining that he is not for sale. Ais next acdon
is to distract Andy’s mora by kicking the skateboard into some
toys. While she is distracted, he steals Woody. All of his acdons are
in pursuit of the same objective. His first conflict/obstacle is with
Andy’s mom because she doesn’t want to sell Woody at any price,
not even for $50 and Ais watch. When it is clear that Woody will
not be sold, Ais obstacle/conflict changes to conflict with the sit-
uation. He changes actions when he steals Woody.
Every character in a scene should be able to answer the
question “W hat am I doing?”— in a theatrical sense. In other
words, what action am I playing in pursuit o f what objective?
And what is the obstacle/conflict? The scenes in this chapter
and also in Chapter 7 are brilliantly written. Every character
has a life and actions to play. It is worth playing the chapters a
couple of times, looking at the action from individual charac-
ters’ perspectives. Notice how each thought is animated.
Buzz races to Woody’s rescue. His objective is to save Woody.
His first action is to get from the bedroom down to the front yard.
Once there, he has to somehow get in the same vehicle with
Woody. His conflict is with his situation. Remember, a scene is a
negotiation and, in every negotiation, there is a way you can win
and a way you can lose. Buzz wins if he successfully gets into the
car with Woody and maneuvers further to rescue him. He loses if
Al gets away with Woody. As it turns out, Buzz falls off Ai s rear
bumper into the Street. He therefore loses the negotiation.
Chapter 9: “Who Stole Woody?”

Buzz attempts to figure out the code in the license píate. His
objective is to crack the code; his action is to try first one set of
letters and then another in the decoder; his conflict is with the
situation. The conflict resolves itself when Ai s Toy Barn comes
up on the decoder. After that, all of the characters in the room
89
— A cting in A nim ation —
shift into a new objective and begin more new actions. Acting
should be seamless like this. O ne action leads to the next and
then leads to the next.
Chapter 10: “The Roundup Gang”

Most o f this chapter is exposition. Woody learns of his herítage
as the lead character on the T V show Woodys Roundup Gang.
The most significant note regarding performance in this chap
ter has to do with Jessie. She is beyond excited rhat Woody has
finally shown up. Comedy is drama extended, heightened. She
doesn’t simply greet Woody enthusiastically, she turns him over
and gives him nuggies! She tosses him this way and that. Her
emotion is leading her to energetically celebrare. Ask yourself if
you, as the animator o f this sequence, would have gone quite as
far as these animators did with Jessie.
Chapter 11: “Operation Rescue Woody”

The objective is to rescue Woody. The chaxacters, led by Buzz,
are all pursuing the same objective. Each o f them plays actions
according to his or her own character. The conflict is with the
situation.
Chapter 12: “Woody’s Roundup”

The black-and-white “Woody’s Finest Hour” segment of
Woody’s Roundup Gang is awfully clever. Notice that the scene
construction within the segment is correct in terms of action,
objective, and obstacle, but the degree of seriousness is less
because the target audience for the oíd T V show was little kids.
Those oíd T V shows from the 1950s were corny and full of
coincidence and cliffhanger endings.
The scene procceds with exposition as Woody explores his var-
ious trademark toys. The transition comes when the Prospector
90
calis out, “Now, it’s on to the museum!” Woody is so jarred by this

announcement rhat he loses his balance on the record player and
is tossed on his rear end. Immediately, he has conflict with the sit-
uation, plus the beginnings o f conflict with himself. He will have
to decide whether to go to the museum in Japan or return home
to Andy. Notice the Prospectors shift in character after Woody
explains that his journey began in the yard sale. The Prospectors
objective is to convince Andy to remain with the Roundup Gang.
He has both conflict with the situation and conflict with another
character (Woody). His action is to malign the character o f
Woody’s owner, Andy. Jessie also criticizes Andy at this point, but
she is not the schemer that the Prospector is. She is more frustrated
with the situation than anything else.
Chapter 13: “Woody Loses His Arm”

Woody’s traumatic injury sends him into a panic. He is for the
moment more vulnerable, both physically and mentally, and so
the Prospector attacks. He is trying to wear down Woody’s
resolve. The pressure increases Woody’s conflict with himself
and with his situation. Jessie is mad at Woody, and so we have a
bit o f conflict between those two characters. Remember, a scene
is a negodation. Any o f these negotiations I am pointing out
have the potential to be resolved. If Andy decides to stay, the
Prospector and Jessie win; if he insists on leaving, they lose.
Chapter 14: “Buzz’s Speech”

Buzz rallies the troops as they slowly make their way to Ais Toy
Barn. I like the way that Slinky is sniffing the ground. AJI that
was minimally necessary was to have him follow Buzz’s lead, but
the decisión was wisely made to keep him in a doglike mode of
behavior. Cute. We also learn that the Hamm the Pig has a streak
o f modesty, which allows us a moment of empathy with him.
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—* Acting in Anim ation
Chapter 15: “Getting the Arm”

Woody tries to fetch his lose arm from Al’s shirt pocket. He
has conflict with the situation— Cheetos on the floor looming
like so many orange land mines, Bullseye the horse trying to
follow, Al perhaps sleeping lightly, the fact that Woody must
do everything with only one arm. If Al wakes up, he will dis-
cover Woody a very long way from his glass cage. This all
makes for pretty high drama. Action, objective, and obstacle
are clear.
The belch gag, in which Woody gets a face full of Ais
awful breath, looks to me like it may have been added later in
production. There is a slight continuicy problem with the way
Woody is reaching for his missing arm in Al’s pocket.
Personally, I don’t think the belch was necessary. It reminds me
o f the Stromboli garlic-breath gag in Pinocchio. It actually
leads to a bit o f weak acting on Woody’s part, which is atypi-
cal for this movie. His reaction shot to the stench o f Al’s breath
is pushed, and it’s a pretty cheap joke. He gasps and gags, takes
off his hat, and waves the smell in the other direction. Given
the dangerousness o f his situation and the possibility that Al
might wake up at any moment, I think Woody’s larger objec
tive would be to remain undetected. The bad breath would
become part o f his obstacle. If he were honestly playing a the-
atrical action instead o f clowning for the camera, he would
have tried not to move at all. The last thing he wants to do is
rouse Al. All that hat flapping is way over the top. Anyway, the
reaction to such an odor would be to squint the eyes closed in
disgust and to try not to wake Al, not cause the eyes to gape
wide in alarm. I think maybe this gag would have been better
placed in the outtakes in the closing credits. The bit in which
Bullseye is licking Al’s fingers, however, is on the money. A
horse would do that.
92
Chapter 16: “Crossing the Road”

T h e objective is to save Woody. T h e action is to cross the road.
T h e obstacle is the traffic (conflict with situation). In the nego-
tiation, they win if they get across the road unscathed. T h ey lose
if they get squashed.
Chapter 17: “The Cleaner”

N otice how much o f the C leaners personality is exposed in a
thirty-five-second time frame. I will be surprised if the animator
lor that character did not have an extensive character bible/analy-
sis on him. You really get the impression that the oíd man has
repaired dolls thousands o f rimes and that he is proud of his craft.
Notice how his hand searches for the drawer that contains his
magnifying glasses. You can feel the maris thinking by the gestures
in the hand. Notice the way he casually flips the vise handle to
secure W oody in the jaws o f the vise. There is a relaxation and
assurance in all o f his movements. His actions, objectives, and
obstacles are clear. Notice the expression on the maris face when
Al tries to rush him. You know right away that many people in the
past have tried to rush him and hes not having any o f it. This is
a marvelous sequence from all sorts o f perspectives.
Chapter 18: “Al’s Toy Barn”

T h e objective is to save Woody. T h e action is to get into the
store. T h e obstacle is that the place is overwhelmingly huge. T h e
most significant acting note in this chapter is the way that Rex
is distracted by the book on game strategy. Play an action until
som ething happens to make you play a different action. In this
case, the thing that happened was that Rex noticed the book. It
is significant that, as Buzz and the boys fan out into the ware-
house, Rex has his head buried in the book. This is probably a
93
necessary bit of business to set up the Zurg sequences later, but

Rex’s true objective really should still be to rescue Woody. By
reading the book while he is walking, it makes his primary
objective— at least for the mom cnt— developing tricks to defeat
Zurg in the video game. Acting-wise, it is a wee bit inconsistent,
but it’s not a big deai.
Chapter 19: “Woody’s Restoration”

This is more marvelous character work for the Cleaner. I partic-
ularly like the moment when he places Woody gently inside the
glass case at the end and, almosc as an afterthought, adjusts the
sheriff’s badge on Woody’s chest. Everything has to be just so.
Chapter 20: “Buzz Switch”

Buzz wanders into the shelves o f new Buzz Lightyear toys. Play an
action until something happens to make you play a different one.
He still has the objective o f rescuing Woody but, for a moment,
that is upstaged by a shorter-term objective to learn more about
the replicas o f himself. When New Buzz springs to life, Buzz has
conflicc with his siruation as well as conflict with another charac
ter. When he says, “I dont have time for this” and tries to walk
away, it is an attempt to resolve the negotiation. It fails.
Chapter 21: “The Barbie Aislé”

The storytellers are having a lot o f fun with Barbie dolls in the
first half o f this chapter. It really doesn’t add much to the story,
but it’s fun to watch. It is also a salute to merchandizing.
We get back to the story when New Buzz straps Buzz into
the box and takes his place in the car with the other toys. His
motivation tor getting in the car is to learn the secret of how to
defeat Zurg. He o f course knows nothing about rescuing
Woody. 1 confess I fretted over this bit of character develop-
94
ment. It is a bit of a stretch to think chat New Buzz would so

readily hop in the car with strangers like that.
Chapter 22: “Jessie’s Story”

(“When She Loved Me”)
The structure of this sequence is inceresting because the flashback
itself increases rhe conflict that Woody has with himself. Normally,
flashback sequences are a relatively weak storytelling device, but
this one works pretty well. Part of the reason is that dolls do not
age, and so Jessie is the same age in the flashback that she is in the
present moment. The flashback makes more tangible the obvious
fact that humans grow up and become adults. It’s really a very nice
bit of storytelling. After the song is over, we see some excellent act-
ing as Woody struggles with whether or not to return to Andy or
remain with the Roundup Gang. It is good storytelling that he
opens the heater vent and is literally one step from leaving before
the negotiation with himself is resolved.
Chapter 23: “The Toys Find Al”

Rex shares with New Buzz the strategy he has learned for defeat-
ing Zurg. Later, New Buzz makes that comment about Al being
“an agent of Zurg if I ever saw one.” This is intended to be a
transitional poinr for New Buzz because, after this, he joins the
other toys in hot pursuit o f Al. He is pursuing Al as an agent of
Zurg, but the other toys mistakenly believe he is motivated by
the objective of rescuing Woody.
Meanwhile, back at the warehouse aislé, Buzz successfully
frees himself from the box. Action, objective, and obstacle are
clear in that sequence.
Hats off to the storytellers for finding such a clever way to
release Zurg into the story. Those electronic doors banging on
his box work great.
95
Chapter 24: “Into the Vents”

Most o f this chapter is an extended acción sequence. It works
because New Buzz does not realize he is a toy and does not in
fact possess superpowers. This leads to a lot o f funny business
and cross-purposes berween the characters. New Buzz’s bizarre
behavior becomes pare o f the conflict with the situation experi-
enced by the other characters as they pursue their objective o f
rescuing Woody.
Chapter 25: “Sheriff Woody”

Notice that Woody’s power center shifts when he emerges
from the box while playing the part o f Sheriff Woody. He
walks sort o f like John Wayne. Power center in the hip. Then,
when he gets the idea for the burning-barn scenario, his power
center shifts upward, to his chest. As the power center rises
higher, his rhythm increases. A lower power center requires a
slower character rhythm. Anxiety is a high and heady power
center. Woody Allen’s power center is all above his shoulders.
Chapter 26: “To the Rescue”

This chapter does not have a lot o f nuance. It is a big action
sequence. T h e actions are all ¡ustified by the objectives, and the
conflict in the early part o f the scene is with the situation. Once
both Buzzes are in the scene at the same time, they have conflict
with one another.
Chapter 27: “Woody Stays”

This chapter is chock tull o f excellent acting. Once it is clear
that Woody intends to stay with the Roundup Gang, he has
conflict with Buzz. Once Buzz and the other toys depart, the
pressure on Woody is intense and the conflict shifts to conflict
96
with self. Woody is struggling with basic valúes, the things that
make life worth living. This is where the shamanistic message of
Toy Story 2 is made evident, What, indeed, is the highest valué
in life if it is not to be loved? It is worth playing this chapter a
couple of times to watch the animación o f individual thoughts.
Chapter 28: “Stinky Pete”

The most significan! purpose of this chapter is to expose the
underlying valúes of the Prospector. He is a lonely and frustrated
oíd man. In this story, he would be the villain. A villain is a reg
ular person with a fatal flaw. I would say that the Prospectors
fatal flaw is jealousy. He has been driven near mad during a life-
time of being left on the store shelf. When the Prospector shows
his truc colors in this scene, Woody is instantly thrown into con-
flict with another character.
Chapter 29: “Zurg Battle”

There is not a lot o f subtle acting in this chapter. Zurg appears
and we enter the world o f video games again and he and New
Buzz stage their climatic battle. The surprising element is that
Rex is the one that saves the day, and we learn that Zurg is really
New Buzz’s father.
Chapter 30: “To the Airport”

Action and more action. Marvelous animation, but the perfor
mances are pretty straíghtforward. Actions, objectives, and
obstacles are clear. The toys are still saving Woody.
Chapter 31: “Woody vs. Prospector”

Woody and the Prospector fight to the fmish on the conveyor
belt. With the help of his friends, Woody prevails. Acting is
97
reacting. N ote the Prospector’s reacción when he is sentenced to

“the true m eaning o f playtim e.”
Chapter 3 2 : “Saving Jessie”

T h is is an hom age to a hundred westerns, and I love it. W oody
is a true hero, risking life and lim b to save the damsel in distress.
N o te th at w hen W oody opens the tru n k to save Jessie, we dis-
cover her in the fetal po sitio n. T h a t is a nicely observed bit o f
perform ance. T h e anim ator could have just tossed her in there
like a rag dolí. T h e fetal p osition carries a lot o f visual and
em p ath etic energy to the viewer.
Chapter 3 3 : “Take OfF!”

