Annie (1999)

               Annie is a great musical that I absolutely love! I do prefer the 1999 Disney version of this story partly because it was the first version I've never seen and is the way I know the story to be. Both films are very similar, besides some of the extra songs in the original 1982 version. I found some great archetypes throughout this movie and has allowed me to pick up on stuff in this movie that I haven't before.

Synopsis:

                Eleven-year-old Annie has been living in an orphanage her whole life run by cruel Miss Hannigan. After unsuccessful escape attempts, Grace Farrell comes to take the child home to live two weeks with billionaire Oliver Warbucks during Christmas. The plucky orphan worms her way into the hearts of the staff and Mr. Warbucks and even the president of the United States! Even though Mr. Warbucks wants to adopt her, she is still looking for her real parents who left a locket with her when they dropped her off at the orphanage. Miss Hannigan's brother and his sleazy girlfriend pose as Annie's parents to gather the reward that Warbucks has offered to Annie's real parents

                Annie is our hero in this story and  posses many heroic archetypes such as proto feminist hero. Annie is a hero because she know what she wants and isn't going to let anyone stand in her way. She has a huge heart and only wants the best for everyone else. She would make sure every girl in the orphanage was taken care of and safe. This quality only got stronger once she was taken care of herself. She protects anything and anyone she loves no matter what and this shows her true heroic qualities. Annie also show the characteristics  of a hero as warrior.  Annie and Miss Hannigan do not get a long at all and are fighting continuously. Annie faces challenges such as trying to break out of the orphanage without Miss Hannigan catching her. When Annie doesn't succeed she and the orphans are left with the cruel, awful punishment Miss Hannigan has for them, such as cleaning the whole orphanage. Another hero archetype Annie posses is hero as lover. Although Annie does not follow the typical hero as lover archetype which is finding a prince charming, , love is still the main motive and what drives her to conquer her quest. Annie has always believed that her parents would come back for her, but as time goes on she feels she needs an answer and starts going out looking for her parents. Annie feels lost, and deserted and her goal is to fill this emptiness with the love of her parents. Annie unfortunately does not find her parents but develops a love for Mr. Warbucks and Grace, and eventually conquers her quest.

                Through this film we see many of the stages of a hero's journey. Annie's journey is different though than typical fairytale hero journey, because she has different views on what her quest means.  Annie's departure in stage 1,  is when  Grace comes to get a child from the orphanage. Excited and very eager to leave Annie gets choose to leave for 2 weeks to spend Christmas with Mr. Warbucks in his mansion. This stage is different than the typical fairytale because Annie is not reluctant to accept this adventure. In stage 2 Annie is brought to Mr. Warbucks mansion which is a whole new world to her. She has never seen such a big beautiful house and feels like she is dreaming. This new world isn't necessarily dangerous to other but to Annie is becomes the start of all her problems. Such as, Miss Hannigan becomes jealous that Annie has been awarded with this opportunity after running away. In this stage Annie gains a more mature perspective as she finally learns about her parents and has to deal with her emotions. Annie becomes aware of what she truly cares about and how she wants to spend her life, which being adopted by Mr. Warbucks.  Annie does not gain supernatural aid, which is not typical in stage 3 and this shows that difference from other stories.  Annie does go through similar stages though as she is put through situations that test her inner strength. For example she stays strong and defeats Miss Hannigan and her emotional strength is tested when she finds out her parents have passed away. In stage 4 Annie changes internally and emotionally from this experience. She begins to love Mr. Warbucks as a father and fills the empty space in her heart. She is reborn in a way that she now has a mother (Grace) a father (Mr. Warbucks) and has a home to call her own. Finally in  stage 5 Annie is reunited with the other girls from the orphanage. Being the kind caring person she is,  she makes sure all the girls are given homes and are loved. 

                Other archetypal journeys this film has is her quest for identity. Annie does knows what she wants of her life, she still feels like something is missing. This emptiness she feels comes from not knowing where her parents are and why they have never come back for her. She wants to know where she came from and what her last name is. This unknown that Annie goes looking for is the other half of her that she feels is missing, and what motivates her quest for her identity. Another journey Annie goes on is her search for love.  Once again Annie's love that she is searching for is different than something like recuing a princess. Annie's search for love comes from the empty space she feels and wish to fill by finding her parents.

                There are many symbolic archetypes in Annie as well an example of some would be light vs. darkness and colours. The orphanage is shown in a dark setting which shows the unknown where as Mr. Warbucks mansion is very light and open. These lighting and colour techniques used in the mansion suggest the hope and a new life for Annie. The red colour of Annie's dress in possibly shows her excitement of her new life, but the anger she still holds  for not knowing why her parents left her.

