School of the Arts of the Catholic University of Portugal Master’s Degree in Sound and Picture Conflicting Relationships Between Two Non-Antagonistic Animated Characters Computer Animation 2013/14 Tiago João Ramos dos Santos Monteiro Advisor: Prof. Doctor Maria Guilhermina Castro November, 2014 Acknowledgements I would like to start by thanking my advisor, Prof. Doctor Maria Guilhermina Castro, for all her invaluable guidance and support during the course of this project. I would like to give a special thank you to Prof. Doctor Sahra Kunz, for her additional guidance, and to Prof. Ricardo Megre, who together with Prof. Sahra, guided me and my colleagues through the entire process of completing our final projects. I would also like to thank my colleagues in the course of Computer Animation, João Moura, Simão Carneiro and João Paiva, for their continuing moral support and encouraging words. Last but not least, I would like to thank my family and friends outside of the University, who kept giving me all their encouraging words and moral support. ii Abstract The purpose of this dissertation is to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between two non-antagonistic characters in Animation, and the impact it can have in the unfolding of the narrative and the transformation of the two characters. Its purpose is also to invite scientists, artists, and the reader, to further consider this subject as part of the creative process of storytelling, similar to the case of an individual character. This dissertation will explore historical-technological and scientific studies, as well as films and television series, which will serve as examples of conflict between two non-antagonistic characters. This research will allow the author to gather signs of what this particular kind of conflict and group of characters adds to movies and series—namely animated ones, in order to complement the focus of the course taken by the author. At the end of this dissertation, a case study is made with the final project produced during this course, A Helping Hoot. This short film, which contains a narrative driven significantly by the conflict caused by the interactions between the two main characters, serves as a platform to apply the gathered information whenever relevant to the theme. The intended result is to help raise more awareness of the particular possibilities for storytelling brought by narratives driven by the conflict between two non-antagonistic characters. Keywords: Story, Plot, Narrative, Character, Conflict, Tension, Disagreement, Relationship, Duo iii Table of Contents List of Figures..........................................................................................................................................1 1. Introduction.....................................................................................................................................3 1.1. The theme and the problematic..........................................................................................................3 1.2. Methodology........................................................................................................................................6 1.3. The final project...................................................................................................................................7 1.4. Structure..............................................................................................................................................7 2. Historical-Technological, Theoretic, and Artistic Research.......................................................9 2.1. Fundamental Concepts.......................................................................................................................9 2.2. Historical-Technological Context.......................................................................................................12 2.2.1. Animation versus live-action............................................................................................12 2.2.2. The evolution of characters and their relationships..........................................................14 2.2.2.1. Batman and the character complexity................................................................15 2.2.2.2. Mickey Mouse and Animation: from a general source of entertainment to a more family-centered one...........................................................................................16 2.2.2.3. My Little Pony and relationships........................................................................18 2.2.2.4. Tintin and Captain Haddock and the evolution of characters, relationships, and messages...........................................................................................................20 2.3. Theoretic Context..............................................................................................................................22 2.3.1. Different kinds of conflict..................................................................................................22 2.3.2. Causes for conflict............................................................................................................23 2.3.3. Reasons for two characters to be together despite of their differences...........................26 2.3.4. Ways of solving the conflict..............................................................................................29 2.3.5. Consequences brought by the conflict.............................................................................32 2.3.6. The archetypes and their functions in the narrative and the relationship.........................34 2.4. Artistic Context..................................................................................................................................39 2.4.1. The Hardest Jigsaw.........................................................................................................40 2.4.2. Brother Bear.....................................................................................................................42 2.4.3. All Dogs Go To Heaven...................................................................................................46 2.4.4. Shrek................................................................................................................................51 2.4.5. Tom and Jerry: The Movie...............................................................................................53 2.5. Conclusions, and what follows in the next chapter...........................................................................58 3. A Case Study with A Helping Hoot..............................................................................................60 3.1. Synopsis............................................................................................................................................60 3.2. The conflict and the relationship between characters.......................................................................62 3.3. The moments of conflict and its consequences................................................................................63 3.4. Reasons why they’re in conflict and why they should be friends......................................................69 3.5. Conclusions taken from this case study............................................................................................72 4. Conclusions and perspectives on future projects.....................................................................74 Bibliography...........................................................................................................................................79 Filmography...........................................................................................................................................81 Appendices............................................................................................................................................84 ANNEX: Visual and technical development of A Helping Hoot.............................................................85 iv Conflicting Relationships Between Two Non-Antagonistic Animated Characters List of Figures Fig. 2.1. Cave painting displaying movement..........................................................................12 Fig. 2.2. The Adventures of André & Wally B., the first short film with 3D characters able to squash and stretch.....................................................................................................................13 Fig. 2.3. Batman, as seen in both the 60s television series (left), and in the 2005 movie (right) ...................................................................................................................................................15 Fig. 2.4. Mickey’s evolution over the years..............................................................................16 Fig. 2.5. The 80s television series (left) and the current one (right).........................................18 Fig. 2.6. Tintin (right) and Captain Haddock (left), as seen in both the books and the movie adaptation..................................................................................................................................20 Fig. 2.7. Applejack (left) and Rarity (right)..............................................................................25 Fig. 2.8. Buzz Lightyear (left) and Woody (right)....................................................................26 Fig. 2.9.