T h e movie crescendos here as W oody, with the help o f the other
hero in this movie, Buzz Lightyear, saves Jessie at the very last
m om ent.
Chapter 3 4 : “W elcom e H om e”
M y favorite m om ent in this chapter is Buzz’s reaction when
Jessie flies across the room to open the door so the dog can go
out. R om ance is in the air.
Chapter 3 5 : End Credits
98
W a lt Disney (2002)
C h ief Executive Producen Yasuyoshi Tokuma
Executive Producers: Toshio Suzuki, Takeyoshi Matsushita,
Seiichiro Ujiie, Yutaka Narita, Koji Hoshino, Banjiro Uemura,
Hironori Aihara
Original Story and Screenplay: Hayao Miyazaki
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Art Director: Yoji Takeshige
Editor: Takeshi Seyama
Director o f Digital Animation: Mitsunori Kataama
Digital Animators: Yoichi Senzui, Masaru Karube, M iki Sato,
Hiroki Yantada, Yuji Tone
Animators: Masashi Ando (supervising animator), Kitaro
Kosaka (supervising animator), Megumi Kagawa (supervising
animator), Takeshi Inamura, Kenichi Yamada, Masaru
Matsuse, Hideaki Yoshio, Eiji Yamamori, Katsutoshi
Nakamura, Kazuyoshi Onoda, Makiko Suzuki, Mariko
Matsuo, Atsushi Tamura, Hiromasa Yonebayashi, Kaori Fujii,
Tamami Yamada, Makiko Futaki, Yoshiyuki Momose, Akihiko
Yamashita, Nobuyuki Takeuchi, Shogo Furuya, Misuzu
Kurata, Atsushi Yamagata, Shigeru Kimishima, Kiroomi
Yamakawa, Nobuhiro Osugi, Yuichi Tanaka, Shizue Kaneko,
Hideki Hamasu, Hisaki Furukawa, Kenichi Konishi, Masaru
99
Oshiro, Shinya Ohira, Shinji Hashimoto, Hisashi Nakayama,

Noboru Takano, Masako Shinohara, Kuniyuki Ishii, Shojuro
Yamauchi
Voice Case (English Language): Daveigh Chase (Chihiro),
Suzanne Pleshette (Yubaba/Zeniba), Jason Marsden (Haku),
Susan Egan (Lin), David Ogden Stiers (Kamaji), Lauren Holly
(Chihiro’s Mother), Michael Chiklis (Chihiros Father), John
Ratzenberger (Assistant Manager), Tara Strong (Baby Boh)
OverView
Hayao Miyazaki, cofounder of Studio Ghibli in Japan, is consid-
ered by many people to be the Shakespeare of animation. He is
a grand master storyteller, an animator’s animator. Among his
legions of fans is John Lasseter, head o f Pixar Animation Studios.
Every new animator should study Miyazaki’s work very closely.
His animation is not the kind of simple manga-turned-anime
that might turn up on Saturday morning televisión. Japanese ani
mation has a different look and feel than Western animation, it
is true, but the acting principies are exactly the same.
Even better for the purposes o f this book, Miyazaki is
famously hands-on with his movies. He designs all of the char-
acters, makes up his stories, writes the Scripts, and polishes the
animation. Therefore, we can more easily credit him specifically
with the performance we see on-screen. I have watched Spirited
Away at least fifteen times, and every time I see it again, 1 see
things I didn’t see the time before. Every time I think I under-
stand its depth, I discover that it gets deeper— and simpler. We
are very fortúnate to have Hayao Miyazaki and his talented team
of artists at Studio Ghibli among us.
I usually do not much care for English dubbing on foreign
films. I prefer to hear the original language and read subtitles. In
100
— 8. Spirited Away —
che case of Spirited Away, however, che English dubbing, which

was personally directed by John Lasseter o f Pixar, is excellent.
Amlysís
Chapter 1: Opening Credits/
“The Middle of Nowhere”
The first time we meet ten-year oíd Chihiro, she is pouting. Her
family is moving to a new city and she doesn’t like it at all. She
is missing her friends and her oíd school. Immediately, she has
conflict with her situation. Now, since a scene is a negotiation,
it is worth also mentioning that her pouting is in itself a strat-
egy. In a negotiation, there must be a way you can win and a
way you can lose. In a child's mind, if she can act up enough,
then maybe she will get her own way. In reality, there is not a
chance that the family will turn around and go back to their oíd
home. Chihiro realizes this on some level, but she will continué
to pout anyway as a negotiating ploy.
Chihiro is terrified when her father, uncharacteristically,
begins to speed on the dirt road. We empathize with her fear.
She feels out o f control and she clings to the back seat for sta-
bility, crying out that her dad should slow down. The act of
clinging is spurred by the emotion o f fear. Emotion tends to
lead to action.
They can drive no further. Father, mother, and Chihiro get
out of the car and we have another negotiation at the entrance to
the strange building. Notice how Chihiro clings to her father’s
arm as she tries to persuade him not to go any further? But even
with his strength to support her, she wants no part of this odd
place. It gives her the creeps. When Dad insists on exploring,
Chihiro is in direct conflict with him and tries to win by yelling
“Forget it! l’m not going!” and returning to the car. She loses the
101
— Acring in Animarion —
negotiation, however, and must chase after her parents to catch

up. It is better to be with them in a spooky place than it is to be
alone in the car. Note that when Chihiro catches up to her par
ents she grabs her mother’s arm with both hands. That is a ges-
ture motivated by fear. As I watched this sequence, I marveled at
Miyazaki’s firm understanding of child psychology. Significantly,
Dad did not physically forcé Chihiro to accompany him into the
building. He seemed content to go without her if that is what ic
took. It seemed that his higher valué was to explore. It upstaged
his own parental feelings. This would of course scare the daylights
orit of a ten-year-old girl. The very idea that a parent does not care
if you come or go is existentially frightening.
When Chihiro’s father follows the aroma of the food (play
an action until something happens to make you play a differ-
ent action), he actually begins to run. This is also odd behavior
and helps increase the feeling of fear in Chihiro and, by way of
empathy, us in the audience. Think about it: if you smell even
the most aromatic food, do you run toward it? Maybe a child
would, but Chihiro’s father is in his mid-thirties. Since emorion
tends to lead to action, we can presume that his emotion—
whatever it is— is extremely powerful.
Later, after her brief encounter on the bridge with Haku,
Chihiro finds the overstuffed pigs sitting where her parents were.
This is a nightmarish sequence. Miyazaki has a firm understand
ing o f the fears of children. Parental abandonment and the pos-
sible loss of personal identity loom large in Spirited Away.
Regarding Haku, we do not initially empathize with him
because he is a spirit. He does not appear to have normal
human emotions, and his eyes have been purposely made to
appear “strange.” (See The A rt o f Spirited Away by Mayou
Mizaki, Viz Communications, 2002.) Remember, we humans
empathize only with emotion. To the degree that a character
does not appear to have emotion, we will view him in a more
cerebral way.
102
— 8. Spirited Away —
Chapter 2: “It’s Just a Dream”

At the water s edge, Chihiro struggles to “wake ap” from a bad
dream. She is starting to bccome invisible and can see through her
own hands. This is brilliant storytelling. To disappear is to die.
Notice that Chihiro crouches into a kind o f fetal position and tries
to comfort herself. The single close-up shot o f her feet in tennis
shoes rocking back and forth is powerful emotionally. She is terri-
fied. Emotion leads to action. The action is to comfort herself.
W hen she runs up the hill, note that she slips and regains
her balance. It happens quickly but helps underline that she is
on slippery reality. AJI the animators really had to do was to get
her up the hill, right? But they added that slip and recovery.
That is good animation.
Haku rescues Chihiro by giving her food from the spirit
world. This will stop her from disappearing. Chihiro has a ter
rible negotiation at that moment. She does not know what the
substance is that Haku is trying to feed her and she has every
reason to be suspicious at this moment. O n the other hand, she
is disappearing (dying) fast. She is stuck between a rock and a
hard place. This is conflict with the situation. She eats the food,
thereby resolving the negotiation. As it turns out, she wins that
negotiation because she again becomes whole.
The next major negotiation in this chapter occurs when
Haku tells Chihiro that she must adventure into the bathhouse
alone. She cries out, “I don’t want to be alone!” He presents the
case to her: If you want to rescue your parents, you will have to
be alone. Again, she is between a rock and a hard place. Conflict
with the situation. She resolves it by deciding to be courageous.
She will go into the bathhouse alone.
Chapter 3: “Finding Work at the Bathhouse”

W hat child has not fallen down stairs at one time or another?
The stairs at the bathhouse are several stories high, are very
103
—“Accing in Animación —
steep, and have no handrails. Again, Miyazaki taps into a child’s

deepesc fears. It is easy for us to empathize with Chihiro. When
the step broke, sending her careening downward, my heart
skipped a beat.
Once she is inside the bathhouse, Chihiro meets Kamaji, the
six-armed oíd man that runs the boiler room. The sight o í a six-
armed man further frightens Chihiro, and we empathize with her
fear. She flattens herself against the boiler room wall, trying to
hide while figuring out what to do. Note the degree of tensión in
her body as she pushes against the wall. Then she screws up her
courage and pushes forward like the heroine she is.
Her dialogue with Kamaji emphasizes the conflict she has
with her situation. As gruff as the oíd man appears, he immedi-
ately displays a soft underbelly. Chihiro is not really threatened
by him once she gets used to the six arms.
Chapter 4: “Meeting Yubaba”

When Chihiro is taken to meet Yubaba, she turns to thank
Kamaji for his help and bangs her head on the top of the pas-
sageway doorframe. She is in continual danger of hurting herself,
it seems. This lirrle bump on the head would be easy to overlook,
but l am encouraging you to think about it a moment. The aní-
mators did not have to inelude that. It was only necessary to get
Chihiro out of the boiler room. The emotional impact of her
banging her head was startling. The moment passes quickly,
but it is effective. Miyazakis filmmaking is chock full of this
type of minor moment if you look. This really helps define
character and establish atmosphere and mood.
The first couple of elevators to the top floor are almost as
dangerous as the steep outside steps Chihiro had to navigate ear-
lier. There is no protective cage on them. Again, the little girl flat
tens herself against a wall in a gesture of fear and self-protection.
104
— 8. S p irited Aw ay —
N ote the diversionary sequence berween Lili and Frog. T h e

scene construction is conflict berween characters. T h e negocia
ción is over who gets to eat the roasted newt. Lin wins.
O n ce C hihiro arrives at Yubaba’s quarters, the atmosphere
changes. Now we have elegant carpets and a warm fireplace. It
is almost com forting until those bodiless heads start bouncing
around the room. I personally thought those heads were just
about the most disturbing characters in the movie. Real night-
mare fodder.
Yubaba takes possession o f C hihiro’s ñame, calling her Sen
instead. T h is plays into a child’s fear o f disappearing. You lose
your ñame and you lose your identity. (Personal aside: W hen I
was a young boy, my m other remarried and my stepfather
adopted me, changing my last ñame to Hooks. I was given the
option o f also changing my first ñame as long as we were going
through the legal process o f ñame changing anyway. T h e idea o f
changing my first ñame was traumatic to me. I was Ed, after al).
I was not a N ick or Dave. M y very identity was at stake. This is
the psychology that is in play with this sequence berween
Chihiro and Yubaba.)
Chapter 5: “Sen’s New Life”

T h e sequence berween Sen (Chihiro) and Haku outside the pig
barn is fascinating. H e gives her food on which he has cast a
spell, explaining that it will restore her strength. After she takes
rwo or three bites, she begins to weep. I spent some time trying
to figure out how the acting is working. W hac is she crying
about specifically? An em otion can be defined as an autom atic
valué response. Her tears are being driven by an em otion o f
some kind, but I m not sure what it is. She might be in a kind
o f shock. It could not possibly be that her energy had fallen to
a level where she was incapable o f tears because she was crying
105
in her bed only a short while earlier. It seems co me these are

tears o f relief rather than pain, perhaps similar to the kinds o f
tears one sheds at a wedding. A psychiatrist explained to me
once that people cry at weddings because the events involve
both hope (a new life together) and loss (childhood is over). He
said the contrast between the two can evoke tears because the
emotions are so strong. Ask yourself when was the last time you
saw tears o f this sort in an animated film. It is most unusual and
is very arresting. It makes sense that Miyazaki would be the one
to do it First. I really do think that if this man ever decides to
give up animation, he would make a marvelous psychologist.
Chapter 6: “We Have an Intruder”

Note how Chihiro repeatedly slips and falls from the bathtub.
Each time the falls are pretty tough. Ask yourself why the ani-
mators had her fall so many times. A single fall might have suf-
ficed to establish that the surface o f the tub was slimy and
slippery, yes? I think the repeated falls keep Chihiro in constant
conflict with her situation. It helps keeps the tensión high.
The negotiation between No Face and Chihiro over the
bath tokens is interesting. II she accepts the offer, No Face wins
the negotiation and will eat her. But she is not greedy. She only
takes what she needs. That is why No Face disappears and drops
the tiles to the floor. He lost.
The Stink Spirit sequence is wonderful for the way it capi-
talizes on the sense o f smell. Miyazaki has not simply made the
Stink Spirit smell bad; he has made him smell sickening— and
he has even worked in an environmental warning because the
source o f the odor is the tossed-off debris o f civilization. Chihiro
has to overeóme her revulsión in order to serve the Spirit and to
further her quest toward saving her parents. She is in conflict
with her situation. The obstacle is the stench. She loses if she
106
— 8. S pirited Away —
runs away, and sKe wins if she can successfully give the Stink
Spirir his bath.
Chapter 7: “Working for Tips”

The primary purpose o f chis chaprer is to define the penalties o f
greed. No Face has the power to creare whatever someone wants
the most. In the case o f the bathhouse workers, it is gold. As
soon as they realize he has the capacity to create gold out o f thin
air, they begin treating him with extreme deference. From their
perspective, the negotiation is with the situation. They think
that the more they cater to the spirit, the more gold they get.
From No Faces perspective, it is a matter o f establishing the
degree o f greed. Fie wins it his victims cave into greed and take
the gold. Significantly, Chihiro does not accept the gold when it
is offered to her.
Chapter 8: “A Strange Visit

to the Nursery”
Chihiro’s objective is to save Haku, who has flown into the top-
most window o f the bathhouse. Fler obstacle is that there is no
easy way up. She has to climb the outside o f the building, walk-
ing along rusted pipes, risking her life. The negotiation is that if
she falls, she loses; if she successfully gets to Flaku, she wins.
Chihiro’s scenes with Baby are just about the strangest in the
movie in my opinión. A baby that huge is almost a living oxy-
moron in the first place. Baby talks like an adult but has the matu-
rity o f a child. We feel zero empathy for Baby, despite his (her?)
cries. Baby’s emotions seem calculated rather than heartfelt. The
most significant aspect o f Chihiro’s encounters with Baby is the
way she stands up to the large child. Notice the moment when she
holds her bloody palm up for Baby to see. (“Germs! 1 got germs,
see?”) That is smart thinking on Chihiro’s part, and it doesnt
107
come from fear. She is using her head. I perceive growth in her
character in chis chapter.
We are also learning some new story points, having to do
with how Haku got the Golden Seal from Yubaba’s sister, Zeniba.
Chapter 9: “The Golden Seal”

The action sequences in which Chihiro rides on Haku’s back as
he writhes through space and crashes into Kamaji’s boiler room
are nothing short o f majestic animation. All o f the action is
emotion driven.
After Haku returns to his human form and is near death,
Chihiro makes the decisión to return the golden seal to Zeniba.
This is a puré act o f courage and love. Haku helped her at one
time, and she wants now to help him. This is not the thinking
o f a young ten-year-old girl. She is showing signs o f real matu-
riry. She is no longer trembling with fear when she confronts an
obstacle, but is acting from strength.
Chapter 10: “A Monster Called No Face”

Chihiro bravely faces the monster No Face. Note that she peace-
fully sits in his roaring presence and speaks to him calmly.
Compare this kind o f behavior with the way she behaved back
in Chapters 1, 2, and 3.
After she feeds No Face the food from the River Spirit, caus-
ing him to purge and rage into a fury, Chihiro flees. No Face is in
hot pursuit. 1 do not interpret her running away to be a sign o f
cowardice, however. Fear is a normal and healthy emotion even in
mature people. Her flight is motivated by emotion and, acting-
wise, it is correct. The flight through the bathhouse is another
example o f marvelously detailed animation. There are many char-
acters being knocked out o f the way. Play the sequence a couple o f
times and you will see personality and solid acting in each o f them.
108
—* 8. Spirited Away —
One note about the way No Face purges. Most o f us would

cali it vomiting and, if you stop to think about it, that is a per-
fect way o f expressing the expulsión o f evil. As vile as vomiting
may be, there is still something satisfying and cleansing about it
once it is done. Even children— the target audience for this
movie— will understand that on a primal level.
Chapter 11: “The Train to Swamp Bottom”

There is a shot o f Chihiro on the train, after all of the other pas-
sengers have gotten off, and her little spirit friends are asleep in
her lap. She looks out the window and is deep in thought. The
moment is very still and very ful], and it lasts a couple of sec-
onds. Freeze frame on that shot and study her face. Note that it
is actually longer, a different shape than it had at the beginning
of the movie. It has more definition. Compare this shot to the
shot o f her face in Chapter 2 when she sees the spirit ship
approaching and cries out, “I m dreaming! I’m dreaming!”
Freeze on that close-up. Then go back to Chapter 11. This is
very subtle and effective character development. Most people
would not notice the evolution o f her facial shape.
Chapter 12: “What Did You

Do with My Baby?”
Haku negotiates with Yubaba for the return of Baby. Conflict
between characters. Haku wins, but Yubaba drives a hard bargain.
Chapter 13: “A Visit with Zeniba”

Zeniba turns out to be the granny we all wish we had. She’s a
fool for love and has a weakness for brave little girls. Most of this
chapter is resolution. There is some low-grade negotiation
between Chihiro and Zeniba, but it is one-sided. Chihiro has
109
noching more to give on her side o f che negociación. She doesn’c

know it yec, buc she has already won.
Isn’c Haku majestic in his dragón form? When Chihiro
rushed co embrace him, I could swear 1 saw him smile. I felt a
rush o f emparhy for him.
Chapter 14: “Finding the Way Home”

Haku learns his crue identity and the beginnings of his relation-
ship with Chihiro. Notice the difference in his eyes once he
rememhers. There are no negotiations in this brief chapter. It is
all resoltition.
Chapter 15: “One Final Test”

