Skip to main content

Plot Elements (Disney Alert)

-Brynbellion-



Plot elements are what makes a story a story. Romance, betrayal, impossible odds, to name a few. In this post I'm going to look at classic plot elements, discuss them, and put a spin on them.

Classic Disney Princess Plot Elements:
Romance
Rebellion
Magic
Good vs Evil
Unhealthy Social Systems

Remember that Disney Princess movies are, for the most part, based off of some of the first fairy tales. So these elements are in both pop culture and writing history.

Romance
Romance is timeless. It's relatable, desirable, and adorable (it's a matter of perspective, okay?). Romance is somewhat overused, yet is not cliche. It's a good way of endearing your characters to readers and pulling these readers into the story (aka shipping). To surprise your audience, pull a cliche-breaker. The girl can end up with the sidekick or the comic relief character. Your protagonist could have a hard time choosing a girl, given the inevitable fawning crowd.

Rebellion
This is a good element that gets a story going, it provides conflict. It gives the protagonist a goal. Readers love rebellion. Everyone loves a rebel. Is this plot element overused? Yes, probably. To spin it, the protagonist could be trying to stop a rebelling society, or when the rebellion gets going there merely aren't enough followers [insert plot twist].

Magic
Magic entrances characters and readers. It's necessary in a large portion of fantasy. There is a huge amount of variation, nearly cliche proofing it. However, why is it the protagonist and mentor that gets all the magic? What if the protagonist enlists his sidekick because the sidekick DOES have magic? Perhaps the mentor lost his/her magic and teaches by memory? Endless variety means endless cliche-benders.

Good vs Evil
Good vs Evil is classic, morally good, and sound. Playing with characters that are grey toned is risky. However, characters like Megara from Hercules can be interesting to play with. Good intentions? Bad choices? Vice versa? While making sure to be clear that your character, though flawed, is good or bad, conflict can be twisted many different ways.

Unhealthy Social Systems
Examples of this are the extreme honor culture in Mulan, the close-minded village in Beauty and the Beast, or the mermaids’ extreme fear of humans in The Little Mermaid. Unhealthy social systems are effective yet common. Often protagonists are outcasts, or considered different in some way. This does make them relatable, but is also overused. A spin would be to provide a supportive community for the protagonist that unexpectedly betrays them.

That's a wrap! I hope you enjoyed this.
-Brynbellion





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thinking Up Ideas for Writing

I admit it. I am the sort of person who uses the situation they are in to help them think up a solution. I was trying to think up an idea for what to write about in my first blog… so I ended up resolving my problem by writing about thinking up ideas for writing.    What is there to write about for thinking up ideas for writing? What to write? What to write? Okay, I’ll stop with the irony now. To write a good story you need to be enthusiastic about it. How to be enthusiastic? Write in a genre you really like (You do not have to do this but it often helps to build enthusiasm). Think up an idea(s) you think is good. (Then you will be excited about it). Well, the first one is easy but thinking up an idea is far easier to say than do. I know it first hand. My plots take months and months to plan sometimes. I cannot exactly think up ideas for everyone who wants to do a story. So, I’ll advise you on ways you can think up ideas. Write so...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Writing Famine

Colette apologizes, Grace - the original author of this post - has been temporarily removed from this post. Mostly due to the fact that she was not writing anything. Which might have been the point. Since the page is titled "Writing Famine" the page may have been meant to experience a famine of words. In which case it ought to be blank. So Colette will stop writing and allow the page to properly experience a writing famine. There will be no more words. Colette couldn't do it. She has thought of another topic for this page - what if it was supposed to be about the lack of writers, or about writer's block? If so, the page cannot be blank! So she had to write this. She is also aware that Hannah has covered this topic, and she was talking about the lack of creativity. So, as Jo said: we are forgetful people and need to be reminded of things. Therefore Colette will remind you that you never know, if you feel there is a lesson the world can be taught ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Windows to the Soul

-Hannah- Today we look at character descriptions. What do appearances say about a character's personality? Quite a lot, actually. Authors use descriptions as an easy way of giving the reader a first impression of a character without having to go into any particular effort. Cicero once said that "the face is a picture of the mind," and this can be true, especially in books or movies. Authors generally want to give you as much information as possible about their characters (unless they're deliberately hiding things) and will use the opportunity to describe their character's appearance to their advantage. Look at this extract from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone, where Hagrid is described: A giant of a man was standing in the doorway. His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, but you could make out his eyes, glinting like black beetles under all the hair. This is J.K.Rowling's...
Post a Comment
Read more