Making Humor Work

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brian jacques, c.s. lewis, captain america: the first avenger, creative writing, cressida cowell, editing, harping on an eyesore syndrome, how to train your dragon, humor, john flanagan, kung fu panda, looney tunes: back in action, marvel, marvel superheroes, nanowrimo, nanowrimo 2014, national novel writing month, oocs, out of character syndrome, perelandra, ranger's apprentice, redwall, spontaneous expedient character defamation syndrome, star wars, story dynamics, the avengers, the chronicles of narnia, the lego movie, the space trilogy, who framed roger rabbit, writing

I know, I know, it’s been forever. :-S Sorry about the long hiatus. I really have no excuse.

On to the post…

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I don’t like some animated movies.

Yeah, I know. BIG surprise. But seriously, I don’t. Why?

Because the humor doesn’t work. Well, at least not for me. (My dad tends to laugh in these movies, so maybe it’s really a subjective thing…? Anyway, I don’t find them awfully funny.) Who Framed Roger Rabbit is probably the best example of this. The humor doesn’t work. (And who among us wasn’t completely mentally scarred by that stupid movie in early childhood, anyway?!) It’s a mixture of slapstick, poking fun at the characters, and innuendo. Even without the innuendo, to me it would be offensive. I much prefer the wry humor Halt uses in the Ranger’s Apprentice books. And the fun word-play and occasional mild slapstick that appears in the Redwall books.

When a movie does that, I like to call it Harping On An Eyesore Syndrome.

Some movies are, to me, a mix of playful and painful. Normally the ones that are the least painful also have the most heart, probably because they’re the ones that the filmmakers either 1) actually love or 2) know what they’re doing with.

In Kung Fu Panda, I found myself actually laughing at some of the gags, though some of them still got a blank stare from me. Brave and Tangled, the same, though I think Tangled really takes itself a bit too seriously. (Come on, Disney! You can’t have it both ways. Either keep your trademark irreverent humor, or make a “serious movie”.) Cars… do not even get me started on this movie.

The Lego Movie? I thought it would be totally stupid, but win.

How To Train Your Dragon? Absolute win.

Loony Tunes: Back in Action? Okay movie. Not my favorite. It was a blatant rip-off of spy movies and Indiana Jones, but unlike The Lego Movie, it didn’t click. I think it was trying to do too much.

Prince of Egypt? Okay, some of the humor slipped up, but mostly it was good.

So, why does some humor work but other humor doesn’t?

I think that there are a number of factors.

First of all, does the movie have “heart”? What do I mean by this? Well, in my opinion, I think this means are the characters really relatable? They can’t be just punching bags (unlike Jar Jar Binks… seriously, guys, the reason you and/or other people hate on him? It’s because he has no character development. He’s a talking, walking cardboard-or-rubber-or-both stand-up. And yes, that was pun intended.)

This leads well into my first point. The humor must be acknowledged by the characters. They must reply realistically to it, whether it’s in hurt, gamely taking the hit, or pretending not to respond while inwardly being cut deeply by the jab, even if it wasn’t intended to be insulting.

Secondly, if the humor helps to acknowledge a point of the plot, so much the better. It helps it mesh better with the rest of the story, and doesn’t poke out like an eyesore.

Some of the humor in movies like Kung Fu Panda and Captain America: The First Avenger is like this. It acknowledges the pure sucking-ness of the main character before they become awesome. However, it should never be overdone, because then instead of being humorous, the result is laughable. They make too light of a matter that’s all too serious for the main character and lose the audience while they’re at it. (The First Avenger did a marvelous job using this type of humor; it made us want to both laugh and cry at the same time. Perfection.)

Thirdly, humor can be a character’s lifeline. Rather than going stark raving insane… um, was that an unintentional Avengers pun? Never mind. Anyway. Rather than losing it, entirely and permanently, they can deal with it by making a joke. Some of these jokes are sad, but some can be pretty darn witty. (The First Avenger again. Also How To Train Your Dragon–though that’s more sarcasm than actual humor–and Kung Fu Panda, which also made me want to cry in parts.)

Finally, sometimes the characters will just make a joke unintentionally, or crack one on the aside, to keep a plot moving, so the audience doesn’t get bored. (The First Avenger. Par excellence.) My absolute favorite line in Perelandra is when Dr. Ransom slips up:

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, here goes–I mean, Amen!

So, bottom line?

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1. Humor can help keep characters sane.

2. Humor meshes well if it’s used to acknowledge something (as in lampshading a plot oversight and making it into a joke) in most cases, but don’t overdo it. (Cars. ‘Nough said.)

3. Do not poke fun at your main characters for no reason, or you may end up sacrificing character development and making your entire book into a bad joke.

4. Absolutely no spontaneous expedient character defamation or out of character syndrome. Because that is not funny. Most of the time, not even in what is referred to as “crackfic.”

5. Some characters are just pretty darn funny (like Halt, Major Montgomery, Bucky, Cap, Arven, Gobber, Gonff, Edmund Pevensie, Dr. Elwin Ransom, and Sir Percy Blakeney) without even trying.

So, that’s my post on humor and how to and how not to use it. Good luck, Nanoers. 😉

Thanks for reading, God bless, and have a great day. 😀

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So, what do you bring to the team?

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comparison, dreamworks, kung fu panda, movie reviews, reviews, rise of the guardians, teamwork, the lego movie

Hey, y’all!

I just watched two amazing movies. One was The Lego Movie (and the stupid song is now stuck in me head. ARRRGH!), and the other is The Rise of the Guardians. (FYI… this is sort of a follow-up to my former post about Chosen Ones…) Now, as different as these two movies seem at the first glance, they really both operate on the same premise. Both movies are about a newcomer joining The Team of Fame and Fate to save the world. In both movies, the protagonist (Emmet and Jack Frost, respectively) must find their place on the team and in their world. Both movies suffer from a bit of a Deus Ex Machina at the end (I will explain later.) Both movies are (marginally) more satisfying, in one way, than Kung Fu Panda, and for one reason only.

Why?

Because I felt that, even before the darkest hour and the subsequent rallying cry, the two protagonists brought something new–something special–a fresh perspective–to the team.

In Rise of the Guardians, the Guardians’ duty is to protect the innocence of the world’s children, to keep them safe, maintain their wonder, hopes, dreams–basically all-around protecting the hope of the future. However, the Guardians have, just a little, lost touch with their roots. They haven’t actually spent time with children in a very long time when the movie takes place–and on the other hand, Jack, who only wants to be acknowledged–to be seen–to be believed in–has been spending all his time around kids in the hopes that someone, some time, will believe in him. This same wish of Jack’s–to be believed in–later becomes a weakness exploited by the villain, yet at the same time it is a strength; it provides a path to the movie’s resolution.

Jack helps the Guardians to re-connect with their roots and re-connect with children. This later proves to be crucial in the movie’s climax (hey, no spoilers! :-P)

In The Lego Movie, Emmet is the prophesied Special, who, if you look at him, is actually not particularly that special at all. He must join up with the (way more awesome) Master Builders in order to fight for freedom. (Freedom Friday! But still on a Tuesday! 😛 Sorry, I couldn’t resist…)

Now, the Master Builders are each brilliant, and Wyldstyle’s skills (along with Emmet being a dork) are what originally facilitate their escape from the semi-villain Bad Cop. (Did I mention that Liam Neeson pulling off a Gollum-Smeagol act was probably one of the most awesome bits of the movie?) But each Master Builder is unique, to the point of disparity. They can’t work consistently together–and Emmet notices this early on, though he doesn’t try to say much about it. He just squeaks a little… 😛 Eventually, though, when the clashing attitudes and skills of their Master Builder team almost cause their death, Emmet pulls them together, which gets them most of the way to victory. (I’m not spoiling the ending for my darling readers–noooo way!)

Oh, and I should say, Emmet’s rise to AWESOMENESS is quite unlike any other originally-wimpy guy’s. While he is a good chunk of the comic relief all in himself, he isn’t as flat as some characters of the sort tend to be; he’s a sweet guy, just a little dorky. He’s very compassionate; he doesn’t really want recognition, per se–I think he just wants to help people and be a good friend. He doesn’t fantasize about having far more epicness than he does; he’s very humble, and I found that refreshing. Like Olaf, he’s an old stereotype breaking new ground. Also, the movie is funny–relics such as the Cloak of Band-AIIIIID, the cotton-swathed Scepter of Q-Teep, and the Polish Remover of Naiiil (if you don’t get the joke, I will hunt you down and kick chairs around your house!) make for great humor, as do some Bat-puns (bad puns? Get it!?), and other puns, such as Machine Gum, make the movie a treasure-trove for those who watch for the funny little things. Seriously, if you have not yet seen The Lego Movie, go check it out at your library and watch it tonight! Well, what are you waiting for?!

On the other hand, Kung Fu Panda, while a marvelous movie, doesn’t seem to have Po being proactive up until the Five are defeated and he is given the impetus to find his inner warrior. I must admit, Po being more than a funny, loveable punching bag at that point in the movie would have been slightly out of character, but still, it’s slightly disappointing next to Rise and Lego Movie.

So, what do we want? More Chosen Ones who bring more than just behind-kicking and world-saving! Specials who contribute to the team before they begin to be really cool! Protagonists who bring something a little more solid to the team than just vagaries of chosen-ness!!!

Oh, you wanted to hear about the double Deus Ex Machina in minor, didn’t you? Right. Well, this will involve SPOILERS, so read at your own risk!!!

SPOILER ALERT!At the end of Rise, we had no idea how our heroes were going to win against Pitch, despite having the children on their side. Though the few remaining believing children were keeping the Guardians from breaking down entirely, we didn’t know that the courage of the children could actually transform Pitch’s black Nightmare sand back into golden Dreamsand. And we certainly didn’t know that their actions could restore Sandy to life!
After the Kragle is disarmed in Lego Movie, how were the people who’d been Kragled released from their epoxy prison? Suddenly, Lord Business has the antidote (Glu-removing Mineral Spirits!), which I had no idea even existed at all before watching the movie. So, everything’s okay… but there’s a relic that’s not accounted for there! Though, I suppose it’s easy to explain away, given the dual-world (the world of Legos, and the world in which Legos are toys) of Lego Movie.
END SPOILER

Thanks for reading, and God Bless!