I like the pacing when Chihiro walks alone toward Yubaba. She is
going to take the final test. Notice how erect her back is, how firra
her step is. Even from an aerial shot you can see the strength. The
fearful and sulky child at the beginning of the movie is going to
be a fine adult one day. The final line of the movie tells it all. “I
think,” says Chihiro, “I can handle it.”
110
Producers: Randy Fullmer (producer), Don Hahn (execucive
producer), Patricia Hicks (associate producer)
Director: Mark Dindal
Writers: Roger Allers (story), Mark Dindal (story), Matthew
Jacobs (story), David Reynolds (screenplay), Chris Williams
(story)
Editors: Tom Finan, Pam Ziegenhagen
Art Directors: Colín Stimpson, Thomas Cardone
Animators: Pierre Alary, Tim Alien (Kuzco/Kuzco Llama), Dale
Baer (supervising animator Yzma), James Baker (animator
Kuzco/Kuzco Llama), Tony Bancroft (supervising animator
Kronk), Jared Beckstrand (animator Pacha), David Block (ani
mator Kronk), Borja Montoro Cavero (animator), Jerry Yu
Ching (animator Kuzco/Kuzco Llama), Sandro Cleuzo (lead
animator The Song Guy/Waitress/OId Man/Officials/
Maidens), Bob Davies (animator Kronk), Patrick Delage (ani
mator), Eric Delbecq (animator), Roberto Espanto Domingo
(animator Yzma), Marc Eoche-Duval (animator), Brian
Ferguson (animator), Douig Frankel (lead animator Chicha),
11 1
— Acting in Animation *—
Tom Gately (animator Pacha), Eric Gervais-Despres (scene

planner), Thierry Goulard (animator), David Hancock (ani
mator Pacha), Clay Kaytis (animator Pacha), Sang-Jin Kim
(animator Kuzco/Kuzco Llama), Bert Klein (animator Pacha),
Jennifer Cardón Klein (animator Kuzco/Kuzco Llama), James
López (animator), Mark Mitchell (animator Kuzco/Kuzco
Llama), Joe Oh (animator Kuzco/Kuzco Llama), Jamie Oliff
(animator Kuzco/Kuzco Llama), Catherine Poulain (anima
tor), Mark Pudleiner (animator Kuzco/Kuzco Llama), Nik
Ramieri (supervising animator Kuzco/Kuzco Llama), Mike
Show (animator Nina), Bruce W. Smith (supervising anima
tor Pacha), Marc Smith (animator Kuzco/Kuzco Llama),
Chad Stewart (animator Yzma), Michael Stocker (animator
Kronk), JC Tran-Quang-Thieu (animator), Steven Wahl (ani
mator Yzma), Andreas Wessel-Therhorn (animator Kuzco/
Kuzco Llama), Theresa Wiseman (animator Pacha), Anthony
Ho Wong (animator Pacha), Phil Young (animator Kuzco/
Kuzco Llama)
Voice Cast: David Spade (Kuzco), John Goodman (Pacha),
Eartha Kitt (Yzma), Patrick Warburton (Kronk), Wendie
Malick (ChiCha), Kellyann Kelso (Chaca)
OverView
The Em perors New Groove was in development at Disney for a
very long time, being known for a while by the title Kingdom o f
the Sun. The original story was about a prince who changes
places with someone in his kingdom who looks almost identical
to him except for this single mark from the sun. During the
devclopmental process, plot lines were reportedly added and
dropped and the idea behind the rnovie evolved inco what we
now have befo re us. The Emperors New Groove was one of sev-
112
— 9. T he Em peror's N ew G roove —
eral high-budger box-office disappoinrments rhat ultimately

influenced Disney Animación to abandon 2 -D in favor o f
mainly 3 -D production in its feature films.
Amlysís
Chapter 1: “The Ñame Is Kuzco”
W e have a very excellent acting lesson in the very beginning,
concerning the way Kuzco searches for cover in a rainstorm.
T h e Llama is miserable and alone in the midst o f a gloomy
and oppressive tropical jungle. A couple o f seconds after he
appears on screen, a flash o f lightning frightens him and he
reacts with a big startled jump. His eyes pop open wide with
fear. T h at is excellent acting. T hen the rain stares falling heavily
and he moves to a nearby dry space under a large cree frond.
T h at works well too because a scene is a negotiation and his
objective is to protect him self from the rain. H e wins if he
finds a dry place, and he loses if he gets wet. H e has conflict
with his situation. O nce Kuzco is in the dry spot, however,
water overflows the frond and douses him. Now, pay cióse atten-
tion to what happens next:
Logically, his objective would still be to find a dry space,
yes? His action should arguably be to look for yet another
possible spot o f refuge in case things get even worse. But
Kuzco gives up the quest because he is already wet from the
frond-douse. He crawls directly back out into the rain, lies
down in the most unprotected spot, where he knows for cer-
tain he will get even more soaked— and assumes the fetal
position.
It appears to me that the action in chis sequence was
designed to elicit sympathy for the Llama at the very top o f the
movie, and that is what we have accomplished. We have learned
1 13
that rhe Llamas spirit is low, that he appears depressed, and that
he has evidently given up fighting the good fight. We feel sorry
for him.
In this book, I have spoken several times about the differ-
ences between sympathy (feeling for) and empathy (feeling
into) and the trouble storytellers can encounter when they get
the concepts mixed up. It is okay to elicit sympathy for a char-
acter at times, but you had better be very careful about how
you do it. We humans act to survive and we respond favorably
when we see other humans trying to survive. When we see a
character who has evidently stopped acting to survive, which is
the case in this opening sequence, the behavior distances us
from him rather than drawing us to him.
By the way, the setup for this scene is similar to one in
Shakespeare’s The Tempest. In act 2, scene 2 the jesterTrinculo is
looking for a place to hide from a tropical storm. Like Kuzco,
Trinculo is a pampered person who is not accusromed to being
in the elements.
Chapter 2: “Main Title— ‘Perfect World’ ”

Expository/connective sequence during which we meec the
human Kuzco and learn that he is spoiled rotten and can have
whatever he wants. He has no regard or respect for those who
serve him. In the bonus extras (character voices), producer
Randy Fullmer describes Kuzco as having “no patience, arro-
gant, all-about-me, snide— but there is a little bit of a charm
there, too.” Given that we are being asked to spend an hour
and a half with this character, 1 think this is a troublesome
setup. Personally, if I run into someone who has no patience
and is arrogant, all-about-me, and snide, I’m not going to stick
around long enough to find out if he also happens to be
charming.
— 9. T he Emperor's N ew G roove —
Chapter 3: “Choosing a Bride”

Kuzco insults all o f rhe potential brides.
Note the reaction o f the brides alter he insults them. The
reactions happen pretty much in the background so you’ll have
to specifically focus on them. I f Kuzco is life-or-death powerful,
I doubt seriously the rejected brides would be so over the top
with their anger. The third one from the left actually looks like
she’s going to slug him.
Chapter 4: “Pacha Arrives at the Palace”

Expository sequence in which we meet Pacha. We learn some-
thing else awful about Kuzco’s valúes. T h e oíd man who threw
o ff the emperor’s groove (“. . . the rhythm in which he lives his
life. His pattern o f behavior, 1 threw it o f f . . .”) was physically
tossed out a window at Kuzco’s instruction. W hat kind o f guy
do you have to be to order oíd men tossed out Windows? Here
we are on our way into Chapter 5, and I find myself not liking
the lead character at all.
Chapter 5: “The Emperor’s Adviser”

Yzma (voiced by Eartha Kitt) is, in my view, the most successful
characterization in The Emperor's N ew Groove. She reminds me a
lot o f Cruella de Vil, the classic villain from 101 D alm atians.
Yzma is hungry for power and afflicted by the fatal flaw o f van-
ity. In this chapter, we see her bully a peasant and then kiss up
to the emperor. She has conflict with her situation (not power
ful enough) and with other characters— first the peasant and
then the emperor. After Kuzco fires her, she is inflamed and
infuriated. We know right away that she will fight back— i.e.,
she will act to survive.
Kronk is a big dumb guy. He is so dumb that he is funny. I

like Kronk a lot o f the time, but it is worth mentioning that, in
life, stupid people do not think they are stupid. The first time
we see Kronk, he swats a fly on his own head, knocking himself
on the floor. I understand this is animation, but even in anima
tion character behavior should be rooted in truth, I probably
would have been more amused by the scene if Kronk had swat-
ted the fly, making a squashy mess all over his forehead. That
would have been more o f a Charlie Chaplin moment.
Chapter 6: “Kuzcotopia”
The emperor intends to demolish Pachas mountain-top village
and replace it with a royal summer retreat. There is some con-
flict in his encounter with Pacha, but there is not a negotiation.
Therefore, the scene structure is weak, In any negotiation, there
must be a way you can win and a way you can lose. Kuzco has
nothing at stake. He holds all the cards and cannot possibly lose
the hand.
Chapter 7: “Yzma’s Revenge”

Yzma is in conflict with her situation. Her objective is power.
The obstacle is Kuzco. She therefore decides to kill Kuzco.
Wonderful stuff.
Chapter 8: “To the Secret Lab”

This is mostly a fantasy sequence, but it’s fun because Yzma is
such an extreme character and because she takes unfettered joy
in executing her diabolical plans. There is no particular negoti
ation to speak of, however. The thrill ride she and Kronk take
down the long slide has nothing to do with anything, and I
don’t know why it is in the movie.
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— 9. The E m perors N ew G roove —
Chapter 9: “A Diabolical Dinner”

Yzma’s attempt to poison Kuzco goes awry. Instead o f killing che
emperor, Kronk manages to rurn him into a llama. From a per
formance perspective, Yzmas objeccive is co kill Kuzco. Her
obstacle is Kronk’s ineptitude. Kronk gets the poisons mixed up
and so Yzma loses chis particular negotiarion.
There is an acting lesson in a small moment with Kronk. Ir
only lasts one second, so you’ll have to focus in on it: Yzma instructs
Kronk to take Kuzco “out of town and finish the job . . . now!”
There is a brief beat and thcn Kronks eyes go up and to the left,
like he just thought of something. “What about dinner?” he asks.
In terms o f performance, ir was not necessary to have his eyes go
up that way. I’m sure the intent was to show how dumb Kronk is,
but he would actually have appeared dumber if he had taken the
brief thinking-beat and then simply asked the question, maybe so
as not to offend Yzma. Ir is not necessary to continually show how
dumb Kronk is. It has been established that he is not the brightest
bulb on the tree. The key from here on out is to have him do dumb
things that he thinks are smart.
Chapter 10: “Finishing the Job”

ln order to make chis sequence work, Kuzco should arguably
have been awake in the bag, not unconscious. Kronk tosses the
bag into the water and walks away. Then it occurs to him that
the bag is going to plunge over the waterfall, killing Kuzco in a
big splash. W hat is it that causes him to stop and think about
the big plunge? There is no noise coming from the bag and
Kuzco is now focused on his next action, which is probably to
return to Yzma. T h e acting principie is that a character should
play an action until som ething happens to make him play a
different action. W hat is it that motivates him to stop and
reconsider the murder? His conscience? I contend it would have
117
been a stronger acting moment if Kuzco liad been revived by the

plunge into the coid water and began thrashing in the bag,
maybe even coughing from the water he is swallowing. Kronk
would have heard that commotion and felt pity. The pity would
lead to the indecisión, reconsideration, and debate between his
good and bad angels.
An effective acting moment should appear to the audience
to be totally unexpected and simultaneously inevitable. When
the audience sees Kronk’s attack ot conscience, they will men-
tally replay everything they know about the character, looking
for hints that he is the type that might have such attacks of con
science. So far, all we know about Kronk is that he is a taco short
of a combo píate. I do not think it is enough to suggest that a
person has attacks of conscience simply because he is stupid.
Chapter 11: “Pacha Returns Home”

The sequence between Pacha and his wife, Chicha, and their
children is connective and does not have much conflict. There
is a slight negociación with rhe kids over the terms o f going to
bed. Later, as Chicha washes dishes, we can see that Pacha is ín
conflict with himself and with his situación.
The effect o f atmosphere on performance is quite nice in
this sequence. Michael Chekov talks a lot about the uses of
atmosphere in his book On the Technique o f Acting (Harper
Resource, 1991). A warm and cozy and loving home is truly
something to Fight for. The atmosphere in the home is affecting
the behavior o f the characters.
Chapter 12: “Demon Llama”

Pacha tclls Kuzco he will help him find the way home if Kuzco
will agree not to build Kuzcotopia on this particular mountain-
top. This is a strong negotiatlon, and it rells a lot about Pachas
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— 9. The Emperor's N ew Croove —
underlying strength and devotion to his family. He knows full

well that Kuzco is a dangerous man if crossed and yet he still
tries to strike a bargain with him.
As Kuzco disappears down the path, we see Pacha waver.
Maybe he should accompany Kuzco to safety after all? It is a
m om ent o f foreshadowing, setting up the rescue o f Kuzco two
chapters from now.
Chapter 13: “Into the Jungle”

We can empathize with Kuzco’s fear o f the jungle. Performance-
wise, this chapter works quite well. Em otion tends to lead to
action. H e is afraid and so he careens this way and that, trying
to fmd safety. Contrast this to the behavior o f the llama in that
opening sequence.
Chapter 14: “Pacha to the Rescue”

T h e action sequence in which Pacha swings in á la Tarzan and
rescues Kuzco from the jaws o f death is very nice. I like the way
he missed Kuzco on the first swing and picked him up on the
return. Reminded me a bit o f Road Runner cartoons.
Kuzco is touched when Pacha gently places his poncho over
him to protect him from the coid night. Good acting.
Chapter 15: “The Transition to Power”

Yzma takes over the throne. T h is is an expository sequence with
no real conflict or negotiation until she learns that Kuzco is still
alive. At that point, Yzma has conflict with her situation.
Chapter 16: “Bad Dreams”

1 suppose the reason for this sequence is to establish that Pachas
wife was the one who told him to go fmd the emperor. W e can
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— Acting in Anim ation —
presume that Pacha did not tell her rhat che emperor is curren tly
a llama, but he must have told her about the emperor s plan to
build Kuzcotopia on the mountaintop. It is hard to be certain.
The kids are cute and mama is maternal and comforting, but
there isn’t any real negotiation taking place in the sequence.
Chapter 17: “An Apparent Change of Heart”

Kuzco is evidently so touched by Pachas good nature and gen-
erosity that he agrees not to build Kuzcotopia on Pachas home
mountain. T h e sequence between the two o f them at the water s
edge is excellent in terms o f negotiation and subtext. Given
what a jerk Kuzco has been up to this point in the movie, how-
ever, it is hard to believe he would experience a 180-degree
change o f heart based on the fact that Pacha gave him a blanket
in the coid night.
Chapter 18: “Battle at the Bridge”

Kuzco is still a jerk, and it turns out he was lying about his
promise not to build Kuzcotopia. In terms o f performance,
everything works well in this chapter. Both characters play
actions un til something happens to make them play different
actions. The negotiations are clear. T h e weakness is in the script.
Even fot such a self-involved character as Kuzco, it is hard to
buy that he valúes the construction o f Kuzcotopia over the life
o f a man who has just saved his life.
Chapter 19: “In Hot Pursuit”

There is a nice lesson in comedy here when Yzma emerges from
the carriage and gets her shoes stuck in the mud. Drama has to
do with man’s potential; comedy has to do with his limitations.
Yzma may be the most powerful person in the kingdom right
now, but her shoes will still get stuck in the mud, and the swarm
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— 9 . The Em peror’s N ew Groove —
of bees will still chase her. At the end o f che day, she is still
human, and that is the source o f the gags in this sequence.
After the Yzma mud sequence, we discover that Kronk evi-
dently can taik to squirrels. It’s not particularly funny and con-
tains zero negotiation, but the storytellers were looking for some
device that would put Yzma and Kronk on the trail o f Kuzco. It
was convenient to have the squirrel point the way, and you
couldn’t do that unless you could talk to squirrels. It is not cred-
ible, which is the problem. l f Kronk was going to talk to squir
rels, it would have been stronger to establish that skill in an
earlier scene so it would not be so jarring now.
Chapter 20: “Mudka’s Meat Hut”

This chapter has a lot o f the elements o f a French farce with
characters running in and out o f revolving doors. Pacha has con-
flict with his situación once he learns that Yzma and Kronk are
hunting for Kuzco. His behavior during most o f this chapter
makes good sense acting-wise. His objective is to save Kuzco,
and the obstacle is that Kuzco will not listen to him. Yzma does
not have any direct conflict for the entire chapter. In general, she
is still in conflict with her situation and is searching for Kuzco
so she can kill him. But within the chapter’s sequences, it is
revolving doors and sight gags.
The primary story development información that is exposed
in this chapter is the fresh estrangement between Pacha and
Kuzco. At the very end o f the chapter, Kuzco overhears Yzma
scheming to kill him and seems disillusioned for some reason.
That doesn’t make a lot o f sense given that he fired Yzma in
Chapter 5. He already knew she was a problem. Anyway, his
being in a physical location so that he can overhear her depends
upon coincidence. You need to be very careful about how you
use coincidence as a storytelling device. See Story: Substance,
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Structure, Style, a n d the Principies o f Screenwriting by Roben

