Magical Realism And Transformation Of Characters In Animated Films - Case Study Example

Magical Realism And Transformation Of Characters In Animated Films Section One 1. The Context of Character Transformation Character transformation has effectively been used throughout Lotte Reiniger's animated feature film “the adventures of Prince Ahmed” to enhance the dynamics of the story. Although all the characters are presented as unshaded, solid black silhouettes, the tactile nature of the medium used allows the characters to transform and change into any other black object or even exaggerate physicality for more emotional effect. Generally, the transformations and morphing into something else often takes place without much taxation for the viewers. The use of character transformations in the animation film is particularly important in building on the fantasy of spectators. According to Warner (2011, 397), the transformation of the characters enables the film to effectively communicate a heightened sense of magic. In addition, it is also likely that the numerous character transformations have been used to highlight or depict the social changes of the time some of which may include the changing women rights, homosexual issues and increasing transformations regarding birth rights and abortion rights among others (Moritz, 1996, 49). It has also been widely suggested that the transformations may have been used as a satirical anti-Nazi parables. Generally, although the silhouette artforms may have been made to target children, Lotte Reiniger may also have infused social responsibility. Some of the major characters that have undergone character transformation in the movie include Peri Banu and the African magician. For example, the African magician frees himself from the chains and transforms into a bat and attempts to seek out Ahmed before the Prince chases him back to human form. The first appearance of the African sorcerer/magician shows him slowly unfold in the medium of close up with his fingers undergoing spider like articulations (Moritz, 1996, 48). As he transforms into various creatures, the body of the African Sorcerer can be seen going through a series of contortions. On the other hand, Aladdin and the magician both engage in a fiery magical due each transforming into various creatures (Warner (2011, 401). They, however, soon resume their human form after a while before flinging fireballs at each other. Princess Peri Banu also transforms herself from time to time. In some instances, Peri Banu has a proportionate body with softened mellow and silhouettes with constant grins and smiles while at time the princess appears as an earthly creature with a frontal appearance. With a lot of plotting; this German animation film is the oldest surviving animated motion picture. Two earlier versions of this film were made in Argentina by Quirino Cristian, though they were considered lost. The characters transformation in this film is henceforth based on the element taken from the collection 1001Arabian nights; in this film, Prince Ahmed and the Fairy Paribanou featured in Andrew Lang’s The Blue Fairy Book. With the help of Aladdin, the magic horse and the Witch of the fiery mountain, little character repossesses the magic lamp and surmounts the African-based sorcerer. The ultimate characters transformation is largely outlawed by the culminating scenes of the battle between “die Hexe” (the witch) and “der africanische Zauberer” (the African sorcerer). In this battle scenario, the characters wholly undergo fabulous transformations. Seemingly, all appears apparently to be well in the end. Aladdin finally marries Dinarsade (Archimedes sister and the daughter to the Caliph). Ahmed marries Pari Banu. The African sorcerer is finally defeated in the battle and there emerges a foursome comeback of the Caliph’s kingdom at large. Finally, the paper cut-out animation technique in this film manages to clearly come out consequentially by the creativity league in which this film is based upon. Reiniger puts this film in accordance with a real life experience though in animation form. She worked with various animators hence bringing out clearly her paper cut-outs which were jointly resonated. The Adventure of Prince Achmed paper cut-outs were jointed using wires and delicately arranged in an array on top of light box. These arrays of cut-outs were then photographed frame by frame thus improving on the animation graphics. Reiniger continuously animated various distinctive silhouette films just like Adventure of Prince Achmed due to her well paper cut-out animation production techniques. 2. Function of the Ogre in “Beauty and the Beast” and “Bluebeard” The ogre plays a critical role in both the Beauty and the Beast (directed by Jean Cocteau, 1946) and Bluebeard (directed by Catherine Breillat, 2010) particularly in exposing the attempts to intimidate into submission the young women they are persuading to love them. The two plays portray the ogres as fallible creatures that intimidate yet but are easily falling prey to the cunning young women chosen to be their spouses. For example, in both tales, the ogres are depicted as falling for their particular chosen spouses, to which they are eventually tricked and abandoned even after a significant deal of coercion and intimidation. In this regard, there is an illusion of a deeper romantic morality in the similar way in which the two women figures used in the Beauty and the Beast and the Bluebeard are able to manipulate and betray their abductors. One of the important similarities in the organization of the two ogre tales, the Beast (Jean Marais) and the Bluebeard (Dominique Thomas) is that both the ogre figures are portrayed as beast like men who have nasty reputations. For example, Bluebeard has an ugly appearance and marries and kills all his wives due to his raging temper. Likewise, the Beauty and the Beast (1946) also represents the ogre as a scary and intimidating figure when he meets a father who is on a business trip and demands to be given one of his daughters or else he kills the father. Belle later decides to sacrifice herself and save her father from the ogre. Generally, the intimidation of the ogre is largely seen as the first form of contact with the ogres in both the two tales. Another remarkable similarity in the representation of ogres in Beauty and the Beast (directed by Jean Cocteau, 1946) and Bluebeard (directed by Catherine Breillat, 2010) is that in each story, the main woman figure is seen finding out about the unpleasant traits of their ogre husbands through someone else. However, in the Bluebeard, the tale does not end with the defeat of the ogre but with a new marriage thereby reaffirming the subordination of the wife. This particularly adds to the almost mythic sense in which the horrible stories are likely to be true. The third similarity is the overriding theme of manipulation in that both ogre like men selects their spouses and imprison them but they eventually fall victim to their female captives. For example, in the Bluebeard tale, the character Marie-Catherine (Lola Creton) is depicted as a pre-pubescent girl picked by the ogre Bluebeard out of the many possible suitors. The young girl accepts the marriage proposal as she believes it will take care of her family’s financial problems. Although she is not wavered in her decision to marry the ogre, his huge stature and ugliness particularly intimidate her. Marie’s lack of fear for Bluebeard eventually enabled her to manipulate and eventually defeat the ogre despite its frightening reputation and intimidation. Similarly, the ogre in the Beauty and the Beast also falls for a pretty young woman who eventually manipulates and defeats her. For example, belle voluntarily agrees to marry to save her father just like Marie-Catherine did to save her family. Belle is then immediately given access to everything within the castle by the ogre who even trusts her with the most expensive magic possessions (Zipes, 2011, 130). Consequently, just like in Marie’s case, Belle quickly gains control over the ogre and the beast soon falls prey to her manipulation as soon as he consents to her request to go back home. She eventually kills him and takes the entire treasure home from the Diana’s pavilion. Despite their similarities, there also some differences in the organization of the two ogre tales. For example, in Cocteau’s adaptation, both the Beast and the Beauty (Belle) appear to be inhuman and cruel. For example, the beast threatens to kill Belles father unless he is given one of is daughters while Belle eventually kills the beast without mercy. The beast in Cocteau’s adaptation is also presented as more animal like than manlike, encased in an unfamiliar skin, and is seen fighting to remain upright rather than walking on all fours (Bryant, 1989, 449). However, a romantic morality is seen when the beauty feels she is obligated to return even though she does not love him simply because she believes it is the right thing to do. According to Bryant (1989, 442), Cocteau’s narrative of the beauty and the Beast is largely a familiar line of a boy meet girl story. The beauty refused many suitors and instead agreed to marry the ogre because she could not abandon her father in misfortune. On the other hand, in Breillat’s Bluebeard, the characters are presented as more sensitively human. Another difference of the representation of ogres in the two tales is that in Bluebeard, the ogre seems to enjoy power over Marie and has complete control over her and her family due to the financial support until later after he gives he looses control over her and grants her the freedom to explore the whole castle. In contrast, an apparent gender power reversal is seen in the Beast and the Beauty when the Beast slowly falls fond of Belle and eventually losses all his power over her to the extent of even complying with her wish to return to her father. Unlike in the Bluebeard, the Beauty gains complete control over the fate of the ogre and the once intimidator becomes the victim. However, it is worth noting that power transformation from the male to the female is evident in both tales and is an important manifestation of how the fallible ogres fall prey to the manipulation of their female captives and eventually become the victims (Benson, 2000, 254). Section 2 The first sequential theme of Miracle in Milan film is the magical realism. For example, the comical variation in Milan is a fanciful representation of a well portrayed magical realism. The Miracle in Milan is un-doubtfully doubly exceptional and surprising motion picture; this is through putting into considerations the symbolic approach De Sica directed it in between Bicycle thieves of 1948 and Umberto D of 1952. The magical realism approach of this enlightens the viewers in relation to war escapades. Forman Gold Torpedo as a liberal thinker has a different