Hey Writer Person

Hey Writer Person ✍️ - Disney, a study in plot

Hey Writer Person,

When was the last time you watched a Disney movie?

The plot. Is. TIGHT. 

I won't lie. I'm a Disney nerd. I'm biased. But pay attention the next time you find yourself face to face with the mouse -- writing for adults or children, there's a lot to learn from Disney.

Particularly, in the set up.

Have you seen Zootopia? In the opening, the bunny MC (Judy Hoops) has a run in with a fox as a child. It's bad, setting up a distrust of foxes. And a warning about prejudice/assumptions ("you'll always be a dumb bunny" he tells her, but despite his assumption, she manages to become the first bunny police officer) She grows up, and meets the the supporting character -- a Sly Fox, Nick Wylde. Our MC is confronted with her fears and ultimately, how she has prejudices and assumptions of her own that she needs to confront and fix if she wants to win the day.

Now on to a particularly obsessive case study of mine: Frozen. Elsa's monster of a father (don't fight me on this, i have pages of notes) conditions Elsa to "conceal, don't feel, don't let it show". He means her powers. But it results in Elsa being closed off from everyone -- including her sister. Not just physically, but emotionally. Which means Anna is desperate for love -- from ANYONE. This is all established in barely the first ten minutes. SO the beginning sets up Elsa being taught that ALONE and AWAY and DISTANT is the only way she can survive. Anna has been so long without the love of her sister that she is desperate for it. In the end, Elsa learns that her distance and isolation is what makes her powers spin out of control (love will thaw) and Anna learns the difference between true love and superficial love (an act of true love). 

See what I mean? First 10 mins. Last ten mins. Directly connected. Tight.

And I just think there's a lot of us writers to take away from that.

What are your fave Disney movies, writer person?