McKee, HarperCollins, 1997, pp. 3 5 6 -5 9 .
Chapter 21: “A Llama Alone”

Kuzco is sad because Pacha is no longer at his side and because
he has no friends back at the palace. He is feeling sorry for him-
self. The location turns back into the same swamp in which vve
found Kuzco in Chapter 1.
Kuzco has conflict with his situation, but the problem is that
he is not doing anything to solve it. He is playing the part o f a
victim. There is a big difference between being a victim and
being victimized. I f you portray your character as a victim, you
run the strong risk that you will lose the empathetic response
o f your audience. Humans act to survive. We want to see char-
acters do something to survive, even if the choice is wrong.
W hen Kuzco lies down in the pouring rain and says, “Leave me
alone,” he is giving up. He is not acting to survive, and so we in
the audience emotionally distance ourselves from him.
Chapter 22: “Good News”

W hen Yzma sits up in bed, she has cucumber slices on her eyes.
That is a wonderful character element! Her fatal flaw is vanity.
The fact that she would sleep on her back with cucumber slices
balanced on her eyes tells us volumes about the degree ot her
vanity. Very nice!
Chapter 23: “Friends, Finally”

Kuzco learns, hopefully once and tor all, that love is the highest
valué. It is worth even more than power and Kuzcotopia with a
waterslide. Pacha is sticking with him through thick and thin,
regardless of how much or how often Kuzco insults and threat-
ens him.
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— 9. The Emperor's New Groove —
A good acting lesson to focus on in chis chapter is that a

character needs a reason for entering a scene. At the top o f the
sequence, Kuzco enters dejectedly. W hat is his objective, do you
think? To make friends with the herd of llamas? It’s hard to say.
Mainly, he just looks depressed. He appears to be aimlessly wan-
dering. A character should be able to answer the question
“W hat am I doing?” 100 percent o f the time. It is not enough
to say “I am wandering around.” “W andering around” is not
a theatrical action. Theatrical action is not the same thing as
simple behavior. It must have purpose. Acting is playing an
action in pursuit o f objective while overcoming an obstacle.
W hen Kuzco sees Pacha sitting amidst the hcrd of llamas,
there is a nice transition. You play an action until som ething
happens to make you play a different action. Seeing Pacha is
the thing that causes Kuzco to play a different action.
Chapter 24: “Playtime at Pachas”

This chapter is full o f silly stuff that is fun to watch. Kronk’s
jump rope sequence is funny if dumb. T h e negotiations in the
scene are (1) between Yzma and Chicha, who intuitively is sus-
picious o f Yzma’s true identity and motives, and (2) between
Yzma and Chicha when it becomes clear that Chicha does in
fact know where Pacha is.
I love the zany Warner Brothers cartoon feel to Yzma’s
careening trip down the mountain side, terminating when she
becomes a human piñata. Very nice animation. It also reminds
me once again o f Cruella de Vil in 101 D alm atiam .
Chapter 25: “The Chase”

The moment when the airborne Kronk and Yzma get struck by
lightning and tumble from the sky looks like a tribute to Wile
E. Coyote in Road Runner cartoons. The timing on that
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—■ Acting in Anim ation —
sequence is sharp. To reitérate the lesson about comedy, it may

be true that Yzma can fly in her Kronk-m obile, but she can
still get struck by lightning and fall from the sky. Comedy
deais with our human lim itations.
Chapter 26: “The Final Showdown”

The extended action sequences in which Yzma, Pacha, and
Kuzco compete for possession o f the magic vial are based on
conflict with situation and conflict between characters. It is a
madcap series o f sequences that works well from a performance
point o f view. It seems to me that this is a weak way to resolve
the story, though. At the end o f the day, it would have been
stronger if Kuzco had outwitted Yzma. The way it is con-
structed, the resolution depends largely on coincidence.
Chapter 27: “A Whole New Groove”

Kuzco is a changed man. Kronk becomes a scoutmaster and
teaches kids how to talk squirrel talk. Pacha gets to keep his
home on the hill. It is a Disney ending for sure.
124
Producers: Roy Conli, Don Hahn
Associate Producen Philip Lofaro
Directors: Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise
Writing Credits: Victor Hugo (novel Notre-Dame de París),
Irene Mecchi, Tab Murphy (story), Jonathan Roberts, Bob
Tzudiker, Noni Whice
Film Editor: Ellen Keneshea
Art Director: David Goetz
Animators: James Bake (rough inbetween artist Djali), James
Baxter (supervising animator Quasimodo), Noreen Beasley
(rough inbetweener), Saúl Andrew Blinkoff (breakdown ani
mator Hugo), David Brewster (animator), Dave Burgess
(supervising animator Archdeacon), Jay N. Davis (assistant
animator), Russ Edmonds (supervising animator Phoebus),
Will Finn (supervising animator Láveme), Tony Fucile (super
vising animator Esmeralda), Raúl Garcia (animator), Ed
Ghertner (layout supervisor), Jean Gillmore (character
designer), Brian Wesley Green (assistant animator), Kris Heller
(assistant animator), Mark Henley (scene planner), T. Daniel
125
Hofstedt (animator “Gargoyles” unit), Ron Husband (supervis-

ing animator Djali), Mike “Moe” Merell (animator), Robb
Pratt (rough inbetweener), David Pruiksma (supervising ani
mator Víctor and Hugo), Mark Pudleiner (character animator
Esmeralda), Chris Sauve (animator), Lon Smart (breakdown
artist Phoebus), Michael Surrey (supervising animator Clopin),
Kathy Zielinski (supervising animator Frollo)
Voice Cast: Tom Hulee (Quasimodo), Demi Moore
(Esmeralda), Tony Jay (Judge Claude Frollo), Kevin Kline
(Captain Phoebus), Paul Kandel (Clopin), Jason Alexander
(Hugo), Charles Kimbrough (Victor), Mary Wickes (Laverne),
David Ogden Stiers (the Archdeacon), Heidi Mollenhauer
(Esmeralda singing voice), Mary Kay Bergman (Quasimodos
mother), Corey Burton (Brutish Guard), Jim Cummings
(Mise. Guards and Gypsies), Bill Fagerbakke (Oafish Guard),
Patrick Pinney (Mise. Guards and Gypsies), Gary Trousdale
(the Oíd Heretic), Frank Welker (Baby Bird), Jane Withers
(Laverne, additional dialogue)
OverView
Victor Hugos novel is one o f the great and dark works of liter-
ature. It is clear from the bonus extras audio commentary that
the Disney team struggled with this from the start. On one
hand, they wanted to capture the spirit of the novel and, on the
other, they didn’t want to scare six-year-olds with sexual obses-
sions and such. The final result is a beautiful frustration o f a
movie in my view. Combining 2-D and 3-D , the studio deliv-
ered what is without a doubt one o f the most gorgeous animated
films I have ever seen. I only wish they had not worried so much
about those six-year-olds in the audience and that they had
trusted Victor Hugo a bit more.
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— 10. The H im chback ofN otre D am e —
This movies villain, Frollo, reflecrs a certain kind o f think-

ing about villains in animated movies. He is unrepentant, not
very introspective, evil, and cruel to che point o f being a mon-
ster. 1 contend that this kind of one-dimensional villain is not as
frightening as one in which the audience gets to see the charac-
ter’s internal struggle. A villain is a hero in his own life.
Everybody acts to survive in the world, even if they are mak-
ing bad choices. A villain is ideally an identifiable regular per-
son with a fatal flaw. Cruella de V il’s flaw was vanity, for
example. Frollo’s fundamentalist worldview is probably his flaw.
He measures evil against an inflexible standard. I wish the direc
tor and animators had allowed us to see more o f Frollo’s tor-
ment. Given the premise on which they are building this
character, however, the performance is excellent. In my analysis,
I will com ment on Frollo perhaps more than any other charac
ter, suggesting ways he might have gained more dimensión
without scaring the kids.
Analjsís
Chapter 1: “The Bells o f Notre
Dame/Main Title”
I recommend that you adjust the Setup on the D V D so that, for
the first chapter only, there are English captions (for the hearing
impaired) appearing under the images on screen. T h e reason is
that the opening song, “The Bells o f Notre Dam e,” contains an
incredible amount o f backstory. In the audio narration, the pro-
ducer and directors explain that they tried various ways to intro
duce the characters o f Frollo and Quasimodo, but they all
seemed “fíat.” Their solution was to allow lyricist Steven Swartz
to put it all in a song. There is so much backstory contained in
this song, in fact, that you can easily miss some o f it if you are
127
— Acting ¡n Animación —
listening to the song and watching the fast-moving images on

screen. The subticles help a loe.
A synopsis of what is contained in that song goes like this:
Gypsies are trying to covertly sneak into Paris at night. Judge
Claude Frailo, a man who has longed to purge the world of vice
and sin, sets a trap for them. The Gypsy mother flees with her
baby, and Frailo chases her on horseback. She seeks refuge at the
cathedral of Notre Dame. Frailo catches up to her, grabs the baby,
and flings the mother onto the concrete steps, killing her.
Without taking a second look at the vvoman on the ground,
Frailo looks at the baby, decrees that it is “a demon monster” and
tries to toss it down a nearby well. The cathedral’s Archdeacon
stops him, accusing Frailo of havingspilled innocent blood on the
church steps. He tells Frailo that he may hide his guilt from him-
self and his minions, but he can never hide from “the eyes ot
Notre Dame.” Frailo has a rush of fear for his immortal soul and
asks what he can do to save himself. The Archdeacon tells him he
must raise the baby as his own. Frailo wants no part of that, but
agrees so long as the baby lives out of sight in the Notre Dame
cathedral. Then Frailo ñames the baby Quasimodo, which means
“half-formed.” After that, we have a passage of time during which
Quasimodo grows up to be a misshapen young man. We begin
the movie twenty years after that fateful night by the well.
The use o f atmosphere in this First chapter is marvelous. It
doesn’t get much better. Notice how the damp darkness ot the
canal affeets the Gypsies as they move toward downtown Paris.
The cobblestone streets of the city cause sound to reverberare in
a different way, and the filmmakers took advantage of that, too.
When Frailo chases the Gypsy mother through the streets, you
can almost feel the chill.
The puppet show storytelling device works nicely, even if
maybe they tried to convey too much information with it. I par-
ticularly like the part where Quasimodo ages twenty years.
128
— 10. The H uíichback o j Notre D am e —
Noticc how he and a priest are conveyed up the cathedral srairs

in silhouette? Look closely and you will see the supporting sricks
o f the puppet master. The acting o f the puppet-Quasimodo,
even in silhouette, is nice.
In terms of performance, the primary character who catches
my attention in Chapter 1 is Frollo. He almost literally comes
out o f the chute kicking babies down the stairs. He wears black
and rides a black horse and is every inch a stereotypical Disney
villain. The thing is that villains do not think they are villains.
I f you intend tor the audience to empathize with a character,
you must give them something they can relate to. In this first
chapter we learn that Frollo is a God-fearing moral fundamen-
talist who is capable o f extreme cruelty.
Chapter 2: “Will Today Be the Day?”

We meet Quasimodo for the first time. He’s sweet, lonely, mis-
shapen, and talks to birds and gargoyles. He longs to join the
revelers below the cathedral in their yearly Festival o f Fools, but
Frollo has forbidden him to leave the building.
It is easy to empathize with Quasimodo. We all can relate to
feelings ot loneliness. Remember, em otion tends to lead to
action. Quasimodo’s sadness is what leads him to try to sneak
out for a brief visit to Festival o f Fools. If he had simply curled
up in the com er and cried, we would be feeling more sympa-
thy than empathy. This is a very important acting distinction.
The gargoyles are a device that allows Quasimodo to talk to
himself. He is the only one who thinks they live. As soon as
Frollo enters, they again become immobile. Every storyteller has
to deal with the problem o f how to communicate inner thought
process for a character alone on stage. The trick is to justify it.
This team chose talking gargoyles.
One more thing: Notice the little figurines in Quasimodo's
play area. There is a figurine o f Quasimodo himself plus one o f
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— Acring in Animación —
Frollo. I suspect che figurines are pare of a Disney marketing strat-

egy with Burger King. For sure they are not in the original novel.
Chapter 3: “Frollo Arrives”

Note the status transaction when Frollo enters, looming so tall
over Quasimodo. Frollo seems to become more erect in his pos
ture, and Quasimodo seems to bend slightly forward, sending
his power center into the floor.
Quasimodo’s behavior as he prepared the table for lunch
caused me to empathize. Even though Frollo is an awful human
being, Quasimodo is happy to see him. The presence of any
other human in che bell tower is probably a welcome event and,
at any race, children rarely find fault with their parents even if
they are abusive. Quasimodo may be twenty years oíd chrono-
logically, but he is a young boy in terms of maturity. Do you see
how he scampers to place the dishes on the table? He doesn’t
drag his feet in a depressed way. Happiness is the emotion, and
the emotion is leading to the physical action o f scampering.
When Frollo reviews the alphabet with Quasimodo, note
the hunchback’s delight with correct answers. There is a negoti-
ation going on here. Quasimodo’s objective is to eam Frollo’s
approval. The obstacle is the difficulty of the quiz.
At the very end of the chapter, we learn that Frollo has lied
to Quasimodo about how his mother died, painting himself as
a savior rather than a murderer. If Frollo has any conflicc with
himself about chis, it doesn’t show.
Chapter 4: “Frollo’s Warning

About the World ‘Out There’ ”
This is an interesting chapter. Why is Frollo so intent upon keep-
ing Quasimodo inside the cathedral? It has been twenty years after
all. The song he sings (“Out There”) suggests that he is only con-
130
— 10. The Hunchback o f Notre Dame —
cerned with Quasimodos feelings. The world is cruel, he sings,

and Quasimodo is ugly. Insensitive people will raunt him.
Frollo’s use o f gesrure is powerful. A gesture does not have
to be merely an illustration o f the spoken line. (See On the
Technique o f Acting by Michael Chekhov, Harper Resource,
1991.) Notice how often he physically touches Quasimodo. He
caresses his face, strokes his unruly hair lovingly. All the while he
is doing rhis, he is manipulating and controlling him. It is
almost as if Frollo is training a dog, First with reward and then
with admonishmenr. The acting in this sequence is complex and
quite good, I think.
Late in the chapter, Frollo takes the lead and returns to
Quasimodo’s living quarters. He crosses to the figurines and
begins to use them to ¡Ilústrate his point. At the end, he literally
places the figurine o f Quasimodo back into the bell tower of the
pretend cathedral. A rule o f acting is that you must have a rea-
son for exiting or entering a scene. When Frollo leads Quasimodo
back to his living quarters, he must have in mind using those
figurines to cement his argument. This is clever filmmaking.
They managed to motivate the move and once again hold those
Burger King figurines up for display.
Chapter 5: “Quasimodo Longs

to Be ‘Out There’ ”
Quasimodo is obedient but not convinced. He longs to spend
one day “out there” among the regular people in the world.
In terms o f scene construction and characterization,
Quasimodo mainly has conflict with his sítuation. When he
swings from one precariously high vantage point on the cathe-
dral to another, he is literally grappling with conflict. We in the
audience empathize and smile because Quasimodo has dreams.
He doesn’t give up; he keeps trying to survive. If he curled up in
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— Acting in Anim ación —
bed and slept away the depression, we would not be so enam-

ored with him. At the final crescendo moment o f his song, note
the birds that fly by in the foreground. This hearkens back to
Chapter 2 when he released the young bird for his first flight.
Birds are free. This is nice visual storytelling.
Chapter 6: “Phoebus’ Return to Paris”

Note the transacción berween Phoebus and the bully Captain
when they draw weapons on one another. In the previous
sequence, the Captain s power center was lower. He now sees
that Phoebus is a lieutenant and outranks him, and he is imme-
diately in a State o f anxiery. As I have pointed out several times
in this book, anxiety is a high and heady power center. An anx-
ious character will gesticulate more with the upper part o f his
body. In general, confidence manifests itself in a character as a
lower power center.
During the first meeting between Phoebus and Frollo,
Frollo says, “My last Captain o f the Guard was a bit o f a disap-
pointment to me,” at which time we hear the snapping o f a
harsh whip in the background. Note that Frollo cracks a quick
sadistic grin in response to that whipping sound. My opinión is
that the grin was not necessary. In fact, the moment would have
been more chilling if he had just ignored the sound because he
is accustomed to it. I would rather have focused on Phoebus’s
reaction to the sound and the fact that Frollo is iramune to it.
Replay the short sequence and note that Phoebus’s reaction
to the whip noise is a mere startle reflex. He looks in the wrong
dirección. That doesn’c make sense. W hen he first entered the
scene, he heard the whipping going on and knew very well
where it was coming from. W hen he hears it again in this
moment, it is logical that he would look directly toward the
room where he heard it earlier.
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— 10. The H unchback o f N otre D am e —
Chapter 7 : “The Festival of Fools”

