CHAPTER 13
Dialogue
195
The Purpose of Dialogue
You want to show your story, not tell it! At its best, animation is all about action and move-
ment; it’s not about words. Animation explores space. It experiments with time. When Jackie
Chan is making his moves, he doesn’t need a lot of words to dish out disaster to the evil-
doers. There are cartoons with no dialogue at all! The norm in television cartoons is three
dialogue blocks at once with no more than three short sentences per block. Action cartoons
will probably use less dialogue than prime-time cartoons. Once again follow the general dia-
logue ratio of the sample script for that series. In a feature where you’re delving deeper into
character, a little more dialogue might be necessary, but even there you don’t want too much.
Dialogue does have its place in animation storytelling. It’s used to reveal the characters.
It provides direction, moving the story along and advancing the plot. It discloses informa-
tion. It provides conflict. And it sets the spirit or mood of the story, whether it’s a comedy
or drama.
Basically in animation, words should be used only after you’ve tried all other methods
of communication. Silence might accompany discoveries, revelations, and deep emotions.
The absence of dialogue can give the audience time to assimilate what has just happened.
Revealing Character
Sometimes only dialogue can expose the real motivations and secrets of a character in all
their complexity. It’s especially effective when it exposes the character in an entirely new
way from what we as an audience expect. We use dialogue to establish relationships. Dia-
logue reflects feelings and attitudes. Be sure you know your characters. Each character has
her own agenda, sometimes hidden. There may be subtext. What is really being said? Which
character is driving each scene? Your characters can be driving the action directly or indi-
rectly. Direct dialogue drives people apart: “You’re always late!” Indirect dialogue draws
people together: “I know you had to help your sister before you could come.” Characters