My first viewing of Inception was at the world’s largest IMAX screen in Sydney’s Darling Harbour. The experience was sensational but not perfect, because the projection was marred by an error in the IMAX print’s aspect ratio, resulting in a picture of which the height was about 9% squeezed.

I loved the movie enough to see it again in the same week at a standard theater (where the projection was flawless).  I watched it a third time and took detailed notes with a view to publishing this breakdown.

If my life hadn’t suddenly hit the accelerator over the past few weeks, I would have easily posted a breakdown in the first week of release.  The only real problem I still have is getting the last act right. It moves so fast it is virtually impossible to get every beat down accurately. So many things are paid off, so quickly.

Have a look for yourself and see if I have left out any major moment. I’d be grateful if you could let me know in the comments. Thank you!

Now enjoy!

Karel.

spoilers galore

PROLOGUE (FLASH FORWARD)

00.00    Warner and Legendary logos.
00.30    Cobb wakes up on a beach, sees his kids, is taken away at gunpoint.
01.30    With old man (Saito), who says: “I knew a man, possessed of some radical notions.”

ACT ONE

Sequence A: Cobb at work. Extraction, dream w/in a dream. (15mins)

02.30    (Dream Level 2) Saito having dinner, Cobb explains extraction, sells services.
04.00    Arthur: He knows. The building shakes. “What’s going on up there?”
04.30    (DL1) Saito and Cobb’s team are asleep.
05.30    (DL2) Wife Mal shows up. Cobb climbs out of room, re-enters building.
07.00    (DL2) Kills a guard, goes in to take envelope out of the safe. Stopped by Saito & Mal.
08.00    (DL2) Saito knows they’re dreaming, they have Arthur, shoot his leg. Dream collapses.
09.30    (DL2) Saito has an empty envelope, Cobb has the documents from the safe.
10.00    (DL1) Cobb won’t wake up. Team decide to give him ‘the kick’ in bathtub.

11.00    (DL2) Cobb drowns in building, water shooting in through windows.

11.30    (DL1) Saito attacks Cobb, holds him at gunpoint. An audition. You failed.
12.30    (WAKE) Team sleeping in train, timer set, music plays, waking up.
13.00    (DL1) Cobb throws Saito on rug. Fake: still dreaming! I’m impressed!
14.30    (WAKE) Debrief in the train. Out in Kyoto. Every man for himself.
15.00    (WAKE) Saito wakes up and smiles.

The first sequence sets up Cobb’s thieving life (Ordinary World), as well as his character (the best dream extractor) and his flaw (Mal).

Rather than tagging an opening action sequence before the start of Cobb’s story (as we see in e.g. The Matrix), Nolan works the action hook into this story in a fascinating, intelligent and at the same time elegant way. After only fifteen minutes into the movie, we have learned a lot, without at any point having the feeling that we’re ticking off a list of expository items.

Sequence B: (all WAKE) Offered a job by Saito: Inception. (6mins)

15.30    Cobb at home, spins a top on the table. It topples. Phone call from his kids.
17.30    Arthur knocks: our ride is on the roof. Are you OK? Time we disappear. Buenos Aires.
18.30    Saito has offer: architect’s safety in return for a job.
19.00    Inception explained. Cobb: Do I have a choice? Yes. Then I choose to leave.
20.00    How would you like to go home? Can’t fix that. Just like inception.
20.30    Job brief. Arthur: we should walk away. Guarantee! Saito: Leap of faith or old man.
21.00    Assemble your team Mr. Cobb and choose your people more wisely.

This is a short Act One and some may argue that the Act doesn’t really end until the team is assembled, i.e. around 44:30, just before they actually enter the dream. Entering the dream is certainly a way of the crossing of the threshold into the ‘Special World’. However, Cobb had already mentally crossed the threshold by accepting Saito’s proposal, so the assembling of the team is part of the mission. In this respect, traveling to Paris is a first threshold scene and the ‘Ariadne’ sequence is an ‘Ally’ sequence, which typically belongs in the 2nd Act, even in the Hero’s Journey.

ACT TWO

Sequence C: Getting the architect – and losing her again.(13mins)

21.30    Cobb & Arthur on plane to Paris.
22.00    Meeting dad. Design yourself! -Mal won’t let me. Last job to get me home.
24.30    Testing Ariadne: draw maze that takes more than 2 minutes to solve.
25.30    The team briefed in workshop.
26.00    (DL1) Cobb & Ariadne: First lesson in shared dreaming: explosions.
28.00    Another 5 minutes gives you an hour in the dream.
29.00    (DL1) What happens if you start messing with physics? City folds.
31.00    Projections become aggressive – Ariadne does trick with mirror.
33.00    Mal appears. Ariadne: Wake me up! Mal attacks. She wakes up.
34.00    Cobb spins top. Ariadne: “Cobb has serious problems.” walks off.
34.30    I’m gonna go visit Eames. Mombasa! We need a forger.

Sequence D: Team complete. Ariadne learns. Gathering info. (15mins)

35.00   Briefing Eames in Mombasa.
36.00   Eames: work on the relationship with the father.
36.30   Eames recommends chemist. First getting rid of Cobb’s ‘tail’. Fight & Chase.
39.00   Saved by Saito, protecting his investment.
39.30   Arthur is showing Ariadne around. Infinite staircase. Hide from the projections.
40.30   Safer if Cobb doesn’t know the layout. Mal is dead. Just his projection.
41.30    Chemist: 3 levels is possible. Need powerful sedative. Six team members: Saito.
43.00   For the sleepers, the dream has become their reality.
44.30   Saito briefs Cobb: The world needs Robert Fisher to change his mind.
47.00   Eames gathers information on the Fishers and Browning.
48.00   Ariadne finds Cobb ‘experimenting’. Mal’s totem.

49.30   You can’t keep her out. It’s getting worse… They think I killed her.

Sequence E: Ariadne joins Cobb’s secret memory dream. (10mins)

50.00   Cobb briefs the team in the workshop. Translate business strategy into an emotion.
51.00   Three levels of deams requires an extremly powerful sedative.
51.30   Lowest level: 10 years. Kick to get out.
53.00   We need 10 hours: Sydney – LA. Saito: I bought the airline. We have our 10 hours.
54.00   Ariadne finds Cobb dreaming. Joins in: Mal & Cobb. These are my dreams.

56.00   In my dreams we’re still together. These are memories I have to change.
57.00   Mal already gone. James and Philippa. All too late.
58.00   The Hotel suite. Anniversary. Mal attacks: you said we’d grow old together.
59.30   Ariadne: do you really think that’s gonna contain her? Ariadne is going.

Sequence F (MID): Things tougher than planned. (10mins)

60.00 Maurice died. Saito promises Cobb: No trouble with immigration if successful.
62.00 Take Off. Cobb has passport. Toasting to Maurice. Sleeping. Team gets ready.
64.00 L1 – Rain. Hijack cab. Pick up Robert. Attacked – under fire.
67.00 L1 – Not normal projections: trained! Saito bleeds. Cobb to Arthur: Your job.

67.30 L1 – Saito bleeding. When we die, we end up in limbo. Stuck in Fisher’s mind.
69.00 L1 – There’s a way out: continue as fast as possible. No other choice.

---

ACT IIb

Sequence G: Level 1 – Cobb’s secret revealed to Ariadne. (14mins)

70.00 L1 – The combination: tell us what it is. You’ve got an hour.
71.00 L1 – Browning ‘tortured’ for safe code. Maurice told me you’re the only one.
72.30 L1 – Down to the lower levels: the pain will be less intense.
74.00 L1 – Eames/Browning works on Robert. Maurice’s last word: disappointment.
75.00 L1 – Ar.: When were you in limbo? Deeper into Fisher… deeper into you.
75.30 L1 – C.: We lost sight of what was real. Limbo became her reality. for 50 years.
77.00 L1 – Obsessed: our world wasn’t real. To come back home, she had to kill herself.
77.30 FLASHBACK: Our anniversary. Mal jumps to her death.
79.30 L1 – I ran. I left my children behind.
81.00 L1 – Ar.: Your guild defines her. Not responsible, forgive yourself. Confront her.
81.30 L1 – Threatening Fisher: First 6 numbers that come to your mind, right now!!
82.30 L1 – We’re going for a ride. Into the van. Attacked by projections. Shootout.
83.00 L1 – Eames to Arthur: you mustn’t be afraid to dream of something bigger, darling.

84.30 L1 - Mr. Charles. Sweet Dreams. (into Level 2)

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Sequence H: Level 2 – Mr. Charles, preparing ‘kick’ & Level 3 (12mins)

84.30 L2 – Robert Fisher in bar, stolen wallet. Mr Charles. Cobb offers security service.
85.30 L2 – Cobb: my people are on it as we speak. Fisher trusts him.  Strange weather.
88.30 L2 – Arth. kisses Ar. (L1: Van slides / shift in gravity.) Fisher concerned, believes Cobb.
89.30 L2 – Fisher: Can you get me out of here? Cobb: Rightaway. Leaving bar under gunfire.
90.30 L2 – Fisher holds gun to his own head: kill myself to wake up. Cobb: No! Sedated. Limbo.
91.00 L2 - Ariadne & Arthur: This room should be directly below 528.
92.00 L2 - Remember: hotel rooms… what was the number. 5th floor.
92.30 L2 - Arthur sets explosives for synchronized kick: when the van hits the water.
93.30 L2 – Cobb to Fisher: they’re putting you under, a dream within a dream.
94.00 L2 - Fisher’s projection of Browning. Let’s follow him to see how he behaves.
94.30 L2 - Browning & Fisher: the will is his last insult. Build a better company than he ever did.
95.00 L2 - Cobb: he’s lying. Going into Fisher’s dream, pretending it’s Browning’s. (into L3)

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Sequence I: Level 3 – Into the Snow Fortress, All seems lost. (18mins)

96.30 L1 – Van attacked again. Van rolling.

99.30 L2 – Fight in hotel. Rotating gravity.

100.0 L3 – Cobb briefs team. To Fisher: break into Browning’s mind on your own.

100.3 L1 – Van on bridge, chased by projections. Being shot at.

101.3 L3 – Exit music plays – too soon. Move fast. 10 secs = 3 mins = 60 mins

103.0 L1 – Gunfight on bridge

103.3 L3 – Air duct system that can cut through the maze

104.0 L1 – Van goes through railing, off the bridge. Falling.

105.0 L3 – Missed kick. Finish job before next kick – when van hits the water. 20mins.

106.3 L2 – Floating – no gravity.

107.0 L3 – Entering the duct system, projections know.

107.3 L2 – Weightless fight between Arthur and guard in rotating gravity.

108.3 L3 – Approaching the central tower

109.3 L2 – Arthur is collecting everyone, for the kick.

110.0 L3 – Entire army coming their way. Robert Fisher is in stronghold.

111.0 L3 – Mal comes in. Ar.: She is not real. Fisher is real! Mal shoots Fisher.

111.3 L2 – Arthur moving the team, preparing for the kick.

112.3 L3 – Failed. Fisher’s mind already trapped. We failed.

112.3 L3 – Ar.: There’s still another way. Follow fisher down there. Use defibrillator.

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Sequence J: Level 4 – Cobb’s cave, resolves guilt over Mal (14mins)

114.0 L4: Ocean and dead city.
115.0 L2: Arthur places team in elevator.
115.3 L4: Ar.: You built all this? C.: We built for years. All reconstructed from memory.
118.8 L2: Arthur placing charges.
118.3 L4: C.: An idea is a virus. Mal: your world is not real. Choose me.
120.0 L4: Mal: Our children are here. C.: I want to see them up above, Mal.
120.3 L3: Saito bleeding / L1: Van falling.
121.3 L4: C.: The reason I knew Inception was possible. I did it to her first.
123.3 L4: C.: Idea grew like a cancer. Death was the only escape. FB: Mal’s suicide.
124.3 L3: Projections enter. / Saito dies.
125.0 L2: Exit music plays. Ar.: We need to get Fisher. C.: Go check he’s alive.
126.0 L3: Ar. checks if Fisher is alive. It’s time. Come now! You can’t stay.
126.3 L4: I can’t stay … she doesn’t exist. You’re just a shade. Sorry, not good enough.
127.0 L3: Mal attacks with knife. Ar. shoots.  Need to get Saito back.
127.3 L2: The elevator moves.

