The Eight Character Archetypes of the Hero’s Journey

https://mythcreants.com/blog/the-eight-character-archetypes-of-the-heros-journey/

The Eight Character Archetypes of the Hero’s Journey

February 7th, 2014 by Chris Winkle

The shapeshifter blurs the line between ally and enemy.

Regardless, they provide a tantalizing combination of appeal and possible danger. Shapeshifters benefit stories by creating interesting relationships among the characters, and by adding tension to scenes filled with allies.

Elsa as someone who felt alone and doomed because of her powers, and how she carried the guilt with the possibility of accidentally hurt someone she loved - her sister, Anna. 


http://popcrush.com/elsa-villain-frozen/

'The art of Disney's frozen'

'The art of Disney's frozen'
by Charles solomon

'The king and queen forbade Elsa to see Anna, and the life the girls had shared became a series of closed doors- doors they both wanted to open.
'Elsa knew they had been separated to protect Anna, but Anna didn't understand why her sister said no whenever she suggested doing something together.'

'After the death of their parents, the sisters grew further apart.'

'The film became an exploration of the special bond sisters share, a bond that can transcend years of separation and misunderstanding.'  p.13

'Elsa was going to be the complete antagonist'
'they kept calling her the villain, but there came a point we couldn't call her that anymore'.

'you care about some one who's been forced to hide who they are'.
'Elsa is not a villain, she just makes some bad choices because she's in a very difficult situation. '

'Elsa became more of the yin to Anna's yang'

'Its about the two sisters saving each other; its their broken relationship, and how they repair it.'
P.14


'I love Elsa, because we can make her cold and distant, but our hearts will still go out to her, We'll know she's living in a prison she can't share with anybody. Theres some pretty deep themes that come with not being able to admit who you are   for fear how people will react- Chris William, story board artist' p. 137

"Character Flaws"

"Character Flaws"
by Mark O'Bannon
'In many ways, a story is a way to experience emotions through other people - the characters in your story. Every story runs along two separate tracks: The SPINE of the story, and the HEART of the story. One is about the DESIRE of the character, the other is about the NEED of the character. One track deals with the OUTER MOTIVATION, the other deals with INNER MOTIVATION.'

'Emotional storytelling is all about the NEED of the character. The need describes how the character is broken at the beginning of the story. The need to change forms the basis of the character arc. The need comes from a main character flaw, or a weakness.'

'There are two kinds of character flaws:
A Psychological Weakness - This is a character trait within the hero which is destorying his life. Think of pride, cowardice, vengeance, and distrust. 

A Moral Weakness - This is a character flaw that harms the main character and also other people. So when designing a flaw for your hero, ask yourself, "How is this harming other people?" and "How is the hero living at the expense of others?"' 

'The way to create a hypnotic-like attraction for the characters in your story, give your hero character flaws. Use this weakness as the basis of the entire emotional story.'

'We all love seeing broken characters overcome their flaws.'

http://www.betterstorytelling.net/advancedwriting/characterflaws.html

©2010-2011 MEO Enterprises LLC, All Rights Reserved.

Disney producer reveals how Frozen could have ended VERY differently

Disney producer reveals how Frozen could have ended VERY differently

Katie Baillie for Metro.co.ukThursday 30 Mar 2017 9:43 a

http://metro.co.uk/2017/03/30/disney-producer-reveals-how-frozen-could-have-ended-very-differently-6542449/

‘So Anna was not a princess. Elsa was a self-proclaimed Snow Queen, but she was a villain and pure evil — much more like the Hans Christian Andersen tale,’ the Frozen producer continued.

We started out with an evil female villain and an innocent female heroine and the ending involved a big epic battle with snow monsters that Elsa had created as her army.’

We learn Elsa is a scorned woman; she was stood up (by Hans) at the altar on her wedding day and froze her own heart so she would never love again.

We had no emotional connection to Elsa — we didn’t care about her because she had spent the whole movie being the villain. We weren’t drawn in. The characters weren’t relatable.’

Anna all about love and Elsa all about fear.’

That led to making Elsa a much more dimensional sympathetic character, and instead of the traditional good vs. evil theme we had one that we felt was more relatable,’

Disney employees were then asked about their sibling experiences to make the sisters’ relationship authentic, and the idea female empowerment was used to show it doesn’t always have to be true love that thaws a frozen heart.

‘Now that they’re related, Elsa had her own fear and it was Anna who would save the day instead of Elsa by rescuing her sister — and it would be that selfless act that thawed Elsa’s heart,’ Peter said.

