This test will assess your knowledge and understanding of conflict as an essential element of literature in a story or animated film. There are two parts to the test. The first part consists of video clips of scenes from animated films. Watch the movie scenes and then decide which type/form of conflict occurs in that part of the story. Keep in mind that each story has a major conflict for the film. However, the exercise is for you to think about the type/form of conflict that is presented in the scene that you watch from each movie. Also, some scenes may actually have more than one conflict. Explain your answers.
The second part of the test consists of short answer questions.
1. The Lion King (1994) - A meerkat and a warthog named Timon and Pumbaa are walking through the forest when a lioness begins chasing them. Simba, who has grown up and become friends with the two, rushes to rescue them from the lioness and realizes it is Nala, his childhood best friend. She and Simba briefly talk about how things have changed in the Pride Lands and Simba ponders returning home to take his place as king.
2. Toy Story (1995) - Andy’s toys become uneasy as he opens his birthday gifts. They are concerned about being replaced by new toys, especially Sheriff Woody who is currently Andy’s favorite toy. As the leader of the group, Woody sends the green army men to spy on the gift opening with a baby monitor, while he and the other toys listen in. They find out that Andy has received a Buzz Lightyear action figure that is noticeably placed on top of Andy’s bed where Woody usually rests.
3. Monsters Inc. (2001) - James P. "Sulley" Sullivan and Mike Wazowski, employees who work as “scarers” at Monsters Incorporated, encounter Randall Boggs in the employee break room. Randall is Sully’s rival as the company’s highest producer of energy from children’s screams. They all talk about work as they prepare for their shifts at the company.
4. Shrek (2001) - The dwarfish Lord Farquaad of Duloc exiles a vast number of fairy-tale creatures/characters who end up in the swamp where Shrek lives. Farquaad, who wants to become a king, is tortuously questioning the Gingerbread Man to find out where other characters are living. He is presented with the Magic Mirror, who tells him that he must marry a princess in order to become king. Farquaad chooses Princess Fiona, who is imprisoned in a castle guarded by a Dragon.
5. Ice Age (2002) - Sid, Manny, and Diego are migrating south to avoid a forthcoming ice age. They are carrying and caring for a human baby whose mother died in a river fleeing from a pack of saber-toothed tigers, of which Diego had been a part of. They are planning to return the baby to its human tribe.
6. WALL-E (2008) – WALL-E and EVE get to know each other as he shows her some of the items he has found and kept while cleaning up the planet, which is now uninhabitable by humans. Some of the interesting items include bubble wrap, a light bulb, a Rubik’s Cube, a television video with singing and dancing, a lighter, and a living seedling. After seeing the seedling, EVE goes into standby mode.
7. The Princess and the Frog (2009) - Prince Naveen of Maldonia has a valet named Lawrence. A valet is defined as a man's personal male attendant, responsible for his clothes and appearance. He accompanies Naveen to New Orleans where the young prince has planned to marry Charlotte La Bouff, a rich Southern belle (and Tiana’s best friend) since his parents have cut him off from being able to receive their fortune. They meet Dr. Facilier, a voodoo witch doctor, who transforms Naveen into a frog and gives Lawrence Naveen's appearance through a voodoo talisman containing Naveen's blood. Facilier intends for the disguised Lawrence to marry Charlotte, then gain control of the La Bouff fortune. However, the talisman disguising Lawrence as Naveen needs more of Naveen's blood or Lawrence will return to his normal appearance.
8. Up (2009) - While on an excursion in South America with an elderly neighbor named Carl Fredricksen, Russell, a young “Wilderness Explorer” scout, finds a giant flightless bird that is native to that area. Russell refers to the bird as a snipe but then names it Kevin. Russell allows Kevin to eat pieces of his chocolate candy bar and they begin to play with one another. Carl is frightened and apprehensive at the size of the bird and tries to protect Russell from it.
9. Frozen (2013) - Sisters Elsa and Anna of Arendelle have been living in a castle after their parents (the king and queen) died at sea. The castle gates were closed, and Princess Elsa had been placed in isolation by her parents before they died until she learned to control her magical powers of snow and ice because she accidentally injured her younger sister with her powers. On Elsa's coronation day, the castle gates open to the public for the first time and Anna and Prince Hans of the Southern Isles announce their plans to get married. However, the announcement upsets Elsa and because of the rift in the relationship that has formed between the two sisters, Anna has never known or understood the reason Elsa treats her in the way that she does.
10. Encanto (2021) - Intent on finding out how to solve the family’s problem with their magical house, 15-year-old Mirabel Madrigal approaches her sister Isabel Madrigal to make amends with her. Isabel blames Mirabel for ruining her engagement dinner but as they argue, she reveals that she did not want to marry Mariano Guzman. When Isabel confesses this “imperfect” feeling, it causes her to create a cactus plant instead of one made only of flowers.
11. What is the definition of conflict in a story or animated film?
12. How many different types/forms of conflicts are there, and list them?
13. What is stated as the conflict of the animated film Rango (2011) in this lesson?
14. What was stated as an alternate conflict because Rango gets stranded in the desert and must find a way to either get back home or survive in the desert.
15. Which conflict is an example of an internal conflict?
16. Which conflict is an example of an external conflict?
17. Who were the animators that wrote the book about the 12 basic principles of animation?
18. What was the title of the book that introduced the 12 basic principles of animation and when was it written?
19. Who did those animators work for in the 1930s?
20. What type of animation is used in the animated film Rango (2011)?