Narrative Theory: Moana


The trailer for Moana uses many narrative techniques typical of Disney films. Applying Propp's  character theory, we have Moana who's a one of the hero's seen in the trailer and Maui who's the sidekick that helps the hero. In many ways Moana fits the hero role more than Maui since she's seen more in the trailer leading. For instance, Moana's seen being in charge of the boat they're in and also seen helping Maui.


The film's narrative is introduced in the trailer and follows Todorov's theory of equilibrium. The state of the balance is the character of Moana trying to find a demigod that goes of the name of Maui and after she does that, they must save the pacific islands from the danger that's coming. This is where disequilibrium comes in. The intro of the trailer was tranquil, everyone was happy and it had a nice setting. After a few seconds into the trailer, the setting, weather and music changed. 


The Moana trailer is full of Barthes' enigma and action codes. This gives the trailer more suspense and makes the audience ask questions about it. The major enigma codes on this trailer would be whether Moana and Maui manage to fight off the beasts or not.

Representation of Moana blog task

The representation of gender in Moana reinforces traditional gender stereotypes. The main male in the Moana trailer is built quiet strongly and is shown to be brave and aggressive. This is a typical representation for all Disney films but it also subverts female stereotypes by using a female to be the main character and the hero of the film which isn't very common for a Disney film. Disney's film Moana also sparked controversy among Pacific Islanders over the build of Maui. Maui's character type is shown as obese and this reinforced stereotypes of Pacific Islanders being obese.

Evaluating my production work: Assignment 2




1) What typical features (conventions) of a film poster have you used? How do they help to make the poster effective in attracting an audience? (Key conventions include title, release date, institutional information, reviews, a central image etc.) 

 
I think the title of my poster would attract an audience since it's an unusual title for a horror film. The title "Polaroid" has a meaning to it where it fits in with the story line so this would make the audience want to know more about the film. The central image also looks and seems a bit different from other horror images. The central image has a girl with pictures scattered around her with a Polaroid effect and she also has one in her hand with her wearing a black and white mask.


2) What is the genre of your film? How would your target audience know this from design of your poster?


The genre I chose for my film was horror and a little bit of psychological thriller. I chose this particular genre because I personally enjoy watching horror movies and because I would enjoy editing it a bit more. The target audience would know the genre from the design of my poster since the background is quite dark and has an eerie effect to it. Also, the font I used for my title makes the title look like it's dripping in a way that it can relate to blood.


3) What institutional information have you used to try and sell the film and how does this appeal to the audience? E.g. 'From the Producers of...' / Star power / Directors / Reviews.



I used the logo from Warner Brothers since it's one of the most successful studio company of all time and it has one of the largest audience. Warner Brother's have made highly successful films like Suicide Squad, Annabelle and The Conjuring.  This would bring a large audience to my film.


4) Where are there examples of synergy between your storyboard and trailer? (Synergy is the link or interaction between two different media texts).



There's synergy between my storyboard and poster since the main character shown in the central image is the exact photo that's shown on the storyboard then fades to black. My trailer opens with the institution logo of Warner Brothers for the first two seconds then it goes to my central image from the poster and it zooms out.

5) What representations have you used in your film? E.g. gender / race / age / nationality / place)? Are these reinforcing or challenging stereotypes?


My trailer subverts gender stereotypes, I've used a female to represent a serial killer instead of using a male which is quite common for the Hollywood industry. I've also used quite a younger female so it appeals to an older/younger teenage audience. The female used in the my film is quite unique compared to other teenagers because she hasn't really grown up like the others in her class. She's obviously had a troubled past which is not bothering her and causing her to behave in such an aggressive way. 

Central Image- As seen on the poster of Moana, two of the main characters are posed with the actors names who play them on the top.
Release date- This is clearly shown underneath the title. "November 23". This makes the audience aware of when the movie will first be shown in cinemas.




The trailer starts off with small cutscenes of when Moana was a child. You can also hear a woman's voice introducing the tale of the story in the film. The insitution logo is then shown after a couple of scene which is Disney. It then gives hints of the directors of the movie by naming other successful movies directed by them. It then starts naming the big actors who play the main characters in the film. It goes off to Moana meeting Maui, the two main characters, meeting and travelling somewhere. As they do this, they face some enemies up ahead who try to stop them. The release date is shown at the end with social media tags including their website and the creators of some of the soundtrack.

Your chosen movie

1) What film have you chosen? 
Moana.

2) Why did you choose this film in particular? 
I chose Moana because it has more of a unique effect and doesn't look like the same disney movies that i've seen throught the years.

Institutional background

1) What was the film studio or production company behind your chosen film? 

The film's production company is Walt Disney Animation Studios.

2) Who was the distributor for the theatrical release of the film in the UK?
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

No brand loyalty

1) What genre does your chosen film fit into?
Moana fits into the Fantasy and action genre.