Does Disney Princess Elsa Have Borderline Personality Disorder? Part II: Let It Go

Posted on February 9, 2016 by Jay Boll, Editor in Chief

'Elsa, the character who sings the song, appears to have a problem with emotional dysregulation. According to the songwriter, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, the popular singer Demi Lovato was chosen to record the radio single version of the song partly because of her own struggles with mental health. 

Lovato, who is open about living with bipolar disorder, has stated that the story is so relatable because “Elsa is finding her identity; she’s growing into who she is and she’s finally accepting her own strength and magical powers. Instead of hiding it, like she’s done all her life, she’s letting it go and embracing it.”

'In Part I of the Frozen series, I suggested that Elsa experiences something like borderline personality disorder (BPD). In this interpretation, Elsa’s frozen rages are an outward display of the emotional dysregulation she feels inside. During the “Let It Go” scene we see her gain control of her terrifying “gift” as she throws away the gloves to build a magic castle made of ice.'

'lsa displays the kind of self-acceptance that is the cornerstone of Dialectical Behavior Therapy, a recommend treatment for BPD. The discarding of her gloves is a powerful declaration of personal freedom. So is the tossing of her crown. But on another level it’s an abdication of responsibility, literal and emotional.

The principles of mindfulness, another cornerstone of Dialectical Behavior Therapy, tell us that it’s good to live in the present moment and not allow the past to determine our thoughts about the future. But Elsa’s statement feels more like a denial of the past than acceptance of it. The song concludes with the line “The cold never bothered me anyway,” as Elsa slams the door, closing herself off from the rest of the world in a self-imposed Arctic exile.

In terms of her growth as a character, Elsa is still at the beginning of a journey to achieve emotional balance and connection to others. The main action of the movie will be about her struggle with the inner demons of a fiery temper and frozen heart, and the parallel story of her younger sister Anna, who is dealing with her own issues of insecure relationships.'

'All of these songs reinforce the theme of Frozen: seek acceptance not from others, but from yourself. When listened to from this perspective, each song has something to tell us about emotional regulation, interpersonal boundaries and the simultaneous longing and fear of connecting with others.'

Elsa was originally the villain, and other surprising truths from the original "Frozen" script

Sarah Terry

March 29, 2017 2:27 pm

https://hellogiggles.com/reviews-coverage/movies/the-original-script-for-frozen-wasnt-feminist-dream/

'Initially, Elsa was written as pure evil, who would go up against Anna, the pure-hearted heroine.'

'they actually held a “sister summit” where they got together to discuss ways to make Elsa and Anna’s relationship relatable. And it totally worked, because we’ve always thought the pair felt like totally realistic sisters.'

Weekly Summaries- Character Research- Week 8

Week 8: for the (17.11.17)

Progress this week:

This week I have been focused on my essay, I have been encountering some difficulties with technology, however I have now found a solution which has pushed onwards my essay writing. I am still continuing to research, to add breath to my essay points. I hope to finish my essay with in the deadline time. If I were to redo this again, I would make sure to have back up memory cards to make my essay more accessible.

Essay imagery

Let It Go - Idina Menzel free piano sheet music and downloadable ...

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http://childhoodreading.com/the-snow-queen/

'There is a legend that, once upon a time, a beautiful fairy, the Snow Queen, lived on the highest, most solitary peaks of the Alps. The mountain folk and shepherds climbed to the summits to admire her, and everyone fell head over heels in love with her.

Every man would have given anything, including his life, to marry her. Indeed, their lives are just what they did give, for Fate had decided that no mortal would ever marry the Snow Queen. But in spite of that, many brave souls did their best to approach her, hoping always to persuade her.

Each suitor was allowed to enter the great ice palace with the crystal roof, where the Queen’s throne stood. But the second he declared his love and asked for her hand, thousands of goblins appeared to grasp him and push him over the rocks, down into bottomless abysses.

Without the slightest emotion, the Queen would watch the scene, her heart of ice unable to feel anything at all. The legend of the crystal palace and the beautiful heartless Queen spread as far as the most distant alpine valley'

The Snow Queen

Posted on Jun 11, 1997

by Hans Christian Andersen

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/04/25/health/frozen-let-it-go/index.html

Frozen': Why kids can't 'Let It Go' 

By Nadia Kounang, CNN

Updated 1714 GMT (0114 HKT) August 1, 2017

visited 13th November 2017.

Yalda Uhls: One of the things that really struck me, and I think struck little children, is that there is a really strong intergenerational, family-themed message here. Despite the sisters Anna and Elsa being separated for so long, the story is ultimately about the bond between the two of them'It is the highest-grossing animated film of all time and one of Disney's top franchises. It was the most downloaded movie from Apple in 2014, and kids everywhere are still singing the movie's anthem, "Let It Go."'

'Kia-Keating: My 4-year-old came home and learned the song before we had even seen the movie.