The Wizard of Oz

Synopsis:
               Dorothy Gale is a teenager on a Kansas farm who daydreams about going "over the rainbow." Along with her house and her dog Toto , she's swept from her sepia-toned world to the magical, beautiful, dangerous and technicolor land of Oz by a tornado. Dorothy's house lands on and kills the wicked witch who rules the Land of the Munchkins, little people who think at first that Dorothy herself must be a witch. The Wicked Witch of the West , sister of the dead witch, threatens Dorothy. But Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, gives Dorothy the dead witch's enchanted Ruby Slippers, and the slippers protect her. Glinda advises that if Dorothy wants to go home to Kansas, she should seek the aid of the Wizard of Oz, who lives in the Emerald City. To get there, Dorothy sets off down the Yellow Brick Road.

                The Wizard of Oz has always been one of my favourite movies! I find the story to be very unique and different , but as I've analyzed it I've seen it has many traditional archetypes that we see in many old fairytales. Dorothy the hero of this story faces her enemy the Wicked Witch of the West showing her hero as warrior quality. This quality is shown when Dorothy throws a pail of water on the Wicked Witch and she starts melting. Dorothy is also a apocalyptic hero as she faces the destruction of her home caused by the tornado. When Dorothy lands in Munchkin land her archetypal journey, the search for knowledge begins. Dorothy finds out that see needs to talk to the Wizard to find out how to return home and begins her journey down the yellow brick road to find the knowledge she seeks. Along the way she meets new friends named, Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion. Each of these characters also needs to find the wizard to ask him for something. Scarecrow needs a brain, Tin Man needs a heart, and the Cowardly Lion needs courage. These three loyal individuals called loyal retainers  act as Dorothy's sidekick and their duty is to help protect her.  The loyal retainers reflect the heroic characteristics Dorothy has through what is missing in them. Dorothy has a huge heart and looks out for everyone, comparing to Tin Man who is in need of a heart. This also goes for the Lion who is in search for courage, where as Dorothy has so much courage that she is able to stand up to her enemies. Also, Dorothy is very smart, where as Scarecrow is in need of a brain. This movie also shows the 5 stages of a hero's journey. In stage 1 this is where Dorothy's adventure begins when the tornado comes and she can't hind a safe place. Although Dorothy isn't called to this adventure and has no choice to go on it, she still is reluctant cause she doesn't want to be there. In stage 2 Dorothy finds herself in a new world. This new world becomes dangerous to her as, the Wicked Witch of the West sets out to kill her. Through this cross over into this more dangerous world Dorothy gains mature perspective on what her heart desires. In stage 3 Dorothy is given special slippers to protect her. Through her journey to see the wizard, Dorothy tests her strength and resourcefulness. She stays strong to protect her friends and is resourceful in such that she knows what she wants and  will not let anyone stop her.  Stage 4 Dorothy learns a lot about herself through this journey. She changes emotionally now knowing what means the most her and what her heart desires. She learns to appreciate what she has and will not take anything for granted because you could lose them in a second. From this new wisdom, in stage 5 Dorothy makes sure to love and treasure every moment with her loved ones.

                Colour plays a huge role in creating this film, it shows many different symbolic archetypes and how the character feels. At the beginning of the movie Dorothy's home Kansa's is shown in black and white. The darkness suggests the ignorance and despair Dorothy feels coming from her aunt and uncle. She feels like something is missing in her life and goes off to talk to a fortune teller. When the tornado hits she lands in Munchkin land which is really colourful and bright. This suggest the renewal and the possible hope she feels. The vibrant colours also show the knowledge she learns later on about how much her aunt misses her and how much they care about her.  These bright colours foreshadow her feels later on in the movie when she returns home.  In the movie Dorothy wears a blue and white checker dress, showing the innocence, devotion and peace characteristics she posses. The red slipper Dorothy is given represents the emotion Dorothy still carries with her even though she does her best to be brave and strong. The red shoes also show that even though she is very innocent she still has the power to kill, as in the end she kills the Wicked Witch. The hourglass in the movie not only is symbolic for showing the passage of time but the red sad that run through it is also symbolic. The red colour of the sand represents the death of Dorothy and how she only has minutes to live. The city Oz is all green showing that Dorothy gains the hope she's been looking for and shows the metal growth she's developed over the journey.  

               

                Out of curiosity I did some research on Dorothy's name and it turns out Dorothy is short for the Greek name Dorothea, meaning 'divine gift' of God's gift'. Being that Dorothy descends from the sky and leaves going into the sky shows that she's more superior  and special to the people in OZ. The people of Oz look at her as this divine gift because she killed the Wicked Witch of the East at the beginning when her house falls.  The people of Oz then look at her as a gift from God, for helping rid the land of danger. These meanings of the name Dorothy reflect her character in this story and provides a deeper meaning  of Dorothy's character.