---

This sequence is where Cobb comes clean with himself. It is the end of his Inner Journey, his redemption. Only after this can he achieve the Outer Goal, i.e. the successful inception, which happens in the next sequence.

The end of Act Two is a Crisis or Ordeal in the traditional sense as we see Saito killed  (a character who has both Mentor and Herald qualities), as well as Mal (representing Cobb’s flaw or Inner Conflict). It is interesting that it is not Cobb,  but Ariadne who shoots Mal. Would this be because otherwise the scene would have felt too much like a Climax? I wonder.

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ACT THREE

Sequence K: Mission accomplished. All levels kick back. (8mins)

128.0 L3: Fisher with his father. Maurice: I was disappointed that you tried.
129.0 L2: Elevator drops.
129.3 L3: Robert finds paper windmill in safe.
130.0 L3: Eames blows up building.
131.0 L4: Ar. jumps: find Saito. / L3: All destroyed. / L2: Elevator kick / L1: Water kick.
130.3 L4: Ar.: Don’t lose yourself. Find Saito and bring him back.
131.0 L4: FLASHBACK (Limbo) We did grow old. I have to let you go.
133.0 L1: Van sinking
134.0 L4: Saito: Have you come to kill me? C.: Come back with me.

---

Although the sequence of ‘kicks’ is a perfect example of a sequence crossing multiple thresholds back into the Ordinary World, In Hero’s Journey terms, Inception has a problem. Typically, this precedes the climax (or Resurrection) but obviously Cobb’s mission must be complete before he can return to the Ordinary World. This may explain why although intellectually satisfying, there is something oddly wrong with the way this climax feels intuitively.

Now looking at this structure, I realize that the climax is possibly the weakest part of the movie because Cobb is not active in it. It is Robert Fisher who plays out the climax and the only notable climax for Cobb is the resolution of the Inner Conflict at the end of Act Two.

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Sequence L: Waking up. Aftermath. Will the totem topple? (3mins)

136.0 In plane: We’ll be landing in about 20mins. All waking up. Cobb is wondering.
136.3 Saito wakes up and makes a phone call.
137.0 Immigration: Welcome home, Mr. Cobb. Father waiting at the exit.
138.3 At home: father. Look who’s here! Kids.
138.3 Totem spinning. Doesn’t topple.
139.0 The End.

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After seeing Inception this week, for me Toy Story 3 is still the only movie I have seen in cinemas this year that has a flawless story, reaching for a four-quadrant audience with a script that is at the same time intelligent and moving. But while analyzing Toy Story 2 I was reminded how much I love this one – and how much TS3 is indebted to it.

Because the Pixar brain trust have proven beyond any doubt that they understand how stories for the big screen work, I have decided – encouraged by a good friend and fellow Pixar fan – to analyse every single movie from their stable. You can now find structural analyses on this site for the following movies:

• • • Toy Story 1
    • Toy Story 2
    • The Incredibles
    • Up
    • Toy Story 3

A Structure that works

So far I have found that the Pixar movies are often structured around an eight-sequence hero’s journey, with two sequences in acts one and three and four in the second act. Sometimes (like you will see below) Act Two consists of five sequences with the mid point sitting in the middle sequence rather than at the end of the fourth sequence.

Each movie has a powerful Mid Point Reversal – not just a ‘point of no return’ – and all three Toy Story movies have more than one transformational journey. Later (e.g. with Finding Nemo and Ratatouille) we’ll find that some of the Pixar stories have a  dual protagonist, each with their journey of change.

all three Toy Story movies have 
more than one transformational journey.

Now let me ask you: do you like these movies? Have you embraced the structural engine behind them? Do you master it? Or are you still resisting the structure, thinking that it’s all just about the characters?

Well, good luck to you if you are.

spoilers about Toy Story 2 and 3

We’re only eight minutes into the movie when Woody rips his arm and Andy shelves him. Right there is a metaphor reminding us of our mortality, soon reinforced by Wheezy’s statement that there is no use in prolonging the inevitable: all toys are ultimately destined for the garage sale.

How much deeper can a movie go
with its thematic challenges?

In Act Two Woody has to decide what his purpose in life is when he actually does have an opportunity to ‘prolong the inevitable’ by going to a museum. Now he has to choose between (the equivalent of) immortality and happiness for a child. How much deeper can a movie go with its thematic challenges?

At the Mid Point, there’s a heart-wrenching moment when Jessie shares her emotional wound with Woody. This experience will be referenced again in Toy Story 3 when Jessie says “It’s Emily all over again!” and it’s not hard to recognize the exact same emotion in Chuckles’ story about Daisy leaving Lotso, Big Baby and himself behind. In Toy Story 3, however, the abandonment is a result of a mistake rather than a deliberate donation.

Now, despite the fact that Toy Story 2 is immaculately – and, yes, almost mathematically – structured around nine sequences,  this movie is not all about just slavishly following structural principles. Actually, it breaks one major rule… Look carefully and you’ll find something quite peculiar about the second act.

Look carefully and you’ll find
something quite peculiar about the second act.

Where in most transformational movies at the Mid Point the Hero changes the approach from ‘doing it the easy way’ to ‘doing the right thing’, Toy Story 2 shows that the opposite can work, too. Initially it is Woody’s plan to return to Andy; at the Mid Point he is so moved by Emily’s story that he changes his mind, only to be brought back to reason at the end of Act Two.

Enjoy!

ACT ONE

Sequence A: Preparing for cowboy camp, then shelved. (10mins)

00.00 Disney + Pixar Logos + Credits, space version.
01.00 Opening Sequence: Buzz vs. Zurg (video game)
04.30 Woody’s hat is missing. Going to cowboy camp with Andy.
06.30 Slinky: good news (hat found) and bad news (Buster the dog). Red alert!
08.00 Five minutes: Andy plays with toys. Rips Woody’s arm. Leaves him behind.
09.00 Mom: Toys don’t last forever. Woody shelved. Andy leaves without him. (I.I.)

Sequence B: Rescuing Wheezy, then stolen by collector. (8mins)

10.00 Andy back early from cowboy camp. Nightmare. “Bye Woody!” Wakes up.
11.00 Woody finds Wheezy. Shelved, too. Yard Sale. Emergency Role Call.
12.30 Mom takes Wheezy away. Woody calls Buster: to the yard sale. Toys don’t get it.
13.30 Outside: not being noticed, into box, find Wheezy, falls off Buster.
14.30 Al picks up Woody. Offers 50C, then $50, then steals him.
16.00 Buzz goes after him but falls off. License plate: LZTBRN.
17.00 Al goes into apartment. No children allowed.

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ACT TWO

Sequence C: New friends – They want Woody to stay. (12mins)

17.30 Toys reconstruct abduction, decode license plate: Al’s Toy Barn.
19.00 Al: You’re gonna make me big bucks! Woody comes out of glass box.
19.30 Collector drives to work. Woody tries to escape.
20.00 Woody meets with Bullseye, Jessie, the Prospector: Woody’s Roundup.
23.00 Toys find address of Al’s Toy Barn and leave.
24.30 Woody watching end of show; canceled.
26.00 Playing with Bulls Eye and Jessie – on record.
27.30 We’re being sold to museum in Tokyo. Woody: I can’t go to Japan!
28.00 Woody: This is all a mistake. Jessie: I’m not going back into storage!
29.00 Al tears off Woody’s arm. Repair first thing in the morning.

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Sequence D: Woody tries to get arm back so he can leave. (10mins)

30.00 Buzz and toys on their way to saving Woody. 19 blocks to go.
31.00 Collector asleep. Woody out of box, trying to recover arm.
33.00 TV Switches on – Al wakes up. Leaves, takes arm away.
33.30 Woody blames Jessie of switching on TV. Woody & Jessie fight.
34.30 Prospector stops them. Woody: get arm fixed, then out of here.
35.30 Toys have to cross the road. Traffic cones. Traffic chaos.
37.00 Repair man arrives – Cleaning montage (1). “You can’t rush art.”
38.00 Al’s Toy Barn closed. Opening door, all together. Going in.
39.00 Cleaning montage (2) – Painting over Andy’s name. Just like new!

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Mid: Buzz swap – Jessie changes Woody’s mind: staying. (10mins)

40.30 Buzz at toy shop: Buzz Lightyear aisle, NEW utility belt.
41.30 Attacked by other Buzz: they fight.
42.30 Barbies dancing. Tour guide Barbie.
44.00 Buzz locked into box. Wrong Buzz joins friends.
45.00 Woody repaired, Jessie devastated. Tells about Emily.
50.00 Prospector: stay with us. Woody decides to stay.

---

The Mid Point of Toy Story 2 was an absolute highlight of the trilogy, with Jessie telling us about Emily through the Sarah McLachlan song When Somebody Loved Me.

---

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Sequence D: Toys getting closer. Woody excited about Japan (10mins)

51.00 Toys looking for Woody, find Al. Buzz escapes box.
52.30 Collector leaves with toys. Buzz left behind.
53.00 Buzz escapes store but releases Zurg.
55.00 Toys enter apartment building, into elevator shaft.
56.00 Woody excited about Japan.
58.00 Toys arrive on 25th floor. Real Buzz on their heels.
59.00 Woody plays with his Roundup friends.
59.30 Toys go through air duct and break into apartment.

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Sequence F: All is lost. Woody is a yo-yo! (7mins)

60.30 Buzz picks up Woody, real Buzz stops them. Fight of the Buzzes.
61.30 Woody: I actually want to go. Explains about Roundup. Shows TV.
62.30 Buzz: You are a toy! Let’s go. Woody’s not coming. Toys leave.
64.30 Woody: what am I doing? Changes his mind. Come with me!
65.30 Jessie & Bullseye want to go but Prospector locks them up.
66.30 Toys return but Al comes in. Grabs toys and leaves.

---

ACT THREE

Sequence G: Airport Climax (11mins)

67.00 Zurg appears. Rex helps defeat him. Buzz: Father!
68.30 Toys follow Al outside. Al disappears in car.
69.30 Toys drive Pizza Planet van and chase after Al.
71.00 Airport: Toys enter in pet container.
71.30 Baggage conveyor room. Looking for Woody.
72.30 Buzz knocked out by Prospector. Woody vs. Prospector.
73.00 Toys help against Prospector. Ends up in girl bag.
74.00 Jessie on luggage trolley; Woody and Buzz follow to save her.
75.00 Onto plane, too late. Plane taxis. Open up and jump off.
77.00 Buzz arrives to help. Final episode. Woody & Jessie jump off. Let’s go home.

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Sequence H: Woody’s Roundup united at home. (4mins)

78.00 Welcome home Andy.
79.00 Andy fixes Woody.
81.00 Wheezy fixed, too. Sings.
81.30 Woody about Andy: fun while it lasts. After that: Buzz.
82.00 Credits

Apart from the division in 3 acts and 8 sequences, later I will also indicate how some story points relate to the Hero’s Journey.

It’s really worth watching the first installment again to realize how cohesive the trilogy really is. The themes of the three movies are related and the visual goals are remarkably similar, too.

The only differences between my sequence structure and Paul Gulino’s approach are the end of Act One and the different division of Act Three (into a double climax – Sequence G1 and G2 – and a separate ‘aftermath’ sequence).

When I have more time later, I will add some notes to each sequence.

If you haven’t already checked it out, please go and have a look at my breakdown of Toy Story 3.

Enjoy!

ACT ONE

00.00 Walt Disney and Buena Vista leader.

*01.00 Andy playing with his toys: Damsel in distress. Woody to the rescue!
01.30 You’ve got a friend in me: Andy and Woody, best of friends.
03.00 The “special spot”: Woody is Andy’s favourite toy.
03.30 “Coast is clear!” Woody and the Toys come to life.
06.00 Staff meeting: 1 week before moving. Today is Andy’s birthday party!

07:00 Woody reassures the toys that no one will be replaced by new toys.
07.30 “They’re here!” Andy’s friends arrive with presents. Meeting Adjourned.
08.30 Code Red! Woody sends out the troops: Recon post downstairs.
09.00 Troops dispatched.
10.30 Troops report back about the contents of the presents.
11.30 Mission accomplished. No new toys!
12.00 Mum pulls out surprise present!
12.30 Red Alert: Andy is coming upstairs. Leaves new present on bed.

Sequence B: Woody in denial: still Andy’s favorite! (8mins)

13.00 Woody: “Just a mistake.” Let’s give it a nice welcome.
15.00 “I’m Buzz Lightyear. I come in peace”.
16:00 More gadgets then a swiss army knife.
17:00 Woody has Laser envy.
17:30 Woody challenges Buzz to fly.
18:00 “To Infinity and Beyond!”
18:30 Buzz falls with style! Woody isn’t Impressed.
19:00 They’ll see, I’m still Andy’s favourite. [Reluctance to change]
19:30 Strange things are happening.
20:00 Buzz Lightyear! Andy’s new favorite.
20:30 Andy: “I’m still Andy’s favorite toy.”

I include the musical montage in the first act for the following reasons:

- the montage is a visualization of Woody’s goal in reverse: he wants it to be HIM who’s being played with.

- the montage ends with a natural wipe to black, indicating a clear ‘curtain’ closing Act One.

- the sequence length is now more equally distributed, which is consistent with an audience’s attention’s ebb & flow.

ACT TWO

Sequence C: Woody’s Revenge and consequences. (8mins)

21:00 Woody confronts Buzz. “Stop with the spaceman thing”
23:00 Sid – the toy torturer. Blows up soldier.
26:00 Woody’s revenge: Buzz falls out of the window.
27:30 Andy leaves with Woody. Buzz in pursuit.
28:00 Toys trying to recover Buzz. Where could he be?

Sequence D: Stuck at Pizza Planet & unwanted help (8mins)

29:00 Fuel station: Woody and Buzz fight out their differences.
30:00 Left behind at the petrol station as Mom & Andy drive on.
31:00 Woody: “You are a toy!” Not the real buzz lightyear.”

32:00 Pizza delivery truck, a spaceship and a way home!
33:00 The cockpit, safer than the cargo bay. A bumpy ride to Pizza Planet.
33:30 Welcome to Pizza Planet! Disguises, a way to get inside.
34:30 Woody: “Andy!” Buzz: “Spaceship!” Buzz runs off.
35:00 Buzz makes peace with Aliens in the spaceship.

36:00 Woody: “It’s Sid! Get Down!”
37:00 The Claw chooses Buzz & Woody.
37:30 Sid takes the toys home: “Let’s go home and … play!!”

Sequence E. Sid’s toys. Woody tortured & Buzz’ Ordeal (9mins)

38:00 Sid’s dog Scud and sister Hayley
38:30 Sid performs surgery on his Hayley’s doll.
39:30 Sid’s mutilated toys. Woody is petrified.

41:00 Andy’s room next door. They’re home.
41:30 Sid tortures Woody with a magnifying glass.
42:30 “The door! It’s open, we’re free!”
43:30 A dog between the exit. Woody and Buzz split up.
*44:00 Television Commercial: “Star command to Buzz Lightyear!”
44:30 “Not a flying toy”. Buzz realises he is just a toy.
46:00 Buzz tries to fly. Fails miserably.

Sequence F: Woody trapped: redemption. (10:30mins)

47:00 Hayley salvages Buzz. Takes him to tea party.

48:30 Plan for return, but Buzz gone crazy.
50:30 Woody fails to convince toys. They abandon him.
51:30 Sid’s toys fix Buzz, not so evil after all.
52:30 Sid straps the rocket to Buzz, prepares for launch!

53:00 Launch delayed, Woody trapped. The clock is ticking.
53:30 Andy misses his toys.
54:30 Buzz has lost all hope. Stupid toy. Woody motivates Buzz.
56:30 Woody’s redemption. I should be strapped to that rocket.
57:00 Woody and Buzz reconcile, will work together.

ACT THREE

Sequence G1: Climax 1: Working together to defeat Sid (7mins)

57:30 The moving van is here!
58:00 Woody is free. Sid wakes up. Time for lift off!
58:30 The dog between the exit.
59:30 Woody and Sid’s toys band together to rescue Buzz.
60:30 Sid’s toys distract the dog.
61:30 Woody and the toys make it outside.
*62:00 Woody is spotted, Buzz’s launch draws near.

62:30 3…2…Woody stands up to Sid
63:00 Sid’s toys come to life!
63:30 Woody: “We toys can see everything. So play nice.”
64:00 Sid defeated. Buzz: “thanks.”

Sequence G2: Climax 2: Reuniting with Andy (8:30mins)

64:30 The Van!
65:00 Buzz gets stuck. Woody saves him, again. Chase Van.
65:30 Dog, chases them. Woody in danger.
66:00 Buzz jumps on dog to save Woody.
66:30 Woody sends out the remote controlled car (RC) to save Buzz
67:00 Andy’s toys misinterpret this as an act of aggression.
7:30 Car crash. Dog is stopped. Maximum Pile-up.
68:00 Andy’s toys in disbelief, throw Woody off the truck.
68:30 Woody gets picked up by RC. Toys realise they’ve made a mistake.
69:00 Slinky Dog to the rescue. RC is running out of battery.
69:30 Slinky lets go, RC runs out of juice.
70:00 Woody lights the rocket using Buzz’s helmet.
71:00 Rocket explodes, Buzz flys (falls with style)!

71:30 Woody and Buzz reunited with Andy

Sequence H: Return with the elixir.

72:00 Christmas. New presents. Our friends working together again.
72:30 Woody, Bo Peep and mistletoe.
73:00 Woody and Buzz, best of pals. Andy gets a dog.

THE END

Thank you to Chae Ryan for the great help!

The movie pays off on every possible level. It’s fun, emotional and has tremendous depth.

I have seen it three times, each in a different format, and the story easily withstands multiple viewings.  A few days ago I shared my views on the various technical formats. In short: I’m not overly excited about the whole 3D thing still. It’s just delivered very poorly.

But rejoice! Today we’re talking STORY!!

Yes, friends, Toy Story 3 is formulaic. Much like Toy Story 1 (See Paul Gulino’s excellent analysis in Screenwriting: The Sequence Approach), it follows an 8-Sequence Hero’s Journey structure with a powerful Mid Point Reversal. Still, it is delightfully complex as you can peel layer after layer from a wonderfully crafted script.

Trust me, this level of supremely high quality screenwriting you don’t get very often in cinemas. A team of the best story brains in the world labored over it for years, including one of the finest screenplayers of our generation. The result: the winner of the 2010 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. I’ll be damned if they don’t win.

I love doing these structural analyses and unfortunately I can’t always justify the time to write my notes with the breakdown. (At the time of this writing, I must apologize for still not having done this for the Gladiator breakdown)

This time, however, I found I had to give you at least something. Toy Story 3 is such an amazing example of successful sequential writing, as well as the pinnacle of Hero’s Journey structure. I know there are a few people out there still resisting the call from this type of structural approach but that’s fine. There’s two kinds of people in this world — Winners…and Losers. (LOL)

– massive spoilers ahead –

W.: Woody
B.: Buzz
MPH.: Mr. Potato Head
J.: Jessie
L.: Lotso
BB: Big Baby

ACT ONE

Sequence A: “Andy is gonna take care of us. I guarantee it.” (15mins)

00.00    Pixar leaders + Title
01.00    W. vs. One-Eyed Bart & Betty (Mr. & Mrs. PH), aliens & Evil Dr. Pork Chop (Hamm)
05.00    Montage of video: Andy plays with toys as he grows up. “Our frienship will never die…”

06.15    A. about to leave for college.  Toys in chest, executing plan to get A.’s attention.
07.30    Calling Andy’s mobile – plan fails as he ignores the toys.
08.00    Staff meeting. Woody: “Andy is gonna put us in the attic.” Toy soldiers give up & leave.
10.00    Woody: “Andy is gonna take care of us. I guarantee it.” Looks at old photo.
11.00    Buzz: “Guarantee it? … At least we’ll all be together.”
13.00    Andy opens chest, looks at toys, puts them in garbage bag. Woody & Buzz separated.

14.00    Andy goes to attic, Molly interrupts. Attic closes. Mom takes bag for garbage.

This is the movie’s first sequence climax. It holds both the Inciting Incident (toys to garbage) and Woody’s Call to Adventure (he witnesses the I.I.). He must act. Note that the ensuing action is not about staying together (a Call he is refusing as he’s accepted Andy’s choice to take Woody with him to college), but rather about saving his friends from the garbage truck, so they can go to the attic.

Sequence B: Woody saving friends, caught in car to daycare. (14mins)

15.00    Think, think, think! Dog Buster is no help: fat & old. Garbage truck getting closer.
16.30    Toys escape under. box J.: “I know what to do!” All in car in box to Sunnyside.
17.30    Woody: Mistake! Car door closes, drives off. W.: “You’ll be begging to go home!”
19.00    Looking through handle hole: Butterfly room. Kids playing peacefully with toys.

20.30    Warmly welcomed by other toys. Lotso: Playing all day. No owners, no heartbreak.
22.30    Ken’s Dreamhouse: Barbie in love with Ken. Lotso gives the toys a tour.
26.00    W.: “We need to go home.!” Toys try to convince him, unsuccessfully.
27.30    Buzz: “This is it? After all we’ve been through?” Extends hand to Woody. Woody refuses.

Woody’s final decision to pursue his overall goal (and initial plan) for this movie isn’t formulated until here: to return to Andy and be there for him when he goes to college. His refusal to accept Buzz’ hand is the movie’s second sequence climax and a reminder of the Inner Journey: he must learn to let go of the past and keep his loyalty to his friends, i.e. Stay Together.

Ironically, after Andy’s decision to separate Woody from his friends (in Sequence A) has been overturned, now the choice is put to Woody. He can stay together with them if he wants, but he chooses not to.

You might want to see the closing of the car door as the end of Act One, as that’s where the toys are leaving their Ordinary World. This is not a deliberate action by Woody, though.

He doesn’t voluntarily enter Sunnyside and the toys being together at that point is still too much of an Ordinary World, offering our hero a sense of comfort. The real separation only happens when Woody deliberately chooses to leave. It feels consistent with the way the sequence is built dramatically. Woody refusing Buzz’ extended hand is a tremendously powerful setup for the heart-wrenching Crisis scene, in which he will accept Buzz’ hand.

ACT TWO

Sequence C: Woody escapes. Toys see the less sunny side. (12mins)

28.30    Woody escapes: Corridor – Bathroom – Roof – Glider – Tree. Bonnie finds him.
31.00    Rough playtime. Buzz sees the Butterfly Room – contrast of peace.
33.00    Meeting Bonnie’s toys: heaven for Andy. Being played with & being loved.
35.00    Aftermath. Toys in Caterpillar Room lick their wounds. Moving to Butterfly Room!

36.00    We’re trapped! Open door.  Buzz follows Twitch and Chunk into candy dispenser.
38.30    Buzz overhears gamblers: “Lucky if they last a week.” B. Caught by Big Baby. To library!

Woody’s escape from Sunnyside is a fun ‘threshold sequence’, in which he travels and overcomes barriers to leave the world of Sunnyside.

If you want, you can see Toy Story 3 as a metaphorical tale about the end of (a toy’s) life.

Throughout the film you may recognize symbols of life and death, echoing religious notions of heaven, hell and purgatory. When Bonnie plays with Woody and throws him gently in the air, the image goes in slow motion, showing an ecstatic Woody. This is clearly heaven to him: being played with and being loved. It is no coincidence that this is where Woody will return after he narrowly escapes a burning hell by taking Buzz’ hand, a symbolic repentance.

The sequence ends on a strong climax with Buzz being in jeopardy.

Sequence D: Mid Point Reversal: Truth behind Sunnyside. (12mins)

40.00    Woody tries to leave Bonnie’s place. Toys protest.
40.30    Buzz questioned, Lotso: “We got a keeper!” Buzz reset to Demo mode.
43.00    Mrs. PH’s ‘other eye’ sees A. & Mom. “Woody was telling the truth! We gotta go home!”
44.00    Lotso: “You’re Not Going Anywhere. Lock ‘em up!” Buzz ‘disables’ them.
47.30    W. hears Story of Daisy, Chuckles, Lotso and Big Baby.  W: “But… my friends are there!”

Like clockwork, after four of the eight sequences and halfway the movie, the tables are turned.

The Mid Sequence is only the second sequence of Act Two but it falls right in the middle of the story (40mins preceding it, 40mins following it), because Act One is significantly longer than Act Three.

Reversal #1: We have learned that Sunnyside is a very dark place to be, contrary to the first impression the toys had upon arrival.
Reversal #2: As a result of #1, Woody has changed his beliefs about staying with Andy vs. staying together with his friends. (Inner Journey)
Reversal #3: Consistent with the progress in his Inner Journey, Woody changes his Outer Journey approach and in stead of returning to Andy’s place, he will return to Sunnyside and help his friends.

ACT TWO-b

Sequence E: Woody back. Getting out tonight! (16mins)

52.00    Lotso: “Rise and shine, campers! Playdate with destiny.” More rough playtime.
53.30    Woody goes back in. Phone gives W. a 4-pronged strategy: “Get rid of that monkey.”

56.30    W. back with toys: “We’re busting out of here. Tonight!” Explains plan to toys.
58.00    Executing the plan: MPH gone – distraction manoeuvre. Woody & Slinky get out.
59.00    MPH escapes from the Box w/ Tortilla. / Woody immobilizes monkey.
60.30    Barbie: “Ken, would you model a few outfits for me?”
61.00    Monkey mummified – Woody finds the key. / Hamm and Rex catch Buzz under box.
63.00    Barbie: no more games, Ken. / Mr. Potato Head: coast clear, toys come out.
64.30    Barbie gets Ken to speak, then gets manual from library, in space suit.
65.30    MPH (tortilla version) vs. Bird / Toys ‘fix’ Buzz but he goes in Spanish Mode.

Act IIb shows a new direction, a clear plan is laid out and a ticking clock speeds up the action. This sequence has a great energy, quite positive for an Act IIb sequence. But this is done deliberately in order to create a stark contrast with the sequence that follows.

Sequence F: Escaping + Woody’s Ordeal & Transformation (15mins)

68.00    MPH (cucumber version) returns. All leave, outsmart Big Baby, who’s on guard.
69.30    Buzz courting Jessie with dance. She is happy to see Woody again.
70.30    Buzz opens the shute. On the other side: Lotso & Co. Phone: “They broke me”.
72.30   L.: “You need to avoid that truck. Join our family again.”
73.30    Woody: what about Daisy? She loved you. Big Baby: “Mama!”
74.00    BB pushes Lotso into garbage container. Alien stuck, Woody helps, is pulled in.
75.00    Too late: toys  in garbage truck. Buzz saves Jessie and is returned to normal.
77.00    Arrival at the dump. Aliens run towards claw but are caught by passing truck.
78.00    Conveyor belt. W.: “Stay together.” Woody and Buzz save Lotso.
79.00    We’re all in this together! Daylight! Not daylight but oven.
79.30    Lotso betrays them. “Where’s your kid now!” All going down.
81.00    All toys holding hands, ready for the end. Woody takes Buzz’ extended hand.
82.00    Light from above. The Claw! Aliens are in control.

This sequence creates instant cinema history. At the Mid Point, Woody chose to stay with his friends. In this Approaching the Inmost Cave stage, the hero’s new belief is tested.

The sequence opens light-heartedly, with Mr Potato Head having changed his disguise from a tortilla to a cucumber. Soon the tone changes, with Big Baby’s creepy reference to The Exorcist and before we know the toys are in the garbage truck with a scene that could be a reference to Star Wars‘ trash compactor scene. This could be mistaken for the story’s Crisis but not for long.

Woody and his friends have lived through all the stages of a toy’s life and they’ve arrived at the dump, where the hero will face the Ordeal, in the Inmost Cave. It will be the story’s lowest point, both literally and figuratively. Woody is on his way to hell (the oven) and before he deserves heaven (Bonnie’s room) he will need to redeem himself.

The moment when the toys are all holding hands, facing death, is hands-down the greatest cinematic moment I have seen in a long time. Woody passes the test glowingly as a transformational hero when he redeems himself for rejecting Buzz at the end of Act One.
The tightness of the screenplay is just astounding at this point. The religious reference is obvious when suddenly the light shines from above, but another layer is added in by the fact that The Claw had always represented the little aliens’ God.

ACT THREE

Sequence G: Road Back + Climax. Woody does the right thing (10mins)

83.00    MPH “Eternally grateful.” Lotso onto front of truck. Keep mouth shut!
84.00    W.: “Maybe attic not great idea.” Andy still packing. On garbage truck (with Sid).
85.00    Home, go back in box ‘Attic’. Toys say goodbye to Woody. “Take care of Andy.”
86.00    Andy back in box ‘College’. Mom emotional. “I wish I could always be with you.”
87.00    Woody writes a note. Andy: “Donate?” Mom: “Whatever you wanna do.”
88.00    Andy drives to Bonnie’s place, introduces toys to Bonnie. “Take good care.”
90.30    Bonnie finds Woody: “My cowboy”. Andy confused & conflicted. (Climax)
91.30    Andy’s decision: “You think you can take care of him for me?”

With a Crisis of the magnitude as we’ve seen here, the movie can’t go wrong anymore. Still, surprises keep piling up.

This final installment in the Toy Story saga is different from the others in that Woody interferes with the world of the humans – with lasting impact – more than once. It works perfectly for a number of reasons. I can think of two:

1. If you see the three movies as three acts in the overall arc, it is normal that the hero is more active in the final act. Having Woody change the world of the humans is a fabulous way of making this happen.

2. The toys’ license to interfere with the world of the humans is set up in the very early scene when they call Andy’s mobile phone.

3. Woody’s final action causes a moment of choice for Andy, similar to Woody’s own journey climax.

92.30    Andy: Thanks guys. So long, partner.

93.00    The End.

To conclude, I would like to point out that it is so much easier to analyze a great story – and this is not even a proper analysis, just a rough outline – than it is to write one. The first you can do in a few hours; the last takes a few years. That said, I hope that this analysis helps some people to see the difference between following good writing principles and lazily copying a formula.

Toy Story 3 ticks more boxes than any movie I have seen in recent times, yet it does it in a refreshing way. It also shows that even if you know all the principles, it will still take you years to come up with a story that is worth telling on the big screen.

If you are willing to put in the hard work and understand how an audience’s perception of story works, you can learn how to make your stories work. Just don’t expect to find any shortcuts, anywhere.

Now it’s time to add your comments below!

- Karel Segers

Karel Segers is a producer and script consultant who started in movies as a rights buyer for Europe’s largest pay TV group Canal+. Back then it was handy to speak 5 languages. Less so today in Australia.

Karel teaches, consults and lectures on screenwriting and the principles of storytelling to his 5-year old son Baxter and anyone who listens.

He is also the boss of this blog.

But where are the movies?

If you ask me: largely forgotten.
So I felt compelled to look back at a Big Winner of 9 years ago.

When Gladiator went on TV, I was the ‘head of movies’ for the company that scored the UK Television premiere of this movie. It was playing as Pay Per View, NVOD (Near Video On Demand), which means we had the movie starting on one of our 22 channels every fifteen minutes. It would play on the screens in our reception area for months. At the time, I wondered whether I would ever be able to enjoy it again.

I watched it finally, 10 years later. And boy, did I enjoy it. What a movie.  So, you’re not getting Sherlock Holmes (admit it, you’d forgotten that one too, already) but with Robin Hood hitting the theaters, you’re getting Ridley Scott’s greatest to date – well, that’s not counting you sci-fi fans.

– spoilers ahead –

M.: Maximus
C.: Commodus
L.: Lucilla
P.: Proximo

ACT ONE

Sequence A: Maximus, Rome’s Greatest General. (12mins)

Seq. B: Commodus, always scheming. He must not rule. (16mins)

Seq. C: The Emperor murdered. Maximus to be executed. (17mins)

ACT TWO

Sequence D: A Slave and a Gladiator (15mins)

Sequence E: Preparing for Rome and for freedom. (14mins)

Sequence F: Surviving the Colosseum, Facing the Emperor (24mins)

Sequence G: Preparations for a comeback (27mins)

Sequence H: Commodus interferes. Executions & Threats. (20mins)

ACT THREE

Sequence I: Resurrection and Death (10mins)

Download the script:
[download id="26"]

With the strongest 3rd weekend ever, it shows not only Fox’s marketing works but word of mouth, too, is excellent.

Audiences truly love the movie.

To my taste – I was not raised on popcorn fare – James Cameron is the only true-bred Hollywood writer-director. His cinema is high concept, superbly entertaining and truly spectacular.

He understands the craft of mainstream cinematic storytelling like no other and like George Lucas back in the 1970′s, he seems to have been listening to Campbell:

And the only myth that is going to be worth thinking about

in the immediate future is one that is talking about the planet,

not the city, not these people, but the planet, and everybody on it.

-Joseph Campbell (1904-1987)

This part of the ‘POWER OF MYTH’ interview with Bill Moyers is effectively anticipating not just stories with a broad environmentalist message but a very specific type of stories like AVATAR and WALL-E.

It seems that the film’s Box Office confirms the audience’s need to see this type of mythology.  The overwhelming and continuing response to the film cannot be just reduced to its technological innovations.

The film is ultimately telling the myth we need to see(*).

Apart from the Gaia principle, AVATAR also expresses an other mythology that has been prominent in science fiction movies of the past decades: Man vs. Machine. Note the parallel between Jake’s Avatar and the Colonel’s exo-skeleton, the helis vs. the banshees etc.

It seems to me that the Hero’s Inner and Outer journey in AVATAR are split almost perfectly in parallel with Jake’s two alter egos: his human identity and his Avatar essence.

Although I’ve seen the film three times now (one viewing ruined by jet lag) I haven’t studied the structure thoroughly yet, as I’ve been pretty much holidaying since its release last month.

Please see the breakdown and notes below as a working structure; I’m keen to see your comments at the bottom of this post.

:: what follows is one big spoiler ::

For a full synopsis in narrative form, check the IMDb. I used this to fill in blanks in my own notes here and there. As usual with these overviews, there really is not much point trying to make sense of the breakdown without having seen the film.

ACT ONE

Sequence A: Pandora Ordinary World & Avatar Call to Adventure (19mins)

00.00    Fox Leader

00.30    Jake VO: Dreams of flying + waking up. “We’re there.”

02.00    Taking over brother’s contract; fresh start in a new world.

03.00    Landing on Pandora // intercut with brother’s cremation.

05.00    Jake in wheelchair: money can fix him. Vehicle with arrows in tyres.

06.30    Colonel: “Not in Kansas anymore.” Safety brief puts Jake’s mind at ease.

07.30    Norm shows Jake the Avatar.

09.00   Norm: “It looks like YOU. This is YOUR Avatar.”    Videolog: for science.

10.00    Grace ‘wrote the book’, she and Norm speak Na’vi.

11.00    Grace: “I need your brother.” She goes to complain to Parker.

12.00    Parker to Grace: Get me some results.

14.00    Jake lacks training. Goes in, to link with his Avatar. Grace going in, too.

16.00    Jake wakes up in Avatar. “Welcome to your new body, Jake!”

(=ENTERS SPECIAL WORLD OF AVATAR)

16.30    Jake walks, doesn’t listen, runs out, has fun. (=INNER JOURNEY CALL)

18.30    Meets Grace’s avatar (“Don’t play with that!”), then goes to sleep.

(=MEETING THE MENTOR)

Sequence B: Refusing Inner Call & Committing to Outer Journey (12mins)

19.00 Wakes up as Jake – “Welcome back”. (=REFUSAL OF THE CALL)

20.00 Introduced to Trudy, she flies the science sorties.

21.00 Col.: Provide intel, get real legs. “Report to me.” Jake: “Hell yes!”

(=CROSSING OUTER JOURNEY THRESHOLD)

23.30 Grace going in, with heli. Jack loves it. Ship lands.

(=SPECIAL WORLD OF PANDORA)

25.30 Jake explores. Lemurs. Helicoradian flowers. (=TESTS)

27.30 Titanotheres. Jake stands his ground. (=TEST)

29.30 Thanator. Grace: “Run, definitely run!” Jumps off waterfall.

(=SEPARATION, CROSSING THE FIRST THRESHOLD?)

ACT TWO (a)

Sequence C: Meeting Pandora Mentor & Omaticaya (17mins)

31.00 Avatar prepares spear, torch. // Neytiri watches, almost shoots.

32.30 Grace & Trudy looking for Avatar. “He won’t make it till morning.”

33.30 Keeps Viperwolfs at bay, but loses torch. Arrows save him.

35.30 Neytiri is saviour: “Strong heart and no fear; but stupid.”

38.00 She is mad at him, because killing animals is sad. “You’re like a baby.”

41.00 Seeds of Sacred tree land on Avatar; Neytiri stays with him.

41.30 They run. Tsu’Tey etc. appears on horses. They take him to the tribe.

44.00 Parents; mother Moat: “Teach him our ways. See if his insanity can be cured.”

47.00 Sleeping in the leaves of the Hometree.

Sequence D: Two conflicting journeys and a deadline (12mins)

48.30 Jake wakes up. -Is the Avatar safe?

49.00 Parker: Find me a carrot that will get them to move. Three months.

51.00 Jake identifies the Omaticaya from photos; Eywa is their God.

52.00 Avatar with Neytiri, on Direhorse. He connects and rides it.

54.00 Jake reports back.

54.30 To the Hallelujah Mountains to set up the science camp.

57.30 Neytiri and her flying Mountain Banshee. Choose your own when ready.

Sequence E: Avatar gets more deeply infiltrated, initiated (17mins)

60.00 Videolog-montage. Neytiri: ‘moron’. Grace: see forest through her eyes.

64.00 Videolog: Deep connection, network of energy, borrowed.

64.30 Jake shoots deer, says prayer. Neytiri: You’re ready. To banshees.

67.30 Under waterfall. Choose, you have one chance. It will try to kill you.

70.00 Fight. Make the bond! Jake falls, then ‘bonds’ & flies.

72.00 Neytiri follows. They fly together.

74.30 Debrief with Grace: The tree of souls. Most sacred place. Lucky swine!

75.30 Attacked by the giant Banshee, the Toruk.

76.30 Neytiri explains: great great grandfather rode the Toruk to unite tribes.

MID SEQUENCE

Sequence F: Jake/Avator reborn – one of the Omaticaya (7mins)

77.30 Everything is backwards now. Out there is true world. In here is the dream.

78.30 Col.doubts resolve. “Terminate mission! Legs back. Done deal. Get it done.”

80.30 “Every person is born twice.” Avatar to earn place among the people – forever.

81.30 Initiation ceremony.

83.00 Neytiri & Jake kiss. With you, Jake. Mated for life.

84.00 Videolog. Jake: “What the hell are you doing, Jake?”

ACT TWO (b)

Sequence G: First betrayal, one hour to negotiate retreat  (12mins)

84.30 Dozers roll in, Neytiri tries to wake him up//Jake eating //Avatar in danger.

86.00 Jack goes in. // Avatar wakes up; jumps on vehicle & kills video cameras.

87.30 Robo-suits go in. Fight. // Colonel ID’s Jake on photo. “Get me a pilot.”

88.00 Na’vi assemble & prepare for attack.

89.00 Neytiri: mated with him. Tsu’tey angry. “He’s not your brother!”

89.30 Avatar: “I am Omaticaya. One of you.”

90.00 Col. goes in to break the link. // Avatar falls. Tsu’tey doesn’t trust him anymore.

90.30 Col. angry. “You let me down.” Grace explains forest biology & pleads.

93.00 Jake’s videolog: “a waste of time. They’ll never leave hometree.”

94.00 Col. & Parker: Minimal casualties. Let’s pull the trigger.

94.30 Trudy: Parker is running the gunships. Jake: Let me try. Parker: One hour.

Sequence H: Diplomacy has failed. All-out war. Ordeal & Death (12mins)

96.00 Avatar pleads with Omaticaya. Neytiri: You’ll never be one. (=APPROACH)

97.30 They’re coming. Military attack on a tree. Na’vi killed.

99.00 Col.: One big tree. Diplomacy has failed. Let’s get this done. Fire!

101.3 Moat frees Jake & Grace: Help us! // Trudy defects. (=REWARD)

103.0 The tree comes down. (=ORDEAL)

105.0 Col.: Good work people!

105.3 Neytiri bemoans dying father. (=ORDEAL) To Avatar: “Never come back!”

106.3 Parker: pull the plug. Jake and Grace’s avatars fall. Na’vi flee.

FADE TO BLACK

ACT THREE

Sequence I: Na’vi armies prepare for battle (12mins)

108.0 Trudy frees Jake, Grace & Norm (=REWARD); they run to the ships.

109.3 Col. notified, runs after them, shoots. They fly off. (=THE ROAD BACK)

111.0 Grace is hurt. Hauling up the lab, fly to the Tree of Souls.

112.0 Jake: The people can help you. Grace: Why would they help us?

113.0 Omaticaya assemble at the Tree of Souls.

114.0 Jake VO: “Take it to a whole new level,” He tames Toruk and flies it.

115.0 Omaticaya praying at the Tree of Souls. Avatar arrives on Toruk.

117.3 Avatar calls on Tsu’Tey: I will fly with you. Praying for Grace.

121.0 Grace dies; with Eywa now. Avatar back to Omaticaya. (=ORDEAL)

122.0 Avatar rallying Omaticaya: Send a message! OUR land! (=RESURRECTION)

124.0 Recruiting more tribes.

Sequence J:  Military prepare and attack (17mins)

125.0 The Colonel rallying his troops: “Fight terror with terror!”

126.3 Jake is briefed by friends on the plans: 0600 tomorrow.

128.0 Avatar prays to Eywa, who protects the balance of life. (=ORDEAL)

129.3 Next day: Helis attack, carrying explosives.

131.0 Na’vi attack: sky and ground. Casualties on both sides.

134.3 Engage all hostiles! Scorpions: pursue and destroy!

136.0 Trudy intervenes: “You’re not the only one with a gun.”

137.0 On the ground: major casualties. Trudy sacrifices herself and ship.

138.3 Avatar can’t reach Tsu-tey, Norm, Trudy.

138.0 Preparing bomb for dropping.

139.3 Avatar to Neytiri: do NOT attack. An order.

140.0 Hold position… Animals come in to the rescue. Eywa’s heard you. (=REWARD)

Sequence K: Final Confrontation (15mins)

142.0 30 seconds to payload drop… Avatar intervenes.

143.0 Bombship falls & explodes; battle moves from the sky to the ground.

145.0 Col. moves towards camp, Neytiri attacks, trapped under killed animal.

146.3 Avatar appears, duels with Colonel. (=RESURRECTION)

148.0 “Hi Sully… How does it feel to betray your own race? Time to wake up.”

149.0 Jake has trouble breathing. Neytiri kills the Col. with bow & arrows.

151.0 Neytiri finds Jake, gives him oxygen. “I see you.”

Sequence L: Aftermath & New Life as a Na’vi

152.0 “The aliens returned to their dying world.”

152.3 Last video log. I don’t want to be late for my own party. Signing off.

154.0 Avatar: Na’vi Ceremony. Reborn as Avatar.

154.3 THE END

______________________________

ACT ONE

The end of Act One is not entirely obvious to me because unlike the Mid Point and Act Two, I don’t believe Cameron used a FADE TO BLACK – or else I’ve missed it.

Here’s my reasoning for putting the first act break where I did in the breakdown.

Jake’s longing is to get new legs. When the Col. says “I look after my own” and he promises Jake new legs in return for intel, this is a CALL TO ADVENTURE for Jake. There is no REFUSAL and he immediately accepts/CROSSES THE THRESHOLD by promising the Colonel he will report back to him (“Hell yes!”).

More important in this story from a structural perspective will be Jake’s INNER JOURNEY of realisation that he belongs in the world of the Na’vi, where he has REAL legs already. The INNER CALL TO ADVENTURE is the sensation of how much he loves his new body and the fact that he can walk and run. However, he REFUSES THE CALL by going back to the base and returning to the military program.

The SEPARATION from Jake’s ORDINARY WORLD happens in a number of stages. You can say that the arrival on Pandora is a first separation, from planet Earth. The first science sortie as an Avatar is the second and the physical separation from his team when he escapes the wild animal is the final one. Symbolic action for this Separation is the jump off the waterfull, a typical ‘Point of No Return’.

Early in the first sequence, we see Jake’s longing and his flaw: he wants his legs back. But he can’t do anything about it as he doesn’t make enough money. His wheelchair is also perceived as his flaw, as becomes clear when one of the military makes the comment “That is just … wrong.” He doesn’t belong in this military world.

Unlike the usual Hero’s Journey, in which we leave the ORDINARY WORLD at the end of Act One, the CALL TO ADVENTURE introduces Jake to a SPECIAL WORLD – that of his Avatar. This structure is similar to movies such as BACK TO THE FUTURE.

