Illustration

Inanimate objects in cartoons

Research into existing cartoons and The Fundamentals of Storytelling.

11/02/15

The fundamentals of storytelling

A story, first and formost, has to capture the audience. It actually has to seem and look interesting for the viewer to want to continue reading. Without an idea that is interesting, the focus of the viewer can dwindle from interested to bored.
A story also has to include characters that the viewer will develop an emotional connection to, or care about. This connection is vital, and without the connection between characters and viewers, their interest will be next to none.
A story usually has some sort of problem, during which the character will suffer through emotional or physical turmoil, The connection between the character and the viewer means that the issue the character has will have fully enveloped the viewer into the story to the point where they might also feel their pain and will continue to be interested.
It is important for a story to have acceleration and deceleration. Without these the story would be very flat lining and wouldn't convince the viewer to continue to follow the story. The acceleration and deceleration throughout will keep the viewer interested.
Eventually the story will have to end, and for it to be a good ending, it had to be relevant and appropriate to the rest of the story. It's no good having an amazing story throughout and a completely off topic ending.

Spongebob Squarepants:

Spongebob Squarepants is a renowned cartoon aimed at children about a sponge that 'lives in a pineapple under the sea'. While it seems to focus on the sponge, it also includes many different characters, including the Sponge's best friend, Patrick, a star fish, Sandy the Squirrel, Squidward the squid, Mr Krabs, the Crab, Gary the snail and Plankton.

While to a child these characters are nothing but entertainment, the makers of this cartoon cleverly hid a deeper meaning within the cartoon. These 7 characters, in fact, each represent one of the 7 deadly sins:

Spongebob: Lust

Patrick: Sloth
Plankton: Envy
Mr Krabs: Greed
Sandy: Pride
Squidward: Wrath
Gary: Gluttony

While the character design seems rather simple, I feel that it is the simplicity that draws in the attention. A child wouldn't be able to focus on an overly complicated style of drawing, and so it is perfect for the targeted audience. What I like about this cartoon, however, is that the background is also simple, however is of a different style to the characters. The characters, due to the block colour used in their design make them stand out against the background, which had a painted watercolour quality, making it softer than the characters designs.

While the background is also relevant to the setting, I find that the flowers that have become recognisable with 'Bikini Bottom' are a little out of place and make no sense, however the cartoon isn't known for it's realistic and logic plot line.

The Annoying Orange:

While I am not particularly keen on this animation, I admire the use of every day foods that have been turned into characters, some of which, depending on your humour, you despise, like the protagonist, The Annoying Orange, and others that you may actually like and feel sorry for, such as the pear. This cartoon features an Orange, as the title suggests, that is irritating and yet humorous. I feel that the animation is directed to young teens, as, upon getting older, I grew to realise just how annoying the protagonist is, which helped me develop my dislike for the animation.

This animation features everyday fruits and foods featured in an every day environment: The kitchen. The style consists of photos , sometimes videos, of the objects with recordings of faces super-imposed onto them and voice overs. A patterns forms throughout a lot of these animations where the Orange annoys the other characters, however the other characters meet their demise, rather than the Orange.
The concept is rather unique, and the situations a little repetitive, however, I feel that the use of photos and animation joined together the way it is here is interesting and makes you want to continue watching.

Beauty and the Beast

While the whole story doesn't revolve around the everyday inanimate turned by curse

animate objects, I feel that they play a crucial role in the progression of the film. Beauty and the Beast is set in a small province in France and centres around a girl who seeks more than the provincial life she is living. After a few mishaps, the protagonist finds a castle in which all of the Prince's staff turned teapots reside.

The clock: Cogsworth
The candle: Lumiere
The teapot: Mrs Potts
The teacup: Chip

 Cogsworth is a very uptight character, and refuses to go against the princes orders, and so when Belle first appears in the castle, he immediately tries to turn her away. Lumiere is a more friendly character, and is warm and welcoming, as well as a bit of a flirt. These two have a few disagreements, however have the same goal of being able to break the curse. Mrs Potts is a motherly figure, and is encouraging and kind to the protagonist, and looks after her, and Chip, one of her many children, is, as any other young child is, curious and adorable.

The character designs within the#is film, as within any other disney animated film have a very specific and distinguishable style, however I especially like the design for Lumiere.

Cogsworth is a British character, and is very uptight and commanding. The design of the clock is sophisticated and elegant, much like his character, however is also clunky. He is the timekeeper within the castle, and is constantly making sure everything is going as planned, and that he is in charge.

Lumiere is a French character, who's design is elegant. The flames on his 'hands' and 'head' I feel are an expression of his passion for romance and are also a symbol of his kindness and warm-heartedness.

Mrs Potts' design makes her seem more motherly and kind, She is yet another British character, however her accent, unlike Cogsworths, is not refined and isn't 'posh'. Her simple design makes her seem bright and perhaps optimistic. Chip has the same design, since he is her son, however he has a small chip, from which he gets his name, and the handle being his nose also makes him seem quite goofy.