            Do you think her name was a coincidence or was is purposely chosen because of this Greek meaning?

The Three Little Pigs

The three little pigs had always been one of my favourite childhood stories! This tale shows two types of heroes one being a hero as warrior and the other a anti hero. These two heroic archetypes is why I love this classic story so much. The first and second pig posses the anti- hero trait as they fail to build a strong home for themselves. Their wishful thinking that a house built of either sticks or straw is humorous to us, as we know that could never work. The third pig shows the qualities of a hero as warrior as he faces the challenge of building a house strong enough to with stand the wolfs  "then I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house in". All three pigs do have this heroic quality of facing their external enemy, but the failure of the other two pigs leave pig number three possessing the warrior side to this heroic quality. Although this story is short it does a great job of showing the two types of heroes we see in a  many stories today.

"Source Code" Archetype Analysis

After viewing the trailer for Source Code I noticed many different archetypes it posses through the characters and the colour choices. The main character in this movie demonstrates many heroic qualities such as hero as warrior. This archetype is shown through the physical challenges he faces, such as the train being bombed. This hero's enemy is the bomber and his challenge is to stop him and save people in the future. The hero isn’t able to save the people on the same train as him but after being put through the source code so many times in attempt to figure out who the bomber, he falls in love with a girl. Here is where he becomes the hero as lover, as he attempts to save this girl even though it might not be possible. These heroic qualities this movie shows relates to archetypal journeys the hero goes on. One being, the quest to save his people, people being the passengers on the train. This also connects to the journey to rid the land of danger, the danger being the bomber. Many archetypes are shown through the use of colour throughout this movie. Both the hero and the women he falls in love with are both wearing blue suggesting their innocence and devotion for one another. The hero is also wearing a black jacket at one part on the train possibly showing the mystery side to him and how he is trying to stop something before in happens. The fire and explosion on the train represents  the ability the hero as to transform and come back to life to try and save the people. Also the fire shows the love and passion the hero as for the girl.

A Bug's Life

So I've noticed I tend to read books and watch movies that have some kind of love story in them and have some kind of prince charming. In attempt to write about something different I've  chosen to analyze and find some archetypes in the classic story "A Bug's Life."  

                Every year, a bunch of grasshoppers come to the anthill and eat what the ants have gathered for them.  The "offering", as the ants call the ritual, is a part of their fate.  Flik, un-liked inventor ant is always coming up with new inventions and ideas to help his colony, but  they never work and just cause many downfalls.  His last invention causes him  to accidentally drops the whole offered seeds into the river. The furious grasshoppers come and give the ants a second chance to collect food until fall. Flik sets off to find bugs that are willing to fight the grasshoppers  to try and fix what he has done. Being that Flik makes so many mistakes no one believes he can help save his colony. Right here Flik is demonstrated as an anti-hero, as his failures become humorous and a joke to the other ants because he  is immature and cannot be taken seriously.  Later on Flik thinks he has succeeded with a new invention to help save his colony but like the rest fails. Embarrassed that he let his colony down, he leaves with the bugs he brought to help save the colony. Dot, the one ant who had always believed in him catches up to Flik to try and bring him back. Flik then realizes that all he needs is bravery and courage to stand up and fight against the Grasshoppers. This shows the heroic qualities transcendent and warrior Flik has.  This unique story is a great example of a hero on a journey to save his people or in this case fellow ants and rid the land of danger (the Grasshoppers).

Letters to Juliet

 Archetypes:

           

In the movie "Letters to Juliet", Sophie the main character is our hero.  She travels to the city of Verona, and comes across a group of volunteers who respond to letters to Juliet seeking advice about love. She finds a letter dated 1951 that has never been responded to, from a girl named Claire. She's inspired by this letter and insists she response to it, because she believes Claire deserves an answer. When Claire receives the letter she takes the advice of Sophie and she travels to Italy in search for her long-lost lover. When Sophie meets Claire she then makes it her quest to help Claire find her love of her life, Lorenzo. This shows us the heroic characteristics Sophie has.  Although, Sophie isn't a prince charming or on a quest to find love for herself she posses some of the qualities as a hero as lover. Love is her pure motive for this quest she going on, because she believes in true love and destiny and wants Claire to find her Romeo. This struggle to find Claire's love  becomes very important to her as she starts to see what the true meaning of love is, and unintentional falls in love with Charlie, Claire's grandson.

Symbolic Archetypes:

Stars-  Stars are said to give guidance and although the stars never pointed them in the direction of Lorenzo, it gave them the guidance of hope.

Light- it's always very light and sunny when they are in search for Lorenzo representing hope.

Circle- In the movie Sophie draws a circle to outline the places  on the map, they most likely will be able to find Lorenzo.  This circle represents two, which further shows the love between two people, that was never lost, like a circle always going round never ending even after 50 years.