(“Topsy Turvy”)
You might want to once again turn on— just for this chapter— the
captions for the hearing impaired. As in the opening sequence, this
one has a lot o f information tied up in the lyrics o f a song.
Quasimodo joins the crowds at the Festival o f Fools and is
crowned the King o f Fools. The people cheer hirn because they
think he is wearing an ugly mask. Quasimodo, being so good-
natured, doesn t really get the joke.
The animation in this chapter is awesome. Performance
does not need to be subtle because of the carnival atmosphere.
Chapter 8: “The Crowd Turns

on Their King”
Quasimodo learns about the cruelty o f a mob. There is a lot o f
wonderful animation in this short chapter but not much oppor-
tunity for subtle acting. At one point Frollo says to Phoebus that
“a lesson needs to be learned.” He has that sick sadistic look on
his face again. It would probably have been more powerful if we
had a slightly closer shot o f Frollo at that moment and if his
expression reflected the difficulty o f administering tough love. It
would have given us a little more insight into Frollo’s mind and
valué System.
Chapter 9: “Esmeralda Comes to

Quasimodo’s Aid”
Most o f this chapter is taken up with a beautiful and fun chase
sequence. For performance, we mainly have the opening moments
when Esmeralda confronts Frollo across the crowd and the later
meeting between Frollo and a shamed Quasimodo.
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— Acting ¡n Animarion —
Esmeralda and Frollo almost seem to be tossing thunder-

bolts at one another across che heads o f rhe crowd. They come
across as very equal human beings once Frollo is isolaced.
The status transaction berween Frollo and Quasimodo
could not be any more powerful. Quasimodo is shamed
absolutely. His power center is inches from rhe ground. He is
forced to look up at a dramatic angle to malee eye contacr with
Frollo, who is atop a horse. Very nice staging in rhe scene.
Story-wise, Phoebus is somewhat weakened in chis chapter,
Remember, unless you have a purely transitional sequence, a
character should 100 percent o f the time be playing an action in
pursuit o f an objective while overcoming an obstacle. Obstacle
is equivalent to conflict. There are only three kinds o f conflict:
with self, with the situation, and with another character. When
Frollo orders Phoebus to capture Esmeralda, he responds without
hesitación and has no evident conflict about ir. Yet in an earlier
sequence, he already carne to her rescue. He for sure knows who
she is by this point. When Frollo gives the order to capture her,
my sense of things is that Phoebus should falter, even if imper-
ceptibly. Conflict with himself and conflict with the situation.
Chapter 10: “Esmeralda Seeks

Refiuge in the Cathedral”
The physical distance between people is a status transaction.
You and I will negotiate how cióse we stand to one another
when we converse. We usually do not like it when mere acquain-
tances move too closely inco our personal space. We reserve that
space for intimares and family. Note rhat when Phoebus and
Esmeralda approach one another after their introductory sword
fight, it looks as though they are about to kiss. Now, I am as
romantic as the next person, but I thought that was too much
closeness, too soon. I would have preferred that they keep more
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— 10. The H unchback o f Notre D am e —
o f a distance in that moment and that we see their feeling for

one another in their facial reactions.
Phoebus’s character development is still shallow in chis
chapter. W hen Frollo confronts the two o f them in that near-
kiss moment, Phoebus goes into something o f a panic. He tells
Esmeralda to ask tor sanctuary. She refuses and so he pretends
she said it anyway. It seems to me this moment would have
worked better if Phoebus had immediately mentioned her hav-
ing asked for sanctuary, and then for Phoebus and Esmeralda to
exchange a knowing look that says, in effect, “I didn’t ask for
sanctuary and you know it.” It is worrisome that Phoebus
hasn’t shown more character and strength. Esmeralda has to be
romantically attracted to him, after all.
Chapter 11: “Frollo’s Threat”

Disney movies have always approached human sexuality in an
awkward fashion. This is why perhaps Víctor Hugos H unchback
o f Notre D á m e la s not a good candidate for the Disney treatment
in the first place. Frollo’s sexually tormented nature is hinted at
when he grasps Esmeralda from behind and buries his nose in her
luxuriant and earthy hair. But the moment and the dialogue after-
ward is cryptic enough to keep young children in the dark about
what the heck is going on. My opinión is that it would have been
okay to be a little more overt without becoming graphic. Kids see
more sexuality than that on after-school T V these days.
Chapter 12: “God Help the Outcasts”

We get to listen to a syrupy show tune, and the chapter doesn’t
have any acting that I can see. It is all designed to evoke mood.
Very lovely building, beautifully lit with candles. Quasimodo
comes downstairs to hear Esmeralda sing, but there is no con-
flict involved in that.
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— Acting in A nim ation —
Chapter 13: “Esmeralda Follows

Quasimodo into His World”
Some rownspeople appear in the cathedral, yelling at Quasimodo:
“You! Bell ringer! What are you doing down here? Haven’t you
caused enough crouble already?” I do not think it was necessary to
bring those characters in at this point. It would have been stronger
to have Esmeralda look up from her reverie, see Quasimodo lean-
ing against the pillar, and then try to approach him. Quasimodo,
suddenly in conflict with his situation for being away from the
bell tower, would then run back upstairs, and she would follow. It
looks to me like the reason for having the rownspeople arrive was
simply to propel Quasimodo back upstairs. It works, but the same
objective could have been accomplished in a more character-
revealing way and with less animation.
Once Esmeralda is in Quasimodo’s living quarrers, the action
moves directly to those figurines again. Now we learn that, in fact,
Quasimodo carves the figurines himself. There is a grear sculptor
(or maybe even an animator!) beneath that misshapen body!
There is a minor negotiation when Quasimodo argües that
Esmeralda should view the city sunset and he tries to convince her
that she can remain in the cathedral forever.
This chapter feels a lot like a first date. The characters are
very responsive to one another. Acting is reacting. The perfor
mances in Quasimodo’s living quarters are strong in that
regard. Each o f them seems to be listening to the other, which
is a key. Stage actors learn that one o f the hardest things to do
is to actually listen to what another actor is saying without
thinking about what your next line is.
Chapter 14: “Quasimodo Helps

Esmeralda Escape”
This is an action sequence. Not a lot of acting going on.
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—* 10. The H unchback o f Notre D am e —
Chapter 15: “Phoebus Comes

Looking for Esmeralda”
Emotion tends to lead to acción. T h e extreme degree o f
Quasimodo’s attack on Phoebus reflects che depth o f his anger.
He is beyond angry, it seems, and is cióse to tury. The personal-
ity conversión is dramatic and is also a foreshadowing o f the
power Quasimodo will display later in the story.
Chapter 16: “Quasimodo Dreams

of ‘Heaven’s Light’ ”
Quasimodo is lonely and in love. From an acting perspective,
the most telling moment is at the end when he rings the bells
with a new purpose. T h e emotion is elevated and so is his phys-
ical response to it.
Chapter 17: “Hell Fire”

We finally get a glimpse into Frollo’s heart. He is in terrible
conflict with himself and with his situation. His fundamental-
ist religious views leave no room for weaknesses o f the flesh or
compromise. He cannot resolve his lustful feelings and so he
blames them on the devil. Esmeralda, in his mind, is an agent
o f evil. He frames only two possible Solutions to the conflict:
(1) Esmeralda will repent and reject the devil, falling into
Frollo’s bed or (2) Frailo will kill her. Note the tensión in
Frollo’s body and the way he flails toward heaven. His move-
ments are motivated by overpowering emotion and conflict.
This is an excellent sequence and high drama.
After the Hell Fire musical sequence, Frailo begins his
obsessive search for Esmeralda. He considers the Gypsies to be
human vermin and does not hesitare to torment them.
Phoebus continúes to be a frustratingly bland character
from an acting perspective. He rarely appears to be playing an
137
action in pursuit of an objective. In chis chapter, he simply

shakes his head disapprovingly when he sees Frollo mistreating
the Gypsies. I think it would be stronger it he were under
increasing conflict about his role as Frollo’s Captain of rhe
Guard versus his role as a human being. We are getting a slighr
hint of the conflict, but not nearly enough.
Chapter 18: “Phoebus Defies Frollo”

Note the sequence in which Frollo passes the torch to Phoebus.
Phoebus accepts it and then backs away. He hesitates, evidently
in conflict with himself about whether to burn the building or
not— and then he plunges the torch into the water bucket. It
suggests that the exchange would have been more powerful if
Phoebus has resisted accepting the torch in the first place. Let
Frollo hold it out toward Phoebus, waiting for him to take it.
Then we would have a cleaner conflict between characters.
Phoebus and Frollo could glare at each other, and then Phoebus
could grab the torch and immediately extinguish it.
Chapter 19: “One of a Kind

(A Guy Like You)”
This is a show tune sequence that could probably have been left
out o f the movie with no damage done. It does not advance the
plot, exposes no new character information, and it involves no
acting. On the positive side, the song is cute, and it provides an
opportunity for the gargoyles to clown around.
Chapter 20: “The Fugitive

(‘Heaven’s Light’ Reprise)”
The sequence in which Esmeralda kisses Phoebus is worth exam-
ining. First, look at the exchange between the new lovers. A scene
138
is a negotiation, and each character should be playing an action.

What we have right now is a lairly generic lovers clinch. The scene
could have evoked more power if, after Phoebus says that maybe
the arrow punctured his heart, he had looked into her eyes, maybe
tried to kiss her— and then passed oul. She could have kissed him
anyway, but ir would have had more voltage. Ir would have been
something like a kiss o f life. After the kiss, he could stir slighdy so
that we know he is not dead. That way, Phoebus’s imminent death
becomes Esmeraldas obstacle. The scene would still have the same
impact on Quasimodo, who is watching from the shadows, but it
would arguably have had a stronger theatrical construction. It is
always useful to think o f a scene as a negotiation,
Quasimodo reacts to all o f this first with disbelief, then
shock, and then grief. T h e animators successfully put him
through all o f those changes, but I think there is maybe too
much physical movement. In the bonus extras audio narration,
the directors joke about making certain that the six-year-olds in
the audience would know that Quasimodos heart is breaking.
This is one o f those places where 1 think Western animators
could take a clue from Miyazaki. He would have handled the
reaction with more stillness, and I think that would be more
emotionally satisfying. Right now, Quasimodo is hanging onto
that wooden beam, turning his back to the action, squirming
around, and then turning back again. Tears tumble freely down
his cheeks, and he tears up the ace o f spades. It seems to me that
the audience knows what the stakes are for Quasimodo by this
point. A six-year-old might not conceptually understand affairs
o f the heart, but he has probably seen his parents kissing. I think
I would have liked the sequence more ¡f Quasimodo forced him-
self to watch what he did not want to see. Forcing himself to
watch would become his action. The obstacle would be his pain.
Tears might well up in his eyes and, as they started to fall down
his cheek, they too would become an obstacle, and he would
139
lower his head to hide them from Esmeralda— protecting his

dignity. T h e truth is that, in real life, we humans do not easily
share our emotions with one another.
Chapter 21: “Another Visit from Frollo”

T h e acting in the Frollo/Quasimodo lunch table sequence is
good. I like the way the characters are listening to one another,
and I like the way Quasimodo is trying to hide his fear. Emotion
tends to lead to action. The emotion is fear, and the thing it
leads to is trying to hide it.
Frollo is by now so obsessed that he is out o f his mind. He
is utterly irrational and furious. We see that by the forcé with
which he destroys the table display and then burns the figurine
o f Esmeralda. AJI o f that is way-over-the-top acting, and the
only way to justify it is tor him to be near crazy. I wish the sto-
rytellers had made other choices regarding Frollo. Here in
Chapter 21, it would be nice if we could gain a little more
insight into his personal struggle as a man. It is hard to
empathize with madness, and they are putting him too much on
that side o f the equation. Given the choices they made, however,
they presented it well. The scene construction works well, and
there are clear negotiations.
Note the sequence in which Phoebus asks Quasimodo if he is
coming with him to find Esmeralda. Quasimodo says he can’t,
and when Phoebus presses, he says, “Frollo is my master. I can’t
disobey him again.” At that point, he wraps his arms around him-
self and turns his back on Phoebus. Stage actors learn to be care-
ful about that kind o f move. You want to always make acting
choices that invite the most conflict. W hen you make an acting
choice that says, in essence, “I don t want to talk to you” or “1
do not want to be in this scene any more,” you are moving away
from conflict. This sequence would have had more punch to it if
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— 10. The Hunchback o f No (re Dame —
Quasimodo had not turned his back. He could have faced

Phoebus defiantly and then maybe dropped his gaze in shame,
which would have triggered che same response in Phoebus.
Chapter 22: “The Court of Miracles”

Moscly, chis chapter is a long series o f acción sequences. They are
interspersed with small moments rhat involve acting, like when
Esmeralda interrupts the hanging and when Frollo arrives. My
only note is that, given Frollo’s mental State in the previous
chapter, I would like to see him struggling harder to maintain
mental control now. The way it is presented, he is sort o f back
to his controlled awful self. In order to make him more inter-
esting, there needs to be more conflict. And the most opportu-
nity for conflict is with himself. His confrontation with
Esmeralda, Phoebus, and Quasimodo is not really a negotiation
because there is no way they can win.
Chapter 23: “A Public Execution”

When Frollo offers Esmeralda the bargain of Ufe, I wish so much
that we had been able to see some o f his need in addition to his
madness. It is a useful acting exercise to ask yourself what your
character needs in a scene. Try converting “want” to ‘‘need”
and see what you get. The way the sequence is presented, he is
still smirking and snarling and is still being drawn in consis-
tently dark colors. The man is in pain! Pain involves struggle.
Struggle is part of life on earth. As awful a person as Frollo is, he
is still a human. I want to understand what makes him tick.
Perhaps a couple o f muscle twitches in his face during ciose-up
would have helped. Perhaps if the crowd was screaming for him
to burn her. There are various ways he could have been made to
display more emotion in the moment. In the audio narración,
the directors mention that there was a deleted scene that took
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—* Acting in Animation —
place the night before the execution, in the dungeon. This scene
also appears in Victor Hugos novel. In it, brollo declares his love
for Esmeralda. The directors say they decided against using it for
“expediency” and because it was too dark.
Quasimodo, meanwhile, seems to have given up and gone
into depression. That is understandable perhaps, but it is a weak
acting choice. A character needs to be doing something 100 per-
cent o f the time, and falling into depression does not qualify. I
would have liked it more if he was unsuccessfully tugging at his
chains, trying to free himself. The gargoyles could urge him on
and, after a moment o f collapse, he could lunge successfully,
breaking the chains.
Chapter 24: “Quasimodo Rescues Esmeralda”

Another action sequence. Beautiful animation, not a lot of acting.
Chapter 25: “Frollo Attacks Notre Dame”

Another action sequence. Beautiful animation, still ñor a lot o f
acting.
Chapter 26: “A Short-Lived

Moment of Triumph”
This is a very nice scene. The acting is truthful and subtle. I par-
ticularly like that Quasimodo tries to give her that spoonful of
water. We act to survive. If he had gone from “Oh, no!” to a col
lapse in tears, it would not have been as powerful a moment. The
water gives him something to do, making conflict in the scene.
Chapter 27: “Unfinished Business”

Frollo attcmpts to murder Quasimodo. There is no hesitation or
second thought, just raw evil. There is no understanding the
142
man. He is a ñatease. Given that premise, the scene works just

fine. I personally wish it were not quite so easy for Frollo to run
a knife into Quasimodos hump.
Chapter 28: “The Final Confirontation”

Big action sequence. Even in death, Frollo has no regrets. He is
only sorry that he is dying. In the end, however, what have we
really learned? Bad men do bad things? There is good and there
is evil in the worid? Could it possibly be that there lurks the
potential for evil in all o f us, as well as the potential for good?
Would that not have made a more valuable point?
Chapter 29: “Sweet Reunión”

There is not much complexity to the performances in this final
chapter. Everybody is happy. Hugs all around. Quasimodo
never again has to live in the bell tower.
143
DreamWorks SKG (2000)
Executive Producers: Jeffrey Katzenberg, Bill Damaschke
Coproducers: Brooke Bretón, Bonne Radford
Directors: Bibo Bergeron, Will Finn, Don Paul, David
Silverman, Jeffrey Karzenberg
Writers: Ted Elliott, Edmund Fong (story), Henry Mayo, Terry
Rossio
Film Editors: John Camochan, Vicki Hiatt, Dan Molina
Art Directors: Paul Lasaine, Wendell Luebbe, Raymond Zibach
Animators: James Baxter (sénior supervising animator), David
Bowers (story artist), David Brewster (supervising animator),
Ricardo Curtís (animator), Rick Farmiloe (animator), Lionel
Gallat (animator), Maximilian Graenitz (sénior animator),
Rodolphe Guenoden (supervising animator Chel), Rene
Harnois Jr. (3-D character coordinator), Todd Jacobsen (key
assistant animator Chel), Jakob Hjort Jensen (character anima
tor), Marek Kochout (animator), Ted Mathot (story artist),
Simón Otto (animator), Jane Poole (animator Chel), Brian
Riley (scene planner), Erik Chr. Schmidt (character animator
supervising all miscellaneous 2-D and 3-D characters), Amy
Taylor (animation coordinator), Dimos Vrysellas (character
144
— 11. The R oad to E l Dorado —
animaror Miguel), Greg W hittaker (animator Stone Jaguar),

Alexander Williams (animator), James C. J. Williams (scene
planning supervisor)
Voice Cast: Kevin Kline (Tulio), Kenneth Branagh (Miguel),
Rosie Perez (Chel), Armand Assante (Tzekel-Kan), Edward
James Olmos (C hief), Jim Cummings (Cortes/Others), Frank
Welker (Altivo/Others), Tobin Bell (Zaragoza), Duncan
Marjoribanks (Acolyte), Elijah Chiang (Kid #1), Cyrus Shaki-
Khan (Kid #2), Elton John (Narrator)
OverView
The R o ad to E l D orado seems to have been loosely inspired by
the oíd Bing Crosby and Bob Hope road movies. There were
many o f them, T h at’s not a bad idea on the surface, bur Bing
and Bob had innate charm and were big stars o f their day. The
success o f those road movies was largely a factor o f star persona.
The two main characters in The R oad to E l D orado, by con-
trast, are not known to us and so we have to discover their valúes
via the unfolding o f this story. In my view, that is a problem for
the storytellers because they are beginning with characters that
are immature, opportunistic, small-time crooks.
Amlysís
Chapter 1: “El Dorado (Main Titles)”
We are introduced first to the time and place of our story, Spain
1519, and then to the two leading characters, Tulio (Kevin Kline)
and Miguel (Kenneth Branagh). The first time we see their images
is on a “wanted” póster. The reward? One hundred doublons. The
images come to life and we discover Miguel and Tulio cheating at
craps. In terms o f scene construction, each o f them would be in
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— A ctin g in A nim ación —
pursuit o f che same objective, namely collecting a bunch o f

money. T h e obstacle/conflict is with their situation. I f they are
caught cheating, they’ll be beaten or killed. In che sequence, they
go from action ro action, horsing around, clowning for che group
o f rogues, tossing dice, always in pursuit o f the money.
Chapter 2: “Loaded Dice”

Play an action until som ething happens to make you play a
dififerent action. O nce it is discovered that they have been play-
ing with loaded dice, the objective changes. Now they want to
escape, and they have conflict with their situation as weil as with
the other characters.
T h e bow from the rooftop is puré vaudeville. Shades o f Bob
Hope and Bing Crosby, and it works.
T h e entire chapter is a long action sequence without any
opportunity for subtle acting.
Chapter 3: “Stowaways”
Lets talk for a mom ent about Altivo the white horse and his rela-
tionship to human characters in the movie. T h e storytellers have
made Altivo as smart as— and sometimes smarter than— the
human characters in head-to-head transactions. That breaks
Shakespeares dictum that actors should hold the mirror up to
nature. Horses may be very smart in the hierarchy o f animáis, but
they are not smarter than humans. Tulio tries to bribe Altivo with
a red apple into fetching a pry-bar and, instead, the horse brings
a full set o f jail keys. This strains credibility for horse behavior,
even in animation. The writers must have sensed that something
was wrong with this because they had Miguel remind Tulio that
he is “talking to a dumb horse.” Instead o f treating the horse like
a horse, they made a gag out o f it. I think this gag comes at too
high a price in terms o f character credibility.
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— 11. The R oad to E l D orado —
In a movies like The Lion King, Finding Nemo, Antz, and A

Bugs Life, the animals/insects are human-level smart and it works
because chey exisr in an animal world. In the DreamWorks movie
Spirit: Stalhon o f the Cimarrón, the lead-character horse was often
smarter than the humans, and I didn’t think it worked there either.
In oíd T V shows like Rin Tin Tin and Lassie, the dogs were super-
smart and pushed the envelope o f conceptual cleverness, but at the
end o f the day they were still dogs and slept in the doghouse.
T h e main action in this chapter is to establish that Cortez ¡s
a real person, and we are likely to meet him again.
Chapter 4: “Overboard”
After Tulio, Miguel, and the horse are in the rowboat, there is
lítele negotiation in scenes. Mainly, action sequences. Beautiful
animation and superb visual effeets, though.
Chapter 5: “Beached”
T h e opening sequence, in which the boys rellect on their lives,
lacks tensión. A character should be playing an action 100 per-
cent o f the time, and neither o f them is at the beginning o f the
chapter. Yes, they are trying to stay alive, and, yes, the conflict is
the fact that they are in a rowboat at sea, but basically they have
given up rowing or bailing water or trying to survive in any way.
They are victims to the waves.
W hen they find sand in their hands, the action shifts. T h e
acdng is quite strong in their reactions to the sand. Play the
sequence frame by frame, and you will see that Tulio reaets in a
different way than does Miguel. Very nice.
Em otion tends to lead to action. T heir happiness is power-
ful, and so they kiss the ground. They do not simply get out o f
the boat and jum p up and down. They kiss the ground. T h e more
powerful the em otion, the more you can justiíy in terms o f
147
extreme action. For a reference, check out Charlie Chaplin in

G old Rush. Look at the sequence where he celebrares the fact that
Virginia, the dance-hall girl, has accepted the dinner invitation.
Play an action until something happens to make you play a
difterent action. As they are kissing the ground, they encounter
the bones and skull. Big reaction. Happiness changes to fear. Fear
motivares the retreat to the boat. Then Tulio notices that the map
fits the island they are on. Now we have yet another change. The
important thing from a performance perspective is that your
characters go from action to action to action. It needs to be
seamless. The acting in this beach sequence is quite good.
Chapter 6: “The Trail We Blaze”

This chapter is an opportunity to play an Elton John song.
There is not niuch going on in terms o f performance.
Chapter 7: “Great Big Rock”

There is not much opportunity for subtle performance in this
chapter, but the action moves forward in a logical fashion. There
is continual conflict either between characters or berween a
character and his situation. There are shifting objectives and
actions, and it all fits together in a seamless fashion.
Chapter 8: “Entering El Dorado”

Acting is reacting, and Tulio and Miguel react to the beautiful gold
city. The backgrounds in this chapter are awesomely beautiful.
Chapter 9: “Stopping the Volcano”

This chapter has several object lessons to talk about. First, notice
Miguéi s reaction after Tzekel-Kan cries out, “Citizens! Did I not
predict that the gods would come to us?” He looks behind him,
then at Tulio, and then catches on that maybe he and Tulio are
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— I I . The R oad to E l D orado —
rhought to be gods. He murmurs slyly, “Hmm m m m m . . . ' I

think that reaction is not quite right given the context. Neither
o f them should yet catch on. Mentally, Miguel s thought process
should still be trying to sort things out. An expression o f affable
confusión would make more sense. (If you want to read more
about the importance o f sequential thought, check out another
book I wrote, The A ctor’s F ield G uide: Acting Notes on the Run,
Backstage Books, 2 0 0 4 , p. 91.)
As C hief Tannabok introduces himself, Tzekel-Kan frowns.
I think that is too obvious a giveaway about their relationship. I
would have preferred to have Tzekel-Kan maintain his fake
charm. We will find out soon enough that these two men are
competitors.
W hen Miguel dismounts, he carches his foot in Altivos har-
ness. That is a very good Charlie Chaplin gag. Remember,
drama has to do with man’s potential; comedy has to do with
his lim itations. Miguel may be getting the idea that the natives
consider him to be important, but he is still not so important
that he can’t snag his foot in a harness. The gag brings him down
from his momentary self-inflation. I only wish there had been
one more bit in which he tries to untangle his foot. That would
have been really Charlie Chaplin!
Altivo the horse should not have climbed the steep steps to
the temple. This is more unhorselike behavior. I have serious
doubts about a horse being able to navigate that many small and
vertical steps. Anyway, how is the horse going to get back down?
Chapter 10: “Cheldorado”

As the boys are celebrating their con, Altivo sees the girl and
tries to warn Tulio and Miguel o f her presence. Again, this is not
credible behavior for the horse.
Chel wants in on the scam. She actually uses that very word:
“scam.” My first thought is, “Where did she learn a word like that?
149
— Acting in A nim adon —
She’s a native, isn’t she? Scam is a twendeth-century word, isn’t it?”

This, o f course, is not an animator’s problem. That is what some-
body wrote and what Rosie Perez recorded. I compiled the follow-
ing descriptions o f Chel from the bonus extras audio narration.
Taken together, they are very revealing, because they explain
almost nothing about the character. Take a look: Chel is “a street-
sawy native,” “a barrel o f laughs . , . she loves lite and yet she’s frus-
trated by life,” “very sassy and opinionated,” “she’s tough and
sensitive,” “shy but extremely forward,” and “She’s every bit as
clever and manipulative and smart and devious as they are.” As a
character analysis, none o f this is particularly helpful. Most o f the
described traits simply cancel one another out. W hat we want to
know is how she got to be like that. Are her parents around? What
is she so angry about? Does she have siblings? What are her
dreams? What makes her laugh? Is she religious? Is she a virgin?
Chapter 11: “Its Tough to Be a God”

We get a colorful and musical glimpse into the daily routine o f
Tulio, Miguel, and Altivo the horse. There isn’t much acting in
this chapter.
Chapter 12: “A Proper Tribute”

The acting in the human sacrifice sequence is top notch. The
poor sap comes within an inch o f death, and when Miguel
grasps him under his arms, he faints dead away. I’m so glad they
didn’t play that moment for a gag.
The C h ief offers gold as a tribute to the gods, asking, “My
lords, does this picase you?” At that point Tulio swoons. I think
the swoon was not necessary. It would have been a more honest
acting moment if Tulio and Miguel had exchanged a quick
glance and then acknowledged that this gold tribute would do.
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— 11. The R oad to E l Dorado —
This kind o f over-the-top acting moment seems to be a sort o f

signature style o f The R oad to E l D orado by now. Maybe it hear-
kens back to the idea o f vaudevillians on the road in a grand
adventure. Bob Hope and Bing Crosby were o fren over the top
and corny in their road movies.
Chapter 13: “Three Days”

Tulio and Miguel negotiate with the C h ief for a boat. A scene is
a negotiation. In any negotiation, there musí be a way to win
and a way to lose. If they get the boat, they win; if they do not,
they lose. T h e conflict is with the situation more than with the
C h ief because the C h ief wants to please them. Their situation is
that they are bluffing and can still be killed if they are found out.
The next negotiation is between Tulio and Miguel (conflict
with another character) over the conditions o f “lying low” for three
days. That negotiation is resolved when Miguel agrees to stay put.
Tulio then says to Chel, “Excuse me, I want to gloat over my
gold.” That is a weak transition for Tulio because gloating over his
gold does not involve a negotiation. Ideally, he would be moving
from action to action in a seamless way. The reason the storytellers
did that, however, was to physically move Tulio aside so the action
can shift to Chel. She has an objective o f her own when she moves
toward Miguel. She has conflict with the situation, and we are not
certain at first what her objective is. It is not necessary for the
audience to know what a character s objective is. It is only neces
sary for her to have one. As soon as she dispenses with Miguel, it
becomes apparent that her objective was to be alone with Tulio.
W hen Tulio discovers that Miguel is gone, he tosses his
hands in the air and starts moaning, “W hat am 1 going to do?”
A stronger acting choice would have been to have him immedi-
ately chase after Miguel. Chel would stop him and we would
still have the ensuing seduction sequence. Again, the idea is to
151
- Acting in Animarion —
go from action to action to action. This is rwice in one chapter

that Tulio has been caught with no theatrical acción.
Tulio is sexually attracted ro Chel, and Chel is doing most
of the seducing. He has conflict with himself. He knows he
ought ñor fool around with her, but he wants to anyway. The
essence o f conflict with self is “yes I will, no I won’t, yes i will,
no I won’t.” He gives in to his urges in the end, thereby losing
the negotiation with himself. It would seem that if he gets the
girl, he wins, but in this case, he is telling himself to leave her
alone. He gives in and so he loses.
Chapter 14: “Age of the Jaguar”

This is my favorite Miguel sequence in the movie so far. For
starters, we see that he loves beauty and appreciates nature.
Observe his reacción to the birds flying by. Then we learn that,
rhough he may be a rogue and adventurer, he has empathy for
the underdog. He saves the native from being beaten. Then he
picks up an instrument and begins to pluck its strings as playful
children gather.
Chapter 15: “Without Question”

Miguel falls in love with the people of El Dorado. He is consid-
ering staying here forever. There are no scenes in this chapter
and no negotiations o f any significance. It is an opportunity co
hear another cut from the Elton John CD.
Chapter 16: “Tzekel-Kan s Advice”

The opening negoriation in this chapter is funny. Tulio is
amorously involved wirh Chel when Tzekel-Kan interrupts
things. The action is to get himself together. The obstacle is that
he is turned on. The objective is to fool Tzekel-Kan.
152
— I I . The R oad to E l D orado —
The sequence in which Tzekel-Kan negotiates for blood sac-

rifice is not really a negotiation. Tulio does not speak against
blood sacrifice. From Tulio’s perspective, the conflict is with his
situation; from Tzekel-Kan’s perspective, the conflict is with
another person, namely Tulio. Tzekel-Kan thinks he wins his
negotiation. Tulio doesn’t win anything except a bit more time.
Tulio departs the temple to go find Miguel. T hat is a good
transition. Action leads to action.
Chapter 17: “Play Ball”

Although it is all intended to be good fun, I very much wish
Miguel and Tulio had found some other way than cheating to
win the game. I regret the message this sends to the intended
audience for The R oad to E l Dorado.
The animation in this chapter is wonderful. It is comprised
o f one long negotiation in which the boys try to win the game
(action) so that they can survive (objective). The obstacle is that
they are not gods and the opposing team would put the Green
Bay Packers to shame.
Chapter 18: “No Sacrifices”

The acting in this chapter is strong and subtle. Tzekel-Kan goes
through several changes: (1) delight at the prospect o f having
some sacrifices, (2) confusión when Miguel says he doesn’t want
any sacrifices, and (3) realization that Miguel is not a god after
all because he bleeds. O n his side o f the transaction, Miguel
admirably shows no hesitation in taking on Tzekel-Kan. He
physically strikes the man and then kicks him out o f El Dorado.
I could argüe that maybe Miguel should have exhibited just a
tiny bit o f doubt about his bravado paying off, but it is not a big
deai. The scene works. It is a big negotiation.
153
Chapter 19: “Gods Don’t Bleed”

Did you ever see the excellent 1975 live-action Sean Connery
and Michael Caine movie The M an Who W ould B e King> The
payoff for that one was similar to this. O ne o f the “gods” in that
movie was discovered to be mortal because he bled.
The sequence on the boat, when Miguel tells the C hief it is
a “complete do-over,” is interesting from a performance per-
spective. Miguel is in conflict with himself (“1 must leave; 1 don’t
want to leave”) and with his situation (“This is another fine
mess I’ve gotten myself into”). His action is to buy some more
time in which to malte up his mind about things. The C hief
wants only to please the gods, so his negotiation is with the sit
uation. If the gods want a complete do-over, then that is what
we shall have. Then comes the transition in which the C hief
apparently realizes that Miguel is a human, not a god. Rather
than being threatened by this, the revelation seems to be a relief.
He speaks to Miguel almost in a fatherly fashion, telling him he
can stay forever in El Dorado if he wishes.
1 like the C h ief’s final expression before he turns away, after
“To err is human.” The acting choice is strong there, letting us
in the audience know that the Chief is playing along and is a
total good guy.
Chapter 20: “Tulio and Chel— DeaJ?”

