The plot of a story, or of a literary work, is defined as the sequence of events in which each event affects the next one through the principle of cause -and-effect. It is the structure or organization of the events in the story. It is similar in meaning to the word storyline and can be thought of conceptually as activity that takes place over time. The plot can also refer to a narrative summary or story synopsis, rather than a specific cause-and-effect sequence. Simply put, the plot of a story tells the readers what the story is about.
The plot of a story can be analyzed and explained using a plot diagram. Also called a story diagram, or a story plot map, it explains the events of a story in a diagram that shows the beginning of the story, the middle, and the story’s end.
The diagram begins with background or an exposition that is included in the story. The rising action includes events that happen after the reader has been given some information about the characters. This part usually also relates the conflict of the story to the reader. The events in the rising action lead up to the climax of the story where there is a dramatic focus on the conflict, which can determine how the story will end. The falling action is the part in which the characters work to resolve the conflict. The resolution is the end of the story and where the reader finds out how the characters live after the resolution of the conflict.
Most fictional stories have one major conflict. However, the diagram shown above shows that some stories include more than one conflict or problem.
Monsters, Inc. is a 2001 American animated comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. Featuring the voices of John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Steve Buscemi, James Coburn, Mary Gibbs and Jennifer Tilly, the film was directed by Pete Docter, co-directed by Lee Unkrich and David Silverman, and produced by Darla K. Anderson, from a screenplay by Andrew Stanton and Daniel Gerson.
The plot of the film centers on two monsters, the hairy James P. "Sulley" Sullivan (Goodman) and his one-eyed partner and best friend Mike Wazowski (Crystal), who are employed at Monsters, Inc., the energy-producing factory which generates power by scaring human children. However, the monster world believes that the children are toxic, and when a little human girl sneaks into the factory, she must be returned home before it is too late. Monsters inc. is rated G, and the other major characters are as follows: Randall Boggs (Sully’s rival and a villain), Boo (the two-year-old girl who gets stuck in Monstropolis), Roz (Monsters Inc.’s bookkeeper), and Henry Waternoose III (CEO of Monsters Inc.). The setting is the city of Monstropolis. The mood switches from happy and light-hearted to dark and scary when the monsters sneak into the children’s bedrooms to scare them.
Spoiler Alert – This post includes information about the ending of this film. If you have not watched the film Monsters, Inc. (2001), you should do so before completing this assignment.
Rising Action
A two-year-old girl follows Sully back into the monster world. Sully tries to return the girl to her room, but she keeps following him back. Randall deactivates and stores the door, leaving the girl stuck in the monster world. The girl's presence becomes public knowledge and Sully gets Mike’s help to hide her. The Child Detection Agency (CDA) begins looking for her. Randall agrees to help them return her to her bedroom but reveals his plan to kidnap children and harvest their screams using his new invention, the scream extractor.
Climax
Sulley and Mike report Randall to Mr. Waternoose, who then reveals he is working with Randall. Waternoose banishes Sully and Mike to the Himalayas. Sully and Mike find a way to return, and Randall chases them through the factory. They defeat Randall and throw him through a door to the Everglades, which they then destroy, leaving Randall permanently trapped in the human world.
Falling Action
As they go to return Boo, they instead end up in the factory training room. Waternoose reveals his conspiracy to kidnap as many children as necessary to keep the company afloat. Mike records the conversation and reveals it to the CDA, and Waternoose is arrested. Roz, a scare floor administrator, reveals herself as the CDA's undercover director. She orders Sulley to send Boo home, and the door is shredded.
Resolution
Sully keeps one of the wood splinters as a memento. Sulley changes the power generation method to harvest children's laughter instead of screams. Mike becomes the company's top comedian, and Sulley is named the new CEO. Mike reassembles Boo's shredded door. When the door is activated again, he peeks into her room, and she greets him.
Emotions and Facial Expressions
In addition to providing an example film to explain the plot, Monsters Inc. is a good story to focus on conveying realistic emotions with the facial expressions of animated characters.
Creating natural and realistic facial expressions that convey emotions is necessary for animation that is believable. Dramatically expressive characters are interesting and more appealing to viewers. A focus on the facial expressions of the characters to convey their emotions is key to the development of the cartoon character’s personality.
Animators effectively convey emotions in how they draw the character’s facial features. Attention to the character’s eyes, eyebrows, and mouth can visually dramatize how the character is feeling and what they are thinking. The size of the eyes, the positions of the eyebrows, and the shape and appearance of the mouth can show anger, sadness, fear, surprise, astonishment, uncertainty, and confusion.
Exaggeration and Appeal
Exaggeration is an effective tool for animators when creating and drawing characters. Animated motions that strive for a perfect imitation of reality can look static and dull. By using exaggeration, the artist presents reality in a wilder, more extreme form, according to Disney’s basic principles of animation. An animator can also learn to add appeal to a character by including exaggerated expressions for emotion. Such appeal, or “charisma,” makes the characters interesting and likable.
Have fun learning!
(Sources – Animation Guides, Internet Movie Database, Pinterest, Upwork, Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia)