Is the goal as lofty as possible? “To get revenge” or “to get Trick or Treat candy”
is not as lofty a goal as “to rescue the world from total destruction.” The goal should
be positive. It’s not acceptable for the hero’s goal to be “to hurt someone” or “to
commit a crime” unless the character is a Robin Hood or Batgirl character com-
mitting a crime against someone evil and powerful in order to help someone weak
and just.
Is this goal precise and tangible? There should be one moment when we see that
the character will reach his goal. In the United States an animation hero rarely fails
to reach his goal! “I want to be happy” isn’t precise or tangible enough.
The hero should never deviate from his goal. It’s an obsession, never secondary.
Is the goal the hero’s own fixation? It shouldn’t be merely a reaction to what the
villain does.
Does the plot line to the goal build in intensity? The hero’s resolve should build.
The stakes in gaining the goal should get higher. Each turning point should revolve
around that goal.- The setup
Do we “start aboard a moving train” (especially important in action stories)? Are
we hooked right away so that we can’t wait to see what happens next? Is there
danger?
Did we begin with a good strong visual image that gives us a sense of time, place,
theme, style, using metaphors, analogies, and symbols when possible? Do we set
the tone of the story?
Is the hero and his character flaw, villain, problem/goal, and theme established
quickly enough? In the first few pages of script (especially important in a short)?
Or, to put it another way, are the two basic story questions of plot (the central ques-
tion) and character set up: “What will happen?” (Will the Wild Thornberrys be able
to stop the poachers and save the environment?) and “Will the hero overcome his
character flaw?” (Will Shrek allow someone to get close to him and fall in love?)
Do we already know the terrible thing that will happen to the hero if he doesn’t
get what he wants? Is the hero’s problem one that we care about? Do we get a real
feeling for the main character? Is that character really likeable or at least likeable
enough that we’re there rooting for him until the end? Is the possibility of charac-
ter change set up in the very beginning?
Is the catalyst—the event from the outside that starts the story moving—brought
in quickly enough? Is it dramatic and action packed?
Have we learned the parameters of this universe that’s being created early on? Are
the rules of the world clear to us right away?
Do we really know what this story is about by the middle of Act I?
Did you set up what we must know through action and dialogue with conflict? Or
use gags? Exposition is boring. Information in the backstory (what happened
268 Animation Writing and Development