The negotiation between Tulio and Chel works okay, ending in
a clinch. The problem character in the transaction is Miguel,
who we discover loitering in the córner so that he can conve-
niently overhear Tulio’s evident betrayal. It would have played
more strongly if we had seen Miguel arrive. Action leads to
action. In fact, I would have liked to see most o f the Tulio vs.
Chel negotiation from Miguéis POV. That would also have
154
— I I . The Rottd to El Durado —
allowed us to see Tulio and Chel seal their deal by descending

into the plush pillows for some more lovemaking.
The horses reacción to Tulio and Chel is not right. It’s too
human. But if we are going to play the horse/human game, it
would probably have been stronger to have the horse be initially
charmed by the lovers, on the mistaken premise that Miguel is
also charmed. Then Miguel could have popped him in the
mouth or something. It would have been a transitional moment
for the horse. But for my money, Id have left Altivo out o f the
scene altogether. He doesn’t add anything.
Chapter 21: “Jaguar Attacks”

We get open conflict/negotiation between Miguel and Tulio
over the issue o f whether to go or stay. M iguéis snide comment
about Chel suggests there may be a rwinge o f jealousy involved
here, too.
The jaguar sequences are wonderful acción stuff. There isn’t
a lot o f acting going on. The boys are trying to save their lives.
I wish Chel had taken the initiative to get on Altivo. As pre-
sented, the horse responds to the command, “Get Chel out of
here!” A horse would not understand that kind o f instruction,
but Chel would.
Chapter 22: “Tzekel-Kan Emerges”

Note the status transaction between Tzekel-Kan and Cortes.
Tzekel-Kan is convinced that this god is for real and he grovels,
tossing his power center into the ground.
There is a nice acting moment between Tulio and Miguel as
they are hanging from the vines. Acting has almost nothing to
do with words. They look at one another and, without saying
anything further, agree to go their separare ways. The animators
expertly captured the thought sequence.
155
Chapter 23: “Friends Never Say Good-bye”

This is the most successful of the musical sequences because,
underneath the song, there are miscellaneous nonverbal negoti-
ations between the major characters. If you removed the music,
the action would still play well, I think. Action to action, seam-
lessly, and continual negotiation. Each character seems to have
an objective. The horse is acting relatively horselike.
Chapter 24: “Cortes Approaches”

The transitional moment is when everybody realizes that Cortes
is approaching, led by Tzekel-Kan. Emotion tends to lead to
action. The action shifts to Tulio, who will try to devise a plan
for saving El Dorado.
Chapter 25: “Got a Wave to Catch”

Miguéis conversión back into a rogue opportunist does not sat-
isfy emotionally. When did the conversión happen? When he
was in midair on the horse? After he landed on the boat? I really
wish we had been allowed to see that transition because it has
major plot implications. What happened to all ol that love tor
the El Dorado children back in Chapter 15? The storytellers
buried it in a lot of exciting action animation. I would say that
a 180-degree philosophic conversión of a major character ought
to be shown on screen.
At the end o f the chapter, with a boatload of gold plunder
at stake, Tulio, Miguel, and Chel make the decisión that their
lives are worth more than the gold. The boat is rammed broad-
side into the wall o f the waterfall, and the kids (and the horse)
burst into freedom.
This visually exciting sequence is emotionally barren, unfor-
tunately. The three characters we have spent this time with are
156
— 11. The Road to El Dorado —
still shallow, self-serving opportunists. They have expressed no

remorse at all for being thieves.
Chapter 26: “There’s No El Dorado Here”

We tie up the dangling plot line rhat involves Cortes and Tzekel-
Kan. Tulio and Miguel formally make up and become partners
in adventure and presumably partners in crime once again.
Friendship is the highesr virtue.
In the final analysis, the message behind this movie seems to
be that situational ethics are okay.
157
12. Tarzan

Producen Bonnie Arnold
Associate Producer: Christopher Chase
Directors: Chris Buck, Kevin Lima
Film Editor: Gregory Perler
Art Director: Dan Sr. Pierre
Writing Credits: Edgar Rice Burroughs (novel Tarzan o f the
Apes), Tab Murphy, Bob Tzudiker, Noni White, Henry Mayo,
David Reynolds, Jeffrey Stepakoff, Ned Teitelbaum
Animators: Georges Abolin (animator Tarzan), Pierre Alary (ani-
mator Tarzan), Marco Allard (animator Tarzan), James Baker
(animaror Clayton), Noreen Beasley (rough inbetweener Jane),
Jared Beckstrand (animaror Jane), Doug Bennett (animator
Jane), Marco Berthier (animator Tarzan), Saúl Andrew Blinkoff
(assistant breakdown animator Terk), David Block (animator
Porter), Bolhem Bouchiba (animator Tarzan), Robert Bryan
(animator Jane), Robert Cardone (layout artist), Borja Monroro
Cavero (animator Tarzan), Caroline Cruikshank (animator
Jane), Patrick Delage (animator Tarzan), Eric Delbecq (animator
Tarzan), Adam Dykstra (animator Terk), Russ Edmonds (super-
vising animator Kala), Marc Eoche-Duval (animator Sabor),
Danny Galieote (animator Terk), Raúl García (animator), Tim
George (animator Clayton), Jean Gillmore (character designer),
Steven Pierre Gordon (animator Young and Baby Tarzan),
158
— 12. Tarzan j—
Thicrry Goulard (animator Tarzan), Juanjo Guarnido (animator

Sabor), Kris Heller (assistant animator Ape Family), Kent
Holaday (assistant animator baboons and miscellaneous charac-
ters), Richard Hoppe (animator Clayton), james Hull (animator
Tantor), Jay Jackson (supervising animator Gorilla Family), Jeff
Johnson (animator Young and Bahy Tarzan), Mark Koetsier
(animator Jane), Doug Krohn (animator Jane), Mike Kunkel
(animator), Zoltan Maros (animator Sabor), Mario J. Menjivar
(animator Kala), Jean Morel (animator Tantor), David Nethery
(additional clean-up animator), Joe Oh (character animator)
Dorothea Baker Paul (clean-up artist Clayton), David Moses
Pimentel (animator Terk), Jean Christophe Poulain (layout
supervisor), Robb Pratt (animator Kerchak), Mark Pudleiner
(additional animator), Stéphane Sainte-Foi (animator Tarzan),
Lon Smart (key assistant animator Terk), Marc Smith (animator
Kerchack), Chad Stcwart (animator Terk), Michael Stocker (ani
mator Clayton), George D. Sukara (clean-up animator),
Yoshimichi Tamura (animator Young and Baby Tarzan), JC
Tran-Quang-Thieu (animator Tarzan), KristoíF Vergne (anima
tor Tarzan), Stevan Wahl (animator Tantor), Andreas Wessel-
Therhorn (animator Kala), Dougg William (animator Kala),
Theresa Wiseman (animator Porter), EnisTahsin Ozgür (anima
tor Tarzan), Glen Keane (supervising animator Tarzan), Ken
Duncan (supervising animator Jane), Randy Haycock (supervis
ing animator Clayton), T. Daniel Hofstedt (supervising anima
tor Captain and Thugs), Jay Jackson (supervising animator
Gorilla Family), Dominique Monfery (supervising animator
Sabor), John Ripa (supervising animator Young and Baby
Tarzan), Sergio Pablos (supervising animator Tantor), Bruce W.
Smith (supervising animator Kerchak), Michael Surrey (super
vising animator Terk), Chris Wahl (supervising animator Flynt
and Mungo), Dave Burgess (supervising animator Porter), Russ
Edmonds (supervising animator Kala)
159
Voice Cast: Tony Goldwyn (Tarzan), Minnie Driver (Jane

Porter), Glenn Cióse (Kala), Brian Blessed (Clayton), Nigel
Hawthorne (Porrer), Lance Henriksen (Kerchak), Wayne
Knight (Tantor), Alex D. Linz (Young Tarzan), Rosie
O ’Donnell (Terk), Taylor Dempsey (Young Tancor), Jason
Marsden (additional voices)
OverView
A key momenc in the Disney versión of Tarzan happens in
Chapter 11 when Tarzan pues his hand up againsc Kala’s and
realizes he is “different” from his mother. To me, that gesture
encapsulates the enrire message of the movie. Especially today ac
rhe beginning of the twenty-first century, ir is time to dea] with
the reality that the world is comprised o f many dynamic and
“different” tribes, and we had better all learn how to get along.
Another o f Disney’s movies, The Hunchhack ofN otre Dame,
arguably suffered from the Disney warm-and-fuzzies. That one
retained neither the edge ñor the darkness o f the famous novel
on which it was based. But this Tarzan took the literacy source
material and transformed it into something that, while not
exactly the same as the book, is just as good, and maybe better.
The movie is not so much about hunting for cities of gold as it
is about hunting for where one belongs in the world. It is explo
ración of basic human valúes.
Chapter 1: “Main Title/Two Worlds”

Prologue and backstory. Right away, it is clear that the perfor
mances in this movie are going to be strong. Notice how emo
ción is driving the acción ofTarzan’s family in the little boat;
160
- 12. Tarzan —
meanwhile, Kala and Kerchak behave lovingly with their new

baby. Take a specific look at Kala’s facial expression the m om ent
she realizes that Sabor the tiger is killing her baby. This is a sur-
prisingly horrific m om ent for American animation in general
and Disney animation in particular. H er reaction is actually to
the terrified receding cries o f her baby as the tiger drags it o ff
into the jungle. There is a lot o f heart in it.
Chapter 2: “Kala’s Discovery”

T h e use o f atm osphere in this chap ter is excellent. Kala has
never been inside a hum an hom e before, and this one smells o f
violence. H er anim al instincts are alert at the same time as her
more analytical self. Kala is very humanized, which makes it
easy for us to empathize with her em otions. H er eyes are par-
ticularly expressive. T h e eyes are the window to the soul, as
they say.
N otice how she recoils with her entire body when she
finds the bloody bodies ofT arzan’s parents. Fear is the em otion
and recoiling is what she does about it. E m o tion tends to lead
to action.
Kala reaches to uncover the baby, has a brief second thought
about it, and then goes ahead. T h at slight hesitation reflects a
thought process and em otion. Very nice. T h e animator could
have ¡ust as easily had her reach in and remove the blanket with-
out the hesitation. T h is is more effective.
She sniffs the baby. This keeps Kala firmly in the ape world
even though she is being humanized.
I m not crazy about the diaper sniffmg. Too much o f a gag.
T h e sequence was going just fine without that, and it didn’t add
anything to the mix.
Kala’s facial expression turns to love as she eradles the baby,
¡ust before the tiger sequence begins. N otice how gentle she is.
161
—* Accing in Animation —
Chapter 3: “A Narrow Escape”

The Sabor sequence is exciting and well acted. I like the way
both Kala and the tiger strategize to defeat one another, and I
like that Kala has more human-smarts than the tiger, a trait that
is decisive in her victory.
Chapter 4: “Adopted”
We enter fully into the ape world and discover that the apes all
talk like humans. This completes the process of humanizing them
so that we in the audience can empathize and follow their story.
The male-dominant relationship between Kerchak and Kala
is clearly defined. When Kerchak roars his disapproval of the
human baby, it is crystal clear that he is calling all the shots.
Take a cióse frame-by-frame look at the moment after
Kerchak roars ferociously and just before he asks Kala, “Was he
alone?” You want to animare thoughts, yes? Notice how Kerchak
glances to his right? He is weighing the reaction o f the other
apes against what he will gain by expelling the baby. He has con-
flict with himself for a brief moment. Lovely performance.
Chapter 5: “You’ll Be in My Heart”

This chapter presenes an opportuníty to hear a sweet Phil
Collins song. There are no scenes in this chapter. By that I
mean there are no negotiations. We see a series of qniet bond-
ing moments between Tarzan and his new Family, establishing
mood.
Chapter 6: “Young Tarzan”

This is a transitional chapter without much conflict. Tarzan has
a small amount of conflict with his situation when he runs head-
long into Kerchak, but there is not any real danger.
162
— 12, Tarzan —
Chapter 7 : “Pest Control”

Terk tells his buddies thac he’ll take care o f things and send
Tarzan back home. Notice che transición in his demeanor when
he turns to Tarzan and stares schmoozing. This is another
moment you can examine on a frame-by-frame basis to see how
the animator captured Terk’s individual thoughts.
There are a couple o f clear negotiations in this chapter, first
between Terk and his friends and then between Terk and Tarzan.
Chapter 8: “Baby Tantor”

Baby Tantor has a completely different rhythm and power cen-
tet than the older elephants, and he is very humanized. Notice
how he stamps his foot in the water like a human child when he
gets exasperated?
The older elephants have a very low and heavy power cen-
ter until young Tarzan gets one o f them by the tail. At that
moment, confidence (low power center) changes abruptly to
fear and the power center shifts upward. T hat is when they all
begin jumping around crazily in the water. Actually, this works
the same way in humans. W hen we are threatened, we get a
huge adrenalíne rush and our blood goes immediately to our
extremities so we can fight or run away. This kind o f auto-
matic reaction was key to our survival in prehistoric times.
Chapter 9: “Piranha”
Elephant stampede! This is a big action sequence that is worth
studying slowly for all o f its detail.
Notice that as the elephants stampede into the apes’ nesting
area, two apes are eating bark or twigs from crees. The elephants
interrupt this activity. The acting lesson is that your characters
should always play an action until something happens to make
163
them play a different action. The two apes could have simply
been sitting and gazing at the sky, but that would not have been
active enough. For the sake of discussion, consider this variation:
If one of the apes was trying to dislodge a particularly difficult-to-
reach branch or frond, then there would have been the element of
conflict in the moment— and it would have been more theatrical.
The elephants would still have interrupted things, though.
Chapter 10: “Outcast”

The character o f Terk, voiced by Rosie O ’Donnell, is unrelent-
ingly over the top in my opiníon. I suspect this is because there
were a lot o f video references o f Rosie herself A little bit o f Rosie
goes a very long way because she tends to be shrill and is not a
very good listener. Acting is reacting.
The sequence berween Kerchak and Kala is strong. There is
a clear negotiation, and the conflict is berween characters. From
Kerchak’s perspective, he wins if he gets rid of Tarzan; from
Kala’s perspective, she wins if she calms Kerchak down.
Tarzan is humiíiated and the resulting emotion is sadness.
Sadness leads to the action, which is for him to run away.
Chapter 11: “Hand to Hand”

There is an exquisite moment in this chapter. Tarzan places his
hands against Ralas. That is when it hits him that, without any
doubt, he is o f a different kind than his “mother.” The self-
reaiization and shift in emotion in that moment is just won-
derful acting. Look at it slowly and you will see each individual
thought. Acting doesn’t get much better than this.
Chapter 12: “Son of Man”

Tarzan grows up during a fast-moving and inspirational Phil
Collins tune. He becomes a pretty good ape after all. Check out
the skateboarding in the tree branches late in the chapter.
164
—* 12. Tarzan —-
Chapter 13: “Monkeying Around”

After Tarzan unsuccessfully scares Kala, he sits on the tree limb in
front o f her. Note how he reaches for the fruit. He uses his foot.
Chapter 14: “Sabor Attacks”

Tarzan and Sabor fight to the death. 1 went through this action
sequence several times slowly and every single rnove is moti-
vated. Tarzan is continually thinking and strategizing. Sabor is a
lower-intelligence animal and relies purely on instinct.
In terms o f performance, however, the magic sequence is
the one between Tarzan and Kerchak, in which Tarzan presents
him with the dead car. There is no dialogue at all, but there are
several transactions going on, which is why it is good acting.
Kerchak is so ashamed at the beginning o f the sequence that I
almost thought he was rcady to abandon his position of leader-
ship and slink away. Tarzan saw that, too, which is why he took
the cat to him. Notice Tarzan’s body language after he lays down
the cat. He bends over in a position o f complete subservience to
Kerchak. The two o f them exchange looks, and there is another
transacción. I f Kerchak accepts the offering, it might be con-
strued to be unearned. His fate is now tied to Tarzan’s. At the
end o f that negotiation, Tarzan has at last earned Kerchak s total
respect. The rifle shot interrupts what could have turned
maudlin if the animators had extended the moment. Excellent
timing from an emotional petspective.
Chapter 15: “Explorers”

Note the way Tarzan finds and examines the spent bullet cas-
ing. He first smells the gunpowder and follows the scent.
W hen he finds the casing, he does not immediately pick it up.
He nudges it with his finger to see if it might move or some-
thing. It is only after he is satisfied that this is not a living
165
thing that he picks it up. This makes perfect sense if you think
about it. T h e closest thing to a bullet Tarzan has ever seen is
probably a rock. He certainly has never seen man-made metal.
O ur minds work in a sequential way, comparing what we see
to other things we have seen in the past. It is impossible to
understand the concept o f “furniture” until you first under-
stand “table” and “chair.” A bullet casing fits nowhere in
Tarzan’s frame o f reference. It will get a heading all its own.
This sequence is very well observed.
There isn’t a lot o f acting going on in the rest o f the chap-
ter. Mainly, we are meeting Clayton, the Professor, and Jane.
Note how high the Professor’s power center is and how much he
gesticulates. Clayton’s power center is in that gun. He holds it
low, about groin level, a lot.
Chapter 16: “The Baby Baboon”