dimension of understanding warfare. In the “Children are watching over us” sequence, the protagonist is depicted as seeing eerie memories of happiness and love through the window of a moving train. According to De Sica, dream is something of the present reality that is yet to be realized. Through the Vittorio’s unique classic Miracle in Milan; Forman realistically drifts smoke. He nonetheless credits roll over the white and black image of painting of peasantry at work over carnival-like organ music. On the other hand, The Sciuscià embodies the countryside milieu as seen in the ranch where the boys have to keep their horses in an unattainable ideal from the outskirts of reality. In this regard, the horse is largely depicted as an embodiment of the dream and a representation of the boys hope for the future in which they will be happy and free compared to the life behind the bars. On the other hand, friendship is also seen as an important theme since it is one of the few remaining hopes for the boys who are suffering in a cruel world of suffering and darkness. It can be concluded that the film attempts to represent how the common man exist in the realities of life. The second sequence in Miracle in Milan in neorealism: Concurrently, meanly associated with flights of whimsy, the Italian neorealism master that is Vittorio herein tells the story of Toto. Toto is an infant found in a cabbage patch. This infant is a symbol of enlightenment process. The Infant is under custody of an old but vibrant spinster. This neorealism sequence in the miracle in Milan tends to explain the structural power rather than rational power individuals have. This old vibrant old spinster later died when Toto is a young boy. Coincidently this scenario explains the societal sources of knowledge (epistemology) and the nature of being also which is also known as ontology. Despite a few contradictions between De Sica’s status with the film’s culture, neorealism is clearly well depicted. In its attempts to depict and explain the lives of a poverty stricken people in a post war Milan, Italy, De Sica’s story is largely presented as a neo-realist tale. According to Curle and Stephen (2000, 9), the bicycle thieves is one of the films icons which further confirm De Sica’s neorealism. Generally, the Italian neo-liberalism was largely characterized by the hope in the possibility of realizing dreams. Throughout the film, the underlying thesis is that all of individual’s wishes including conscious nature wishes, ego wishes such as reality desires as well as infantile wishes can all be granted or fulfilled when one has a dream and hope (Grinstein, 1953, 183). Finally, the third sequence in Miracle in Milan is the charming miracle. This attributed miracle constitute of both the magical realism and neorealism. This sequence literally portrays the rise of poor individuals to more honorable status. In the “Miracle of Milan” (1951), the miracle is first witnessed in the arrival of a saint and also later when the characters of poetry begin to ride off to the skies. On the other hand, the true miracle in the film is particularly seen when Toto undoes the death of his mother and raise her from the dead (Grinstein, 1953, 187). After, the death of his adoptive spinster, Toto spends his remaining form+ative years in jail. When he emerges as a penniless individual, he still depicts non-judgmental and transcendently enthusiastic person. This characteristic feature in him is opposed to what his adopted mother had influenced him to be. Toto later on escapes poverty life by interacting with local community members in building of their community on shacks of vacant lands. Additionally, miracles are seen when the Ghost of Lolotta gives Toto a magic dove which he then uses as a source of his power to grant to the wishes of those who say or ask for their wishes. For example, with the help of the dove, Toto also performs miracles such as turning a beautiful statue of a girl into a live girl who subsequently kisses Toto (Grinstein, 1953, 187). Eventually the magic dove is taken back from Toto by two angels. In this regard, Toto acts as Christ like figure, whose miraculous powers and innate goodness are always, corrupted by the human failings particularly their greed for money or clothes. In summary, the primary thesis of De Sica’s story is that all of individual’s wishes including conscious nature wishes, ego wishes such as reality desires as well as infantile wishes can all be granted or fulfilled when one has a dream and hope. Bibliography Anderson, Victoria. Introduction: A Perrault in Wolf's Clothing. “In Pollock, Griselda & Victoria Anderson Editions.” London: IB Taurus, 2009. Benson, Stephen. “History's Bearer”: The Afterlife of “Bluebeard.”Marvels and Tales: Journal of Fairy-Tale Studies14.2 (2000): 244-267. Bryant, Sylvia. Re-Constructing Oedipus Through “Beauty and the Beast” Criticism 31.4(1989): 439-53.  Curle, Howard, and Stephen Snyder. Vittorio De Sica: Contemporary Perspectives. Toronto: Toronto University Press, 2000. Grinstein, Alexander. “Miracle of Milan : Some Psychoanalytic Notes on a Movie. American Image 10.1(1953):180-245. Mortiz, William. “Some critical perspective on Lotte Reiniger.” Animation journal 5.1(2006): 40-51. Warner, Marina. Stranger Magic: Charmed States and the Arabian Nights. London: Chatto & Windus, 2011. Zipes, Jack. The Enchanted Screen: The Unknown History of Fairy-Tale Films. New York: Routledge. 2011. Read More