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Lessons from the Screenplay
The Soul of Good Character Design
The Soul of Good Character Design
Lessons from the Screenplay
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13:36 · Feb 11, 2021
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Hi,
I'm
Michael.
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0:00
Hi, I'm Michael.
0:02
This is Lessons from
0:05
Two fundamental elements of character design
0:08
are want and need.
0:10
What the character wants usually drives the story forward,
0:14
but it's often through the character's need that a story expresses its theme and
0:18
creates an emotional impact.
0:20
In Pixar's Soul, these aspects of story structure are right on the surface.
0:26
because the protagonist is so preoccupied
0:28
with pursuing a goal that he ignores the joy to be found along the way.
0:33
So today I want to explore how the film creates the arc of the
0:36
protagonist, Joe, to examine how it makes the audience
0:40
deeply empathize with his want
0:42
while subtly signaling what he actually needs
0:45
and to reveal how Joe's finally understanding
0:47
his need creates one of the most emotional
0:50
scenes in the film.
0:52
Let's take a look at Soul.
1:00
1 2 3 4.
1:04
As the film begins, the thing Joe wants is quickly made clear.
1:08
We see Joe's struggles as a middle school band
1:13
as well as his talent and passion for
1:22
Joe is dissatisfied with his life and longs to be a professional musician.
1:28
The inciting incident of the film makes his want even more specific.
1:33
Joe gets the opportunity
1:34
of a lifetime, the chance to play with jazz legend Dorothia Williams.
1:39
Wow, I would die a happy man
1:42
if I could perform with Dorothia Williams.
1:45
Oh well, this could be your lucky day.
1:47
He nails the audition and is set to play the gig of his life.
1:51
But then something quite frustrating happens. He dies.
1:57
This crystallizes his want.
2:00
No, no, no, no, no, no. Listen.
2:01
I have a gig tonight.
2:02
I can't die now.
2:03
Joe wants to escape death,
2:05
return to his body, and play the gig that will change his life.
2:09
I'm not dying today.
2:10
Not when my life just started.
2:11
But in order for the audience to identify with Joe,
2:14
we have to want him to get what he wants.
2:17
The film uses a few techniques to show us how happy music makes Joe
2:22
when he plays and goes into the zone.
2:24
Beautiful visuals and sound design
2