Jake meets with Grace, his ORDINARY WORLD MENTOR. However it is not until he meets her in the SPECIAL WORLD that she assumes her role of giving him ‘advice’ (“Don’t play with that!”) and guide him. Later, he will meet his SPECIAL WORLD MENTOR in the shape of Neytiri.

ACT TWO

In the SPECIAL WORLD of Pandora’s jungle, Jake is immediately confronted with a number of tests. The first is the Titanotheres, the second a Thanator. In both cases, he follows the advice from Grace. Once separated, he will need to develop new skills to withstand the Viperwolfs and here he needs the help from his new SPECIAL WORLD MENTOR, Neytiri.

Act IIa is essentially a succession of tests in a positive, optimistic atmosphere, leading to the Mid Sequence that reverses it all. By completing the ceremony and becoming one of the Omaticaya and mating with Neytiri, Jake’s Avatar has now committed to the Na’vi and betrayed the humans.

Immediately after the Mid Sequence, the Avatar proves his allegiance to the Na’vi by attempting to stop the bulldozers on their way to Hometree. Back at the base,  Jake is given a last chance and a deadline (one hour) to negotiate and make the Omaticaya retreat.

But the negotiations fail and the military attack and bring down Hometree, at the cost of many casualties.

This lowest point in the story is the ORDEAL (Crisis) for both Jake and his Avatar. They are arrested; the Avatar by the Omaticaya and Jake by the military. Next they are freed, each by their respective ally: Moat and Judy. This release (REWARD) completes the ORDEAL stage and allows the Hero to set out on the ROAD BACK.

ACT THREE

The last act is not a straightforward battle-confrontation-resolution-aftermath, because the story is explicitly told on two levels.

While the armies prepare for the final confrontation, we see Jake’s Avatar praying to Eywa in what seems a redemptive, spiritual ORDEAL that seals his transformation in the INNER JOURNEY. The REWARD for this follows when later Neytiri says “Eywa has heard you”.

In the OUTER JOURNEY, the story climaxes in the duel with the Colonel and is resolved with the death of the Colonel and the survival of Jake.

The INNER JOURNEY climax lies in the movie’s last sequence, when we see Jake’s last video log about his choice to leave the base forever.

The very last shot before the credits seals this choice, when the Avatar opens his eyes and we know that Jake will continue his life as a Na’vi.

Your comments, please!

______________________________

Could AVATAR have been a more satisfying story in any way? Probably (thanks MM).

Would it have been equally successful? Who knows…

Who cares.

OVERVIEW

ACT I, 3 Sequences (31mins)

ACT IIa, 3 Sequences (46mins)

MID SEQUENCE (7mins)

ACT IIb, 2 Sequences (24mins)

ACT III 3 Sequences (46mins)

Compare this structure with James Cameron’s scriptment of AVATAR.

Total: 12 Sequences (154mins)

(*)If you can think of any other successful films about the same theme, tell us in the comments.

Pure craftmanship. No wonder the ‘zomcom’ made $30m worldwide

This is comedy only the Brits can do well. Simon ‘Shaun’ Pegg wrote it together with director Edgar Wright, both seasoned comedians with perfect timing.

ACT ONE

Sequence A: The Need to Live a Little (13mins)

00.00 Studio leaders (& Dan Mudford’s cool soundtrack)
01.00 Liz: I want to live a little! Shaun: Okay. Tomorrow.
03.30 Titles
04.00 Shaun, living as a zombie at home with Ed, gaming.
05.00 Peter: Ed has to leave. Not students anymore.
06.00 Shaun can’t tell Ed. Ed: Ain’t doing nothing for Pete.
07.30 Liz’s VM message: book table for 8, not 7.
08.30 Nelson’s corner shop. / Person faints at bus stop.
09.00 Work: Team mocks & ignores Shaun. / Selling.
10.30 Stepdad Philip: See you tomorrow. With flowers!
11.30 Shaun ignores Liz’s call to look professional. 8pm.
12.00 Buying flowers for mum. Sees man eating pigeon.
(Inciting Incident of the Zombie story)

Sequence B: Shaun’s World is Falling Apart (13mins)

13.00 Bus: people coughing. Yvonne: house, grown up.
13.30 Booking restaurant – forgot. No tables left.
14.30 Liz: What’s the plan? Winchester? Liz hangs up.
(Inciting Incident of Inner Journey /Love Story)

15.30 Liz doesn’t want to see you.
16.00 Arguing w/ Liz. All promises. David: 9 lives are up.
17.30 Flowers “to wonderful mum”. Liz: gotta do something.
18.30 To Winchester with Ed: keep drinking! Very drunk.
20.00 All “rich, interesting characters” in Winchester.
22.00 Ext. (D.I.) Couple: guy’s head falls off. “White Lines.”
22.30 Pete: Crackhead bit me. Sort your life out, mate!
(PP1 Inner Journey / Love Story)

ACT TWO

Sequence C: Remove head or destroy brain. (13mins)

25.30 Note to self: Go round mums – Get Liz Back – Sort Life out!
26.30 Corner shop: blood (D.I.). Doesn’t notice, leaves.
27.00 Street full of zombies & dead.
27.30 TV Reports. Ed: girl in the garden.
29.00 Girl: She’s so drunk! She’s impaled – but she comes back.
(PP1 Outer Journey / Zombie Story)

31.00 Calling. Have a sit down. Zombie inside.
33.00 TV Anchor advises: Removing head or destroying brain.
33.30 Outside, throwing stuff at zombies’ heads.
34.30 Knock one down. TV: symptoms ‘bitten’.
35.30 Pete out. Mum calls. Not bitten but Philip has been.
37.00 Plan: Go to Mum’s, kill Phil, Grab Liz. Go to the Winchester.

Sequence D: Saving Mum and Philip. (9mins)

38.30 Zombies outside. Shaun goes to Wee; Pete in shower.
40.30 Outside. Rush to car, avoid zombies. Drive off.
42.00 At Mum’s, Ed eyes Phil’s Jaguar. Shaun goes in. Ed stays with car.
43.00 I’ll deal with Philip. He’s watching TV, he is okay. Or not?
44.30 Shaun questions mum about Philip. “How much do you love him?”
46.00 Ed totalled car. Zombies attack, Philip bitten.

MID Sequence: Saving Liz & Co, losing Philip. (8mins)

47.00 Leaving Mum’s, Ed drives Jag. Shaun runs.
48.30 Zombies outside Liz’s. Shaun climbs up.
49.00 Take you somewhere safe. About Survival. To the Winchester!
51.00 Ed speeds off, dodging zombies. Shaun introduces: Liz/Mum.
52.30 Philip’s dying redemption: “Always loved you, Shaun.”
54.00 Philip zombie. Escaping from car. Surrounded. Walk.

Sequence E: Approaching the inmost cave (10mins)

55.00 All walking. David: where going? Other group with Yvonne.
57.00 Mum: Jill & Derrick live here. Derrick attacks & impaled.
59.00 Zombies surrounding Winchester.
60.00 Learning zombie behaviour.
61.00 Moving forward. Works. Door shut. Stay in character!
62.30 Ed takes phone call. Shaun angry. Distracts zombies.
64.00 They go in via broken window.

Sequence F: Inside the Cave / the Winchester (10mins)

64.30 Pub empty. Shaun has been gone for 20mins.
66.30 Having a drink. Shaun returns.
67.30 David doesn’t trust Shaun. Liz: plan?
69.00 Shaun switches electricity on. Zombies outside.
70.00 Shaun admits: zombies followed. Ed makes noise; surrounded.

71.00 Bartender zombie appears; “Don’t Stop Me Now”. Bartender out.
73.30 Gun is loaded. 29 shells.

Sequence G: The Ordeal (16mins)

74.00 Zombies come in. Liz looks after Barbara. She’s bitten.
77.00 Shaun & Mum. David wants to shoot her: She’s a zombie. Shaun: No!
78.00 Mexican standoff with bottles.
78.30 Shaun to David: You’re in love with Liz. David: you hero hypocrite!
80.00 Liz takes control: don’t fall apart. Mother is zombie, Shaun kills her.
81.00 David says sorry, Zombies come in, take David.

83.00 Full-blown zombie attack.
83.30 Ed is bitten by Pete. Shaun shoots him. Zombies close in.
85.30 Trapped in basement. Shaun redeems himself. Liz comforts him.
87.30 Ed: I want to be shot. Have a fag now.
89.30 Zombies come through – leaving the cave via lift.

ACT THREE

Sequence H: Climax (2mins)

90.00 Going up, outside. Explosion. Army arrives.
91.00 Yvonne.

Sequence I: Aftermath (2mins)

91.30 6 months on. TV report: Good use for zombies.
93.00 Shaun & Liz watch news report.
93.30 Shaun into garden shed. Gaming with Ed.

Note: D.I. = Dramatic Irony. This is information the audience sees but the character doesn’t.

STORY STRUCTURE

For a broader look at the film, check out fellow blogger Merrel Davis’ piece “How do you Pegg it when you Wright?”

As usual, I will focus on the Hero and the key turning points.

The Hero

Shaun’s strengths: he is funny and he loves Liz.
Shaun’s flaw’s: he is lazy, lacks responsibility and he loves the Winchester more than he loves his girlfriend.

The Journey

Outer Journey: to get his girlfriend back.
Inner Journey: to grow up.

Note how – like in many successful movies – the hero needs to complete the Inner Journey before he can achieve his goal of the Outer Journey.

Inciting Incident

The first zombie action Shaun witnesses, is the man in the little park eating the pigeon. Before that, we saw other ‘weird’ events but none of them beyond logic.

Call to Adventure

When Liz hangs up the phone, Shaun knows he needs to act. But rather than take the appropriate action (sort his life out), he ‘refuses the call’ and tries to make her change her mind. Meanwhile, he also keeps refusing the call of the zombies.

Mentors

The story has two mentors, who travel opposite journeys.

Pete steps in at the right time to tell Shaun he needs to get his act together (22:30). Right after that, Shaun rights the note to himself, which will propel him into action the next morning. This mentor will become a shapeshifter and attack Ed at the end of the story (83:30).

Despite his genuine advice to Shaun to bring his mum flowers (10:30), Philip starts as an antagonist. He turns out a shapeshifter when at the mid point he opens his heart and redeems himself (52:30). He was a mentor all along.

could be seen as mentors. Philip

Plot Point One / Crossing the First Threshold

Act One has a clear ending as it is the end of a day and we’re reminded of Shaun’s objectives the next morning: Go round mums – Get Liz Back – Sort Life out!. The Zombies will be the obstacle to achieving these objectives.

Mid Point

With the death of Philip, the first casualty within Shaun’s circle, things get a lot more serious. It is also a first symbolical step in his growing up: the loss of the father figure.

Plot Point Two / Ordeal and Reward

In order to grow up, Shaun will also have to let go of his mother. The death of David is important because he was interested in Liz. In a sense both characters could be seen as reasons why Shaun could not fully commit to Liz.

What follows feels like the final showdown with the zombies – and in a sense it is, as later the army does the job for our heroes – but within Shaun’s journey(s), we’re still in Act Two.

True to the genre, we have a long Ordeal scene, ending in the hero’s redemption. Only then does he find the controls for the lift (Reward) that will bring them outside safely.

Crossing the Threshold

Once outside, almost immediately we have an extremely brief climax when the army arrives and overpowers the zombies.

Aftermath / Return with the Elixir

We have a glimpse of Shaun’s new life with Liz – and his secret in the shed.

(David Mamet, 1986)

David Mamet has never equaled the tremendous power of his eighties screenplays. The Postman Always Rings Twice, The Verdict, The Untouchables and even his own directorial debut House of Games, starring his then wife Lindsay Crouse.