2) How can you tell it fits that genre? 
From the trailer, we can see what looks like villians trying to attack Moana and her friend who are on the ship.
This fits with the action genre showing that this will be a fight scene.

3) Does your chosen film have any stars or a director that are known for that particular genre?
Dwayne Johnson, who's known for action and adventure genres but not for an animated one which is surprising. Auli'l Cravalho, who's a young actress played the voice of the main character Moana. Nicole Scherzinger was also a character in this film.

It’s all a matter of timing

1) What was the UK release date for your chosen film?
2nd December 2016

2) When did the first trailer appear on YouTube for your movie?
15th September 2016

 


3) What other examples of marketing (teaser trailers, main trailers, newspaper or TV interviews etc.) can you find for your chosen film from before the film’s release date? 



Auli'i Cravalho auditioning to be Moana, the main character of the film. One of the videos I found was posted way before the UK release date.

It’s a social thing
1) What was the word-of-mouth like for your chosen film? If you can’t find tweets (probably blocked) use the IMDB user review rating or the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating to judge whether the public have given the movie a good review.
Rotten Tomatoes rated this movie a 7.9/10

2) Find three quotes (no more than 25 words each) from user reviews of your movie to create a picture of what the public reaction to the film has been. Post them on your blog.

1." A crowd-pleasing oceanic musical with big tunes and beguiling characters, Moana is likely to thwack a big smile on your face."-  Nick De Semlyen
Empire

2. "Moana is a funny, heartfelt and richly-crafted hero's journey adventure that effectively puts a Disney spin on Southern Pacific culture" - Sandy Schaefer
Screen Rant

3. "For the most part, this Disney movie feels more heartfelt than calculated, no small feat after decades of princesses, journeys, and “I want” songs."- Jesse Hassenger
A.V. Club

Risky business
Use IMDB to find out the box office records for your chosen film. Find your film, click on Company Credits and then Box Office/Business. You may want to use the excellent website Box Office Mojo to find out the budget and box office success for the film.

1) What was the original budget for your chosen film?
Their estimated budget was $150,000,000.

2) How much money did the film make in the opening weekend?
Moana managed to make $56,631,401 in the opening weekend.

3) How much money has the film made in total? (Look for the subheading ‘Gross’ which has the total box-office earnings listed).
Moana made  $240,170,441.

4) For a film to be considered a box office success, it needs to make at least two-and-a-half times the budget in box office takings. Using this method, was the film you have chosen a success? (Or, if it's a recent release, do you expect it to be a box office success?)Moana was success since the gross altogether cost twice more than the original budget for the film.

Stars in their eyes
Research the stars and director for your chosen film.

1) What films has the director previously directed? Are they in the same or similar genres?
The director is also known for directing the film 'Aladdin'. The genres of Moana and Aladdin are very similar.

2) Who is the main star in the film?
Auli'i Cravalho who's plays Moana, the main star in the film.

3) What other films has the main star appeared in? Are any of the films similar to the one you are researching?
She's an upcoming actress so she hasn't starred in many films.

4) Are the stars or the director or writer mentioned in the trailer for the film?
In the film's trailer, it gives hints about who directed the film by saying "from the creators of frozen and zootopia". This makes the audience searching them up and seeing who directed the film.

Suicide Squad (2016)



Genre: Fantasy/Action

Narrative:

The storyline is clearly shown that a secret government agency has recurited some of the world's dangerous villians to form a defensive task force. Their first misson is to save the world from an apocalypse.


Character:

The main character, Deadshot, is shown to be brave in the trailer and take the rest of the villians. He's followed by one of his friends, Harley Quiin who is shown to be crazy, violent and creepy.


Iconography:

From this trailer, we see some of the characters able to use magic which relates to their genre Fantasy. We can also see futuristic technology used, fight scenes and a car chase. This This shows Adventure and action.


Setting:

It's set at a fictional prison for villians called Belle Reve. It then moves on to other locations where the action and fantasy of this film begins.

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted



Genre: Adventure & Comedy

Narrative-

In this sequel, Alex, Marty, Gloria and Melman are still struggling to get home to their home, Central Park Zoo but they need to find the penguins first. When they arrive at Monte Carlo in France, they become wanted by Animal Control fot gate crashing a party. The leader of the Animal Control is willing to add Alex to her animal collection.
This fits their genre perfectly which is Adventure/Comedy.

Character-

Alex, the main character in the movie, is shown to be brave and take him and his friends back home.
The villian in this was the leader of the Animal Control who wants to make Alex and his friends from going home and making them part of her collection.


Iconography-

From this trailer, we can see a mototrcycle chase, animals wearing afros and performing at a circus. The animals also gate crashing a party from falling through the roof.


Setting-

It takes place at a party in France. After this you can see the adventure begin on the roads of France and move to other serveral locatons.