One of the lines she and all her friends connected to was "Be the good girl that you always have to be."

'And when they sing it, they wag their fingers like they do in the movie.

I think it looks a lot like something they see and hear from parents -- be a good girl or boy, don't do this or that -- so part of it is copying what they frequently hear.'

'But when I asked my daughter what she thought the song was about, she said it was about "Elsa being happy and free, and nobody bothering her."

That's a message that everyone wants: to be happy and free.'

The Long, Cold Story Behind Disney's 'Frozen'
By Stephanie Chase in Movies / TV / Theatre on 31 March 2014

http://www.contactmusic.com/idina-menzel/news/story-behind-disney-frozen-highest-grossing-animation_4133193

Accessed 13th Nov 2017

'The origins of 'Frozen’ lie in the Hans Christian Andersen tale ‘The Snow Queen’, a story which had been the subject of a major Disney headache for nearly 70 years at the time of ‘Frozen’s’ inception. Back in 1943 Walt Disney saw the potential of the Danish author’s stories, which included 'The Little Mermaid’, ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’ and ‘The Snow Queen’. The original plan was for Walt to collaborate with Samuel Goldwyn to produce a biographical piece on Andersen and incorporate some of his famous works into the story, using Disney animation. Eventually the project fell through and Goldwyn went on to do his own movie on Andersen in 1952, leaving the animation part out. Despite the setback, Disney never lost sight of the potential of Andersen’s stories, most notably ‘The Snow Queen’.


'As the idea of a 'Snow Queen' movie got set aside, the early 90s came and Disney entered into its second golden era, the ‘Disney Renaissance’ as it was called. Ironically the period was heralded in by a different Andersen adaptation, ‘The Little Mermaid’. Its sucess meant that once again ‘The Snow Queen’ was being talked about. Actor Harvey Fierstein even made a story pitch, but by 2002 ‘The Snow Queen’ was once again off the table. Hope again came in 2008 when Disney and Pixar head John Lasseter showed interest after an idea from 'Tarzan' director Chris Buck but two years later the idea still hadn’t moved any further. Then ‘Tangled’ came in 2011 and, you guessed it,  ‘The Snow Queen’ story was once again being looked at. This time things looked a lot more promising and the movie title 'Frozen' appeared on Disney's list of upcoming productions, to much speculation. But the problem remained of what to do with the Snow Queen character. Could she ever be more than a one diminutional villain?'

Is Frozen's Elsa anorexic?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/11395381/Is-Frozens-Elsa-anorexic.html

By Bee Wilson

3:08PM GMT 06 Feb 2015

'Elsa is a princess born with the destructive powers to turn everything around her into ice. Anna, her little sister, pesters her to play, but she won’t, locking herself away, first in her bedroom and then in a “kingdom of isolation”, an ice castle.'

'Elsa, by contrast, has locked herself away from the social world of meals and won’t let anyone in. Like anorexics, she is fixated with control and perfection. She can only achieve this in private: “conceal, don’t feel”. 

“Let it Go!” is the moment in the film that Elsa starts to recover by letting her hair down and realising that she doesn’t have to try to be a “perfect girl” any more. The ice castle is rehab, where Elsa learns that the “fears that once controlled me can’t get to me at all”. She can finally be honest about her condition: “so now they know”. Many eating disorder sufferers have described how cathartic they find the song. 

Frozen makes a change from the classic Disney princesses, who were indeed impossibly “perfect girls” with repressed attitudes to food. They were tiny-waisted creatures who cooked more than they ate, like Cinderella fixing perfect bowls of porridge for her horrid stepsisters. Snow White is always cooking for others though she consumes little herself, except for poison apples. She sweetly makes pies for each of the dwarves, with the pastry edges crimped by woodland birds. Her own hunger is focused on the prince.'

Weekly Summaries- Character Research- Week 7

Week 7: (10.11.17)

What I learnt:

Last week was my last character research session for this brief. This week, however I had an individual tutorial with my tutor. We discussed that; ‘Elsa’ would fit the archetype of a shapeshifter and that she was more ambiguous compared to traditional fairy tales, her flaws are what make her relatable. Also mentioned was that I should reference the ‘The Snow Queen’ within my essay and the character design of ‘Elsa’; who is rather “doll” like and consists of light colours. What I need to change about my essay is the way I am citing texts, in the order of the year and author needs to be switched. Also, in my introduction I do not need to mention what I will be discussing.

Progress this week:

This week I have been focusing on my essay, along with my other briefs. This week research took me to a video called ‘what are the archetypes’ to learn further about Elsa’s character type. Also, more research if Elsa is still relevant to the current day, and what effect she had on the world when frozen first came out.