script starts slower than a television animation script. The actual plot may take ten minutes
or so to really get going. But remember there is always something happening in an anima-
tion script—something to animate, whether it’s fast action or gags. The audience must be
constantly wondering what will happen next. That does not mean that there shouldn’t be
some quiet scenes in a feature where we get to know and care about the characters and their
hopes and their dreams, but even quiet scenes need attitude and conflict to make them inter-
esting. There must be an emotional component that speaks to everyone. And the story must
be visual! I think the more visual your story is, the better. Don’t worry about having enough
dialogue. If you can tell the story better without much, do it! The story must have wonder
and heart and appeal for all ages. The best features have a deeper reflection about life that
we can take away with us. A feature must be fresh and original. It must be well written!
The feature may open with a sweeping panorama, a stunning visual shot that takes your
breath away. Think of the eagle’s flight through the western canyons and forests and out into
the valleys in Spirit.Think of the animals gathering for the presentation of the new lion
prince early in The Lion King. Bambi opened with a pan of the forest where he was born.
Or instead the feature may start with a look at character, challenging us to fall in love with
the rascally cast right away. Remember Scrat trying to bury his acorn in Ice Age? Or what
about Woody coming to the rescue of Little Bo Peep in the playroom in Toy Storyeven
before the main title comes on? Or there may be jeopardy right away. In The Iron Giantwe
open with the satellite spinning in space; then within two minutes we witness a horrible storm
at sea with a ship in terrible trouble. In Lilo and Stitch we open with a teaser before the
title, showing the alien scientist on trial for genetic experimentation. His creation, number
626 (Stitch), is exiled from the planet.
However a feature may start, the main characters must be introduced and the story set
up within the first fifteen or twenty minutes—the sooner the better. By then we must have
a hero or heroine that we can really care for. We should know who the villain is. We need
to know what the story problem is, what our hero wants, and what terrible thing is going to
happen if the hero doesn’t get it. We must know some of the reasons that the characters are
acting as they are. The catalyst has started the story rolling, and the hero has come up with
a plan. At the end of Act I something happens that spins the plot around in a different
direction.
The tight structure continues. In Act II new information is revealed. Midway through
we may find a high point where everything seems rosy. Then the hero has a defeat or
apparent defeat, starting a downward spiral toward the major crisis. There’s another major
twist at the end of Act II. This might be the major crisis when all hope is gone. There’s the
inevitable big conflict, usually a physical conflict as well as a conflict of values. But the hero
makes a critical choice. He pulls through to the climax and wins! He has learned something
from the whole experience, and so have we (the audience). After the hero wins, the loose
ends are tied up—quickly. Subplots were covered in Chapter 7. See Chapter 15 for a good
checklist to help you develop your feature film.
Selling an Original Feature
It’s usually very difficult to sell an original feature animation script because of the mone-
tary risks that companies must take in putting out so much money for something unknown.
The Animated Feature 283