Jane gets up cióse and personal with a baby baboon. The pri-
mary importance o f this sequence is so that Tarzan can study
their interaction from up in the trees. T h e scene is structured
okay, but there isn’t very much conflict. Jane plays actions as she
studies the baboon, and the conflict is that the baboon won’t
cooperate.
Chapter 17: “Tarzan to the Rescue”

There are wonderful visual effects and action sequences in this
chapter. Not a whole lot o f acting, though, because there isn’t
much conflict. Jane looks like Mary Poppins to me, and Tarzan
is the guy I want watching my house while I m on vacation.
Chapter 18: “Treetop Introductions”

Study the getting-to-know-you sequence a couple o f times
slowly. The acting is marvelous and unhurried. Notice how the
166
— ¡2 . Tarzan —
characters listen to one another. It can be difficult to animate a

character who is listening and not speaking. That is because lis-
tening should be active, not passive. There is a mental searching
going on when you are intently listening, a processing o f the
information. You are deciding upon and choosing responses.
Notice also the shifts in emotion. Tarzan is almosr childlike with
his learning process. We humans learn through a process o f
mimesis. A young baby will stick her tongue out at you if you
stick yours out at her. Hold your hand up to a babys face, and
she will probably put hers on yours. And, o f course, we have the
excellent moment when Tarzan puts his hand against Janes. The
nonverbal response after that is almost a Miyazaki moment. That
is a long hold for Western animadon. Tarzan’s studying o f Janes
body, including lifting her dress, is well observed. Her reaction to
him maybe pushes the envelope just a bit. Her natural reaction
would probably be more fear than delight given that she is totally
vulnerable in this alien tree world, but I realize the storytellers
need to get these cwo characters involved pretty quickly. For both
characters, this is an adrenaline moment.
Chapter 19: “Trashin’ the Camp”

This zany musical sequence was probably fun to animate but it
doesn’t add much information to the story. We get a look at how
the safari travels, complete with a grandfather d ock and a library
o f books.
You can look at the chapter beginning with Kerchak’s
entrance if you want to examine performance. The great ape
sniffs Jane and recognizes the human smell. Kala enters and he
exchanges a quick glance with her that says, in effect, “I told you
we would have trouble with humans if we kept Tarzan. . .
W ithout another look at Jane, Kerchak leads all o fth e other ani
máis o ff into the forest. Tarzan has conflict with himself and
167
with his situación. He does not understand why he is so

attracred to Jane; he is also attracted to his ape family. He wavers
berween staying with Jane and going with Kerchak, Kala, and
the others. The elephant maltes the decisión for him.
Chapter 20: “Jane’s Rant”

This sequence doesn’t have a lot o f give-and-take, ñor does it
have a lot o f theatrical structure. Jane is hyperexcited about her
adventure and evidently not a bit frightened. The most signifi-
cant acting moment is at the very end when she says the words,
“Tarzan the ape m an.” Em otion tends to lead to action. Notice
how the beginning o f love softens and calms her.
Chapter 21: “Tarzan Confronts Kerchak”

Kerchak is unwavering in his transaction with Tarzan. There is
not a chance that he will change his mind about avoiding the
humans and therefore this is not a true negotiation. Remember,
in a negotiation, there must be a way you can win and a way
you can lose. Tarzan tries to change Kerchak’s mind so, from his
perspective, there is a negotiation. Note: yes, it is entirely possi-
ble for Tarzan to be having a negotiation while Kerchak is not.
Each character plays his own actions, has his own objectives and
obstacles. I f these were live actors presenting the same scene in
front o f me, I would encourage Kerchak to maintain at least a
remóte possibility o f capitulating to Tarzan. It would make the
scene a bit more dynamic.
Jane, as it turns out, has great potencial as an animator. She
draws a really excellent likeness o f Tarzan. The significant act
ing moment is when she completes drawing his eyes and once
again swoons with love. Her father’s reaction to the reality o f
love is sort o f charming. It is the best acting moment so far for
the oíd man.
168
— 12. Tarzan —
Clayton, so far at least, has not displayed much depth or

introspection. The only emotions I have seen him express are
fear and happiness. There are seven possible human emotions:
surprise, disgust, anger, fear, happiness, sadness, and con-
tempt. (See my book Acting f o r A nitnaton and also Emotions
Revealed, by Paul Ekman, Times Books, 2003.)
Chapter 22: “Tarzan Drops In”

Tarzan examines Clayton. I like the moment when he literally
climbs up him, trying to look in his mouth. Note also that,
when he gets cióse to Jane, he smells her hair. Love is in the hair.
(Sorry, I couldnt resist.)
The primary acting lesson is in the way that Tarzan processes
new information. We can see how pleased he is with himself
when he erroneously identifies the piece o f chalk as a gorilla.
Chapter 23: “Strangers Like Me”

This is an expository chapter. Under another Phil Collins song,
we see Tarzan learn about the outside world. There are not a lot
o f negotiations in the scenes, but there are some poses that
reflect emotions. The feelings between Jane and Tarzan deepen.
At the end o f the chapter, we have a new element to con-
sider. Tarzan can now understand at least some English. This
time, when Jane asks if he will take them to the gorillas, Tarzan
is in conflict with his situation and with himself. Part o f him
wants to show off his gorilla family; the other part o f him wants
to protect them and to do Kerchak’s bidding.
Chapter 24: “The Boat Arrives”

Jane has her best acting moment so far. Focus on her scene with
Tarzan. Her objective is to get him to go to England. She has
conflict with the situation, mainly, but the conflict shifts into
169
conflict with another person as Tarzan better realizes what is

being negotiated. His objective is to get her to stay, and he has
consisten! conflict with another character, namely Jane. I f she
stays, he wins, and if she leaves, he loses; from her perspective,
if he goes, she wins, and if he stays, she loses. The magic element
in this sequence is that borh characters waver. Tarzan is actually
considering what it means for him to go with her. Jane is actu
ally considering what it means if she stays. She runs away in
tears, unable to resolve the negotiation yet. Her running away
keeps the tensión in the scene high.
Claytons objective is to get the gorillas, and his obstacle is that
Tarzan has a vvholly different valué system. That explains why
Clayton givesTarzan the glass o f whiskey. Push is coming to shove,
and Clayton wants to lower Tarzan s resistance. He gives him
whiskey (which Tarzan conspicuously does not drink) and tries
using Janes aflfection as a gambit. This negotiation resolves itself
when Tarzan capitulares and agrees to take Jane to see the gorillas.
By the way, at the top o f this chapter, Tarzan entered carry-
ing a bouquet o f flowers. T hat was nice. A character needs to
have a reason for entering a scene. He carne to give Jane flowers.
You play an action until som ething happens to make you play
a different action. W hen he arrived, he unexpectedly discovered
that the camp was being struck. T hat is when his objective
shifted to keeping Jane here.
Chapter 25: “Distracting Kerchak”

This is a simple low-level negotiation that serves mainly to get
Kerchak out o f the way momentarily.
Chapter 26: “Meeting Tarzan’s Family”

W hen Tarzan says o f Kala, “Shes my m other,” note that he
touches his heart. T h at is a psychological gesture. (See Lessons
170
— 12. Tarzan —
f o r the Actor by Michael Chekhov.) A gesture is not nccessarily

an illustration o f a spoken line. It he were illustrating the line,
perhaps he would point at Kala, or maybe he would grab Jane
by the arm to inake certain she understands. Instead o f that, he
gendy touches his heart. This is nuanced acting and is very pow-
erful. If you understand how to use the psychological gesture, it
will greatly empower your character animation.
I want to also point out Kala’s reaction to the presence o f
humans, It is very apelike. W hen you look at Tarzan and then at
Kala, you can see that he has now moved to the human side o f the
evoiutionary equation. It is a subtle but poignant acting moment.
Chapter 27: “Tarzan Defies Kerchak”

Tarzan s objective is to save Jane and the others from Kerchak’s
attack, and he successfully wins that negotiation. But the price
is dear, costing Kerchak his self-esteem as a leader. Suddenly,
Tarzan feels isolated from his gorilla family. He is torn between
two worlds. He has conflict with his situation. W hen he runs
away at the end o f the sequence, it has the same effect as when
Jane ran away in Chapter 24. It keeps the tensión high.
Notice that when Kala approaches Tarzan at the end o f the
chapter, she is once again more humanlike.
Chapter 28: “The Truth”

This chapter is an extended acting class. First o f all, notice how
the atmosphere in the oíd tree house affects the movement and
behavior o f both Tarzan and Kala. Second, notice how Tarzan is
emotionally affected by the piece o f cloth he picks up. In acting,
we cali that a “sense memory.” T h e smell o f frying bacon, the
feel o f soft velvet, the feel o f your m other’s favorite necklace in
the palm o f your hand. . . . Each o f these things stimulates an
emotion. Stage actors use this technique all the time.
171
The farewell scene between Tarzan and Kala is heartbreak-

ing. W ho among us would find it easy to say good-bye to a lov-
ing mother? Their final embrace brought tears to my eyes.
Acting has almost nothing to do with words.
Chapter 29: “Clayton’s Trap”

Tarzan learns a terrible lesson about humans. They have the
capacity for cruel betrayal. T h e expression on Tarzan’s face when
he learns the truth about Clayton’s motives is powerful. Given
that this is animation, it is quite an artistic achievement to allow
us to see a moment o f true introspection.
Chapter 30: “We Got a Boat to Catch”

Tantor saves the day. Well, there are credibility issues by the
boatload in this chapter, but never mind. The story needs to
move along so that Tarzan can do his thing.
Chapter 31: “Ambush”

There is not much room for subtle acting in this chapter. Big
ambush, big reactions, and a big rescue.
Chapter 32: “A Fight to the Finish”

Clayton’s facial expression at the beginning o f this chapter
reminds me o f Jack Nicholson in the movie The Shining, when
he says, “Heeeere’s Johnny!” The man is crazed and obsessed.
W hen Tarzan has the rifle at Claytons throat, he must make
a moral choice. This is proof positive that he is human. A moral
choice is a very complex matter.
I like the symbolism o f the sword piercing the ground after
Clayton hangs himself. He who lives by the sword dies by the
sword. Tarzan’s “Oh, no” is interesting and maybe not totally
172
- 12. Tarzan
credible. I can’t see why Tarzan would regret the death o f chis
man. It is a wee bit too noble for my taste. I wish he had simply
lookcd at Clayton hanging there and then averted his eyes, per-
haps in regret, but without saying “O h, no.”
Chapter 33: “My Son”

After Kerchak dies, Tarzan makes an almost imperceptible ges-
ture. He gently chucks Kerchak under the chin. You will see
animáis do this kind o f thing, but not humans. An animal will
still try to rouse the dead, uncertain of the moment o f death. A
human knows right away what death means. I found that ges-
ture to be extremely moving, even more than the shades o f emo-
tion Tarzan goes through as he realizes that he must now take
Kerchak’s place as the leader. This is an adrenaline m om ent for
Tarzan. He will never forget the day that Kerchak died.
Chapter 34: “Good-byes”

Tarzan and Jane join hands again. Notice that Tarzan’s hand is
at first closed like an ape’s. Then he purposely opens it to fit
against her palm to palm. O nce again, Glen Keane shows why
he is one of the best. A powerful performance is made in such
small details.
W hen the Professor urges Jane to stay, 1 wish he had not
chuckled. Yes, this is a moment o f joy, but it is also a moment
o f loss. This is why people cry at weddings. The Professor would
be happy for Jane but sad for his own loss. He is an oíd man. He
likely will never see her again. This kind o f reaction would have
better set up the Professor’s subsequent decisión to remain on
the island with Tarzan and Jane. Maybe, this being a Disney
movie and all, an executive decisión was made not to cut too
deep here at the very end o f the movie. Just guessing.
173
FIIM/ANIMATION S17.95
Acting in Animation Ed Hooks

A L O O K A T 12 F I L M S
owerful and empathetic performance in character animation requires far
P more from the animator than an ability to manipúlate pixels or draw charac-
ters. You must have a strong understanding of the relationship between
thinking, emotion, and physical action plus dynamic scene construction
Renowned for his now-classic Acting for Animators, Ed Hooks shows you in Acting
in Animation what best-practice performance principies look like on celluloid.
Keyed for use with the DVD versions of twelve animated films and loaded with
spot-on analysis, acting tips,and valuable insight, Acting in Animation is like sitting
down with Ed Hooks to watch the movies. Ed breaks each one down sequence by
sequence and gives you useful notes on how the animators of classics successfully
imbued their characters with feeling.You'll see firsthand how attending to essen-
tial acting principies like choice, negotiation, conflict, and empathy creates
unforgettable characters and believable story lines. Hooks also deconstructs some
not-so classics to ¡Ilústrate how by neglecting good acting technique the filmmak-
ers missed opportunities to have their characters bond with the audience.
Want to make your animation more powerful? Go to the movies with Ed Hooks.
Read Acting in Animation and find out how quality acting inspires great animation.
ED H O O KS has been a respected acting teacher for three

decades. In his work with animators, he has taught for
many leading studios, including Disney Feature Animation,
DreamWorks/PDI, Electronic Arts, Rockstar, Will Vinton
Studios, Valve, BioWare, Tippett Studio, Wild Brain,
OddWorld Inhabitants, Microsoft (X-Box/Fasa Studio), and
Sony Computer Entertainment America. In addition, he has
been a featured speaker/teacherat many international ani
mation conferences,festivals, and schools.
Heinemann
D rama
www.heinemanndrama.com

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Importación de Publicaciones Científicas

Offices an d agents throughout the world

Library o f Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Editor: Lisa A. Barnett

Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper

The 2004 Festival International du Film d’Animation in

My personal theatrical roots are in the legitimare theatre,

Performance Deyenis on Yoiir Persyectíve

choices, regardless o f who makes them, are still choices. There is

Hinv the Movies for Thís Book Were Selecta!

How to Use t Iiís Book

If there is a bonus features narration by the filmmakers, screen

Acting in A nim ation: A L o o k a t Twelve Film s is a companion

Rfrjardíng Movíe Pmluctíon Credits

and character. I have left out contributors to visual effects, special

Same Essentíal AdinaL1 Príncívles

1. A scene is a negotiation. In any negotiation, there must be

A Han na-Barbera Production released by Paramount Pictures

to favor the animáis. Afrer Chapter 3, instead o f seeing animáis

empathize with Wilbur. There is zero conflict. By the time we

accept life for what it is, to realize he can do what he wants to

Chapter 5: “Summer Days”

Chapter 6: “The Miracle”

written about him in the newspapers and many visitors come to

Chapter 8: “Good Progress”

Chapter 9: “Off to the Fair”

Chapter 10: “Unele”

Charlotte is conspicuously slowing down now, coming to

Chapter 11: “The Cool of the Evening”

Chapter 12: “The Egg Sac”

Chapter 13: “The Hour of Triumph”

Just as things are looking terribly bleak, a colorful marching

Chapter 14: “Last Day”

Chapter 15: “AW arm W ind”

A . Walt Disney Producdon (1941)

Chapter 1: Opening Credits

more baby/parachutes. Her thought is, “My baby is not Corn­

Chapter 3: “The Circus Moves On”

Chapter 4: “Delivery for Mrs. Jumbo”

Chapter 5: “Setting Up the Big Top”

Chapter 6: “A Bath for Dumbo”

Chapter 7: “Mrs. Jumbo in

try to take up less space in the world. Dumbo comforts himself

Chapter 8: “Dumbo Meets a New Friend”

Chapter 9: “A Pyramid of Pachyderms”

pretty classic Charlie Chaplin kind o f mom cnt. Com edy is a

Chapter 10: “Dumbo’s Disgrace”

Chapter 11: “Dumbo Visits His Mother”

Chapter 12: “Dumbo Gets the Hiccups”

Chapter 13: “Pink Elephants on Parade”

Chapter 14: “Up a Tree”

Chapter 15: “When I See

Chapter 16: “Dumbo Flies”

Chapter 17: “Dumbo’s Surprise”

W a lt Disney Home Video (1940)

Chapter 3: “Little Wooden Head”

Chapter 4: “Geppetto s Wish”

Chapter 5: “The Blue Fairy”

Chapter 6: “Give a Little Whistle”

Chapter 7: “A Wish Come True”

react! This immediately signáis that he is not yet human. Even if

more baby/parachutes. Her thought is, “My baby is not Corn