The Untouchables has always been my favorite. De Palma turned the script into the most cinematic of Mamet’s writing.

SPOILER WARNINGS (ENTIRE ARTICLE)

Based on the 1959 TV series, this crime drama takes place during the Prohibition era. It follows the autobiographical accounts of Eliot Ness, played by Kevin Costner and fellow cop Jim Malone’s (Sean Connery) as they bring down Al Capone, played by the sly Robert DeNiro.

The opening scene features the quote “You can get further with a kind word and a gun than just a kind word.” These were Mamet’s own words, about the tough neighborhood he grew up in.

ACT ONE

SEQUENCE A: The Law of the Land (15mins)

00.00 Titles
02.30 Capone at the barber’s: 1930, Chicago is city at war.
03.00 Guns are necessary but violence is not good business.
05.00 Bomb kills girl at pub that doesn’t buy from Capone. (=Inc.Inc.)

06.30 Ness at home before work. Wife: You’ll make a good 1st impression.
08.00 Ness: Not just a showpiece program. The law of the land.
09.00 Briefing to the flying squad. Stop drinking! Canadian shipment: raid.
10.30 Preparing raid, waiting. Being married. Journo mistaken for gangster.
13.00 Raid fails. Pic with umbrella. (Capone has insider w/ Police =Call to Adventure)

SEQUENCE B: Hiring the Mentor and Allies (20mins)

15.30 Meeting Malone. First rule of law enforcement: go home alive.
19.00 Capone reads the news, satisfied, schadenfreude.
20.30 Dead girl’s mother comes to see him: You will put a stop to them.
22.30 Goes to visit Malone. He refuses the call. Beat cop, how can I help?
24.30 Ness goes home, listen to radio with wife.
25.30 Wallace: no Capone tax return since ’26. Malone comes in
26.30 Malone comes in. Let’s go; these walls have ears.
27.00 Malone: What are you prepared to do? All the way. The Chicago way.
28.30 Malone: Who can you trust. Afaid of rotten apple? Get it off the tree.
29.30 Shooting gallery: best shot? George Stone. Giuseppe Petri.
32.00 Ready to go to work? Four Untouchables leave Treas. Dept., armed.

33.00 Post Office raid. ‘To cross Capone’. Walk through this door. (=PP1/Crossing the Threshold)
34.30 Debrief with cigars. Saint of the Lost Causes. Photo.

ACT TWO

SEQUENCE C: Defying the enemy (10mins)

35.30 Capone: Baseball speech. Teamwork vs. going alone. Kills gangster.
38.00 Ness home.
39.30 Wallace: All Capone business is legitimate. He has no income.
40.00 John O’Shea. You guys are ‘untouchable’. Is that the thing?
42.00 Nitti: Nice to have a family. Take care nothing happens to them.
42.30 Eliot panics, runs inside.
43.00 Evacuation. / International shipment coming in.
44.30 Wallace: get him on tax evasion. How to link him to the money?

SEQUENCE D: Canadian Border (14mins)

45.30 Briefing at the Canadian border. Take the battle to them.

47.00 Malone’s: Wait and watch. -Are you my tutor? -Yes Sir. That I am.
49.00 Action on the bridge. Watching. Malone: Shoot to kill. Stone: Yes.
50.30 On horses. Early shot. Going in.
53.00 Malone captures gangster with paperwork. Wallace shows courage.
54.00 Ness kills gangster in self-defense. Malone: You rather it was you?
56.00 Questioning prisoner. Wallace has books. Prisoner doesn’t talk.

58.00 Malone shoots body. Mountie objects. Ness: Not from Chicago. (=Mid Point)

SEQUENCE E: Reversal – Touchables (8mins)

59.00 Capone: I want him dead.
59.30 At home. -Are you careful? -As mice. “The man who got Al Capone.”
60.30 Subpoena. Gangster in elevator w/ Wallace. D.I.: Nitti operates lift.
62.00 Ness & Malone: Nice to be married. -If you can stand the pain. Shots.
62.30 Elevator covered in blood: “Touchables.”
65.00 Chief Dorsett: Better not to get involved.

66.00 Ness to Capone’s hotel: Confrontation on the stairs.

SEQUENCE F: Sacrifices (15mins)

67.00 Regrouping. DA drops case without witness. Malone: stall the guy.
70.30 Bookkeeper will be going out of town.
71.00 Malone: need bookkeeper. Chief Dorsett: Dead man talking. Fight.
73.30 Ness stalls the DA.
74.00 Malone calls Stone: my place rightaway. Know where Payne is.
74.30 Capone: Somebody messes with me? I’m gonna mess with him.
75.30 D.I.: Nitti at Malone’s. Malone chases other man. Shot by Nitti.
79.00 Malone dying // Capone at Opera.

80.00 Ness at Malone’s. Train tables. -What are you prepared to do? (PP2/Ordeal)

ACT THREE

SEQUENCE G: The Train Station Steps (10mins)

82.30 Ness & Stone. Train leaving at 12.05h. We’ll be there.
83.00 11.55h Waiting. Woman with pram.
87.30 Ness helps woman. Gangsters appear.
88.30 Shot. Pram goes down. Shootout.

90.30 Mexican standoff. Stone takes out Payne’s guard.

SEQUENCE H: Is that Justice? (15mins)

92.00 Court: Payne admits disbursements to Capone. Nitti has gun.
95.00 Taking Nitti outside. Shoots at cop and runs.

97.00 Chase onto roof. Nitti provokes, Ness pushes. Nitti falls.
102.3 Stone gives Ness list of bribed jury members.
103.0 Judge looks at list. No evidence. Ness talks to judge in private. (=Climax/Resurrection)
104.3 Judge swaps juries. Capone objects. Judge overrules.

105.0 Capone’s lawyer: guilty. Never stop fighting till the fight is done.

Aftermath (4mins)

107.3 Newspaper clippings: “So much violence”.
109.3 Stone gives Ness Malone’s key. -He’d have wanted a cop to have it.
110.3 Journo: Going to repeal prohibition? Ness: Then I’ll have a drink.
111.3 The End.

When I find the time, I will elaborate on the Key Turning Points.

Meanwhile, please give me your feedback in the comments as I’m in two minds about the Inciting Incident / Call to Adventure. If the bomb explosion is the Inciting Incident, technically the mother of the child would be the Herald, calling Ness to his journey. On the other hand, it’s really when Ness realises the police is not to be trusted that he reverts to his Mentor for advice, which will lead him to the journey.

I know all of this is academic and the first act works a treat because it’s clear the odds are stacking up against Ness in a big way; his world is not as rosy and controllable as he thought it were.

The device of the photographs to emphasise important moments lures me into thinking these are really the key turning points. In this case, the Inciting Incident and the Call to Adventure are one and the same: the moment Ness realises he’s looking like a fool with that umbrella and he needs to do something about it.

Your feedback, please!

(with thanks to Solmaaz Yazdiha)

See also:

• The Untouchables – The Mid Point(s)
• The Untouchables – Hiring the Mentor
  

It took me a while to appreciate this gem by Akiva Goldsman and directed by Ron Howard. Not sure why.

The film won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, so I had a good reason for looking into it.

Screenwriter Goldsman had a personal attachment to the material. He created a method for training mental health workers and his parents had established a home for emotionally disturbed children.

“For me the source was both the biography and John Nash. I wanted to feel what I thought was the truth of those two objects.” -Akiva Goldsman

I watched the film to study its Point of View. I learned a lot more. To me this film is about a journey from hubris to humility. In Akiva Goldsman’s story, the character of John Nash is a man obsessed by the genius of the mind, who learns to appreciate the genius of the heart.

ACT ONE

SEQUENCE A: Hubris and Truly Unique Ideas. (15mins)

00.00    TITLES
01.30    Princeton ’47. Mathematicians! Who’s the next Einstein?
02.30    John Nash, the mysterious West-Virginian mathematician.
05.00    Surprise – a roommate: drunk Charles Herman.
07.00    Drinking with Charles: I want to find truly original idea.
08.30    Extract algorythm from pigeons. Plays ‘Go’ with Martin.
09.30     Angry at loss: Hubris! Cynically: “The great John Nash”
11.00    Onto something: what if nobody loses? Charles: eat!
12.30    Billiards, approaches girl too directly. Gets slap in the face.
14.30    Mid-year review: no placement. Witnesses pen ceremony.

The sequence opens with Nash’s objective to find a truly original idea. His attitude to his fellow students may seem shy, but it’s clearly arrogant (his flaw). He considers himself superior to the others, those ‘hacks’. The sequence ends on the Inciting Incident: He’s been told he desperately needs to show results or he’s out.

SEQ. B: Governing Dynamics – Opportunity calls (11mins)

16.30    Desperate for new idea. Charles throws desk out.
18.30    Blonde in bar – Governing dynamics: Adam Smith was wrong!
21.00    In room, working on new theory.
21.30    Professor acknowledges breakthrough: any placement OK.
23.00    Celebration, with Sol & Bender. Martin toasts, too.
24.00    ’53 Pentagon: summoned to decode Russion transmissions.
26.00    Decodes, poses too many questions, asked to leave.

As a result of his academic breakthrough, Nash is asked to help the Pentagon with their code decyphering. It tickles his interest and he wants to know more.

SEQ. C: Hubris Challenged: the Call of Romance (9mins)

27.00    Sol & Bender. Cover of fortune. Supposed to be just ME!
29.00    Teaching – Alicia stands out: her solution to heat & noise.
31.00    Night. Parcher. “What can I do for the Dept. of Defense?”
32.30    Crossing Threshold, into codebreaker labs in warehouses.
35.00    They implant ‘radium diode’ in his arm. Am I now a spy?

By crossing the threshold, John is now a major player in the Government’s attempts to locate and stop the Russian transport of a nuclear bomb.  His pride and arrogance hasn’t faltered as is clear from his behaviour among Sol & Bender. Now John’s mission is clear, we’re ready to go into Act II.

ACT TWO

SEQ. C: A World of Mystery and Imagination (11mins)

36.00    Alicia in his office to ask him out for dinner.
39.00    Party: sees suspicious men. Goes outside with Alicia.
41.00    ‘A pair of odd ducks’. Shows her an umbrella shape in stars.
42.30    Codes everywhere, compiles data & prepares envelope.
44.00    Delivers envelope with secret data to mail box.
45.00    Picnic w/ Alicia, is being direct. They kiss.

The love subplot is set up, advanced and John is successful in keeping the two worlds separate.

SEQ. D: Two conflicting journeys (17mins)

47.00    Charles introduces Marcee. Marry Alicia… How to know?
49.30    Late for Alicia’s birthday dinner. He proposes to her.
52.00    Wedding – Parcher is there, too.
53.00    Picked up by Parcher – Chase and gun fight.
55.00    Home. Doesn’t talk to Alicia.
56.30    Acts paranoid in class: sees men outside, stalking him.
57.00    Complains to Parcher: “not what I signed up for!”
57.30    Alicia is pregnant. Parcher: Help or Russians after you.
59.00    Night at home: tells Alicia to go to sister’s. Not safe.
60.00    Nat. Math Conf.: Charles there with Marcee for lecture.
61.00    Men come in during lecture, John escapes, chase.
62.00    Rosen, psychiatrist, introduces himself. John escapes.
63.00    Taken away by Rosen and his men, screaming “Russians!”

It becomes harder and harder for John to manage his paranoia and his relationships start to suffer. At the conference he drops the ball completely and the public humiliation is a turning point: it has now become a medical issue.

MID SEQ.: Alicia’s POV – Gaining awareness. (14mins)

64.00    At hospital with Rosen. “Tell me who you see.”
66.30    Rosen explains to Alicia about imaginary Herman.
69.00    Alicia visits John’s office, sees evidence of madness.
70.00    Alicia visits the house with mysterious mail box.
71.00    Alicia visits John in hospital; envelopes unopened.
74.30    John cut wrists: implant is gone.
75.00    Rosen: schizophrenia. 10wks of shock treatment.

Now we know that John’s perception is unreliable, his POV no longer functions as that of the protagonist. Therefore we shift to the next – reliable – character with the greatest emotional objective: Alicia. We’ll stay within her POV until John has a plan again.

SEQ. E: No meds: sliding back into darkness. (13mins)

77.30    One year later. Alicia & Sol. How are you coping?
79.00    Sol: Other things besides work. John: What are they?
81.30    John holding baby, deflated. Alicia takes him away.
82.30    Alicia: talk to people. Take out the garbage.
83.00    Talking to who? -Garbage man. -Not at night. -Here they do.
84.00    Rejecting Alicia in bed. She breaks down.
86.00    Alicia works overtime.
86.30    Not taking his medicine. Hallucinates again: Parcher.
88.30    Shed w/ equipment. To Parcher: Was scared you weren’t real.

SEQ. F: At the lowest point – seeing the truth. (12mins)

90.00    Storm coming: Alicia goes into the shed. Clippings…
91.30    John nearly drowns the baby. “Charles was watching!”
93.00    Alicia calls Rosen. John hurts her. Parcher: Finish her!
94.00    Marcee can’t be real. She never gets old!
95.00    Rosen: Why did you stop meds? Get treatment or gets worse.
97.00    Commitment papers. -Rosen was right: I’m not safe anymore.
99.00    Rosen leaves. Alicia: I need something extraordinary.

ACT THREE

SEQ. H: Working it out (14mins)

101.3    Princeton, 2mnths later: Martin. Work out of the library.
105.0    Going nuts in library w/ Parcher. Martin stands up for him.
106.0    Alicia: Stress triggers it. Try again tomorrow.
107.0    Farewell to Charles & Marcee.
108.0    Audit class. 1st class.
108.3    Working in library. Ignores Charles.
109.0    Students make fun of John, he ignores them.
109.3    John with son.
110.0    Teaching, Parcher still around, Marcee too.
111.0    ’78: Progress. Toby presents his theory. John offers food.
113.0    Alicia & Martin see John in his element, with students.
113.3    I might teach. Terrible! Maybe Spring. Playing Go.

SEQ. I: Return with the Elixir (8 mins)

115.0    After class: considered for Nobel Prize. Let’s have  tea.
117.0    Concerned about image of Nobel Prize. I am crazy. Pens!
120.0    12/94 Ceremony Stockholm. Speech for Alicia. All my reasons.
122.3    Ready to leave. Ignores the delusions.
123.3    THE END

The greatest challenge for writer Goldsman must have been to make the identification with a schizophrenic work. Any mainstream audience will instinctively resist this.

To compensate, Goldsman sets up John as a brilliant mind with a number of objectives that keep us going until the Mid Point. Then, his disease can no longer be ignored and his POV has become unreliable.

At this point, showing his craftsmanship, Goldsman shifts the POV to the sane person closest to John: his wife.  She now has the most powerful objective: to get her husband back.

The sequence continues until John has gained awareness about his condition and is committed to do something about it.   After the next sequence’s opening scene – 1 year later – we move back into his POV.

In 2008 the festival potential of my own short animation Tin Can Heart – wr/dir. by Rod March – vaporised when Wall-E appeared weeks after the completion of our film. The similarities were striking…

Still, I was pleased to see we were thinking along the same lines of the master storytellers of Pixar.

I’ve seen UP twice now and I find it thematically one of the most powerful movies of recent times.

Perhaps it resonates with me because I feel I’m at the Mid Point of my own life.

“A life, Jimmy, you know what that is? It’s the shit that happens while you’re waiting for moments that never come.” – Freamon (From: The Wire)

SPOILER ALERT – FULL STORY ANALYSIS

What follows is a rough but complete analysis, based on notes made in the dark of the cinema. Not all turned out legible afterwards…

At the bottom of this post I touch briefly on the Inciting Incident (I.I.) or Call to Adventure of UP.

Here’s another great movie that seems to fit itself wonderfully into an eigh-sequence Hero’s Journey.

Enjoy!

A. Prologue: Dreaming of Adventure (10mins)

00.00 TITLES
01.30 Little Carl in cinema: ‘Spotlight on adventure!’
02.00 Explorer Muntz found to be cheating.
02.30 Muntz off to capture the monster & clear his name.
03.30 Carl follows a girl’s voice into a house.
04.30 Ellie: You & me are in a club together now! Badge.
05.00 Getting the balloon down – Carl falls…
05.30 Carl in bed – a  balloon with a message floats in.
06.00 Ellie’s Adventure Book: I’m going where he’s going…
07.00 Carl & Ellie are getting married.

08.30 Ellie wants lots of children but can’t have any.
09.00 Saving up for the trip. Misfortune keeps striking.
10.00 Carl sees Ellie’s childhood photo, time is passing.
10.30 Carl buys plane tickets; Ellie gets sick & passes away.

ACT ONE

B. Ordinary Life in an Ordinary World (10mins)

11.30 Carl’s life alone: daily routine.
13.30 House is surrounded by a building site.
14.00 Mail: ‘Shady Oaks’ retirement village.
15.00 “You can have my house when I’m dead!”
15.30 Russell knocks: Need assistance today?
17.00 Carl sends him off: Find the snipe. -I’ll find it!
17.30 Mailbox damaged: Carl injures a man with his cane. (I.I.)
18.30 Court summons: ‘Shady Oaks’ guys will pick you up.
19.00 Carl is packing. Crosses his heart.
20.30 Meet you in a minute: a last goodbye.
21.00 Balloons: UP (PP1 – Crossing the Threshold)

Threshold Seq.: Up & away to South America (7mins)

21.30 House takes off: Postcard from Paradise Falls!
22.00 Flying through the city.
24.00 Knocking – Russell: “Please let me in”

25.30 Russell steering – sees cumulo-nimbus… 26.30 Storm, causing damage. Carl knocked out.

ACT TWO

C. Moving House across the plateau (12mins)

28.30 Carl wakes up. Russell: I thought you were dead!
29.30 Descending, landing the house in the fog.
31.00 Fog clears: Paradise Falls on the other side!
33.00 I’ll assist you over there. Only 3 days of helium.

34.30 Dogs POV, after bird. Hearing aid noise stops them.
35.30 Russell’s wilderness toilet: dig hole before or after?
36.30 Russell has found the snipe – does it like chocolate?
37.30 Bird likes Russell. Russell wants to keep it: ‘Kevin’.

D. Dug and other dogs (9mins)

40.00 Voice: Are you OK over there? Dug.
41.00 Dog is trained. Speak! “Hi there.”
42.30 Other dogs and Alpha dog
44.30 Muntz: locate them. The dogs leave.
45.00 Trying to get rid of the bird: escape.
46.30 Setting up the tent in the rain.
47.30 Russell tells of his absent father and foster mum.

E. Entering the Spirit of Adventure (12mins)

49.00 Kevin calling (can’t read my notes ;)
50.30 Kevin back with the dogs
52.30 Carl & Russell surrounded by dogs – Muntz
54.30 Muntz: no longer intruders; guests

55.00 The Spirit of Adventure zeppelin
55.30 The museum
56.30 Dinner served.
57.00 They called me a fraud: bring the creature home.
58.30 Russell talks about his bird.
59.00 Muntz sees the bird.
60.00 Dessert. Kevin calls from the house.

F. Muntz goes after Kevin (12mins)

61.00 Muntz sends dogs after Kevin. Chase.
63.00 Kevin injured, his chicks are calling.
65.30 Russell: boring stuff I remember the most.
66.30 Kevin caught, Muntz sets fire to the house.
67.30 The dogs take Kevin.
68.00 Russell: You gave away Kevin!
69.00 Carl pulls house to Pacific Falls.
70.00 Russell throws his badges in the sand.
70.30 House stuck. Carl goes inside, memories.
71.00 Finds entries in Book of Adventure.
72.00 Ellie’s photos: her life was an adventure.

ACT THREE

G. Climax: Carl vs. Charles (12mins)

73.30 Russell on leafblower to rescue Kevin.
74.00 Carl throws old stuff out to get the house flying.
74.30 Flying again.
75.00 Dug: “hiding under the porch because I love you.”
76.30 The dogs have Russell “small mail man”.
77.00 Russell to be kicked out, Carl saves him.
78.00 On board, past the dogs, find Kevin.
78.30 Distracting the dogs: Carl throws the ball.
79.00 Russell falls.
80.00 Dogs attack in planes.

80.30 Charles attacks Carl with the sword. 81.00 Carl escapes with Kevin.
82.00 Alpha dog caught. Dug is now Alpha Dog.
82.30 Fighter pilot dogs distracted: “Squirrel!”
83.30 Carl, Dug & Russell on top of the zeppelin.
84.00 Muntz attacks with gun.
85.00 Muntz falls to his death.
85.30 ” Just a house.” Descending into the clouds.

H. Return with the Elixir (3mins)

86.00 Kevin reunited with her chicks.
87.00 Our friends flying the zeppelin.

87.30 Explorers’ Graduation.
88.30 Zeppelin parked for icecream.
89.00 The house has landed on Pacific Falls.
THE END.

NOTES ON ACT ONE

UP has a classic 3-Act structure Hero’s Journey. The only journey stage that may not be immediately clear is the Inciting Incident (Call to Adventure).

What is the Inciting Incident (I.I.) in UP?

If the Adventure is the trip to Paradise Falls, then the strongest Call is surely Ellie’s “I’m going where he’s going”.

However, this is not the trigger to the story of UP. It only triggers the Prologue journey – thank you James – leading to Carl’s WOUND: at the end of this (seemingly) failed journey, Carl Fredricksen is a jaded senior, frustrated because his desire for adventure has ultimately left him alone, disappointed and unfulfilled. He is doomed to spend the rest of his life without longing, without passion for anything. Because passion will lead to disappointment.

This frustration over the things he never did is Carl’s flaw, the weakness he needs to overcome.

To understand the true Call to Adventure, let’s see in what way Carl’s Ordinary World is a fragile equilibrium. Then, the Call to Adventure (or I.I.) is the collapse of this untenable situation.

The one shot that shows the fragile equilibrium is the zoom out from Carl’s front porch to show the building site surrounding the house. Once we know that Carl will only give up his house over his dead body, we understand that something major is waiting to happen here.

The first event heralding the call to adventure is the brochure for the ‘Shady Oaks’ retirement village.

It reminds Carl that his time is running out and he needs to act now if he wants to do something with his life. But this is not the type of incident that immediately changes his life irreversibly.

So Carl refuses the call until a stronger Inciting Incident happens: a truck backs into his mailbox and causes a continuous series of consequences, leading to Carl’s decision to finally depart to South America.

It means that Russell comes knocking on Carl’s door at the exact moment in the story when we’re expecting the Mentor to turn up. Is Russell the mentor? It’s an ironic reversal of the archetypes but I think he is a combination of the Reflection character and the Mentor.

What are your thoughts on the story of UP? Please comment below!

Here is some awesome stuff for the fans of the UP artwork.

Did you see UP in 2D or 3D? Which do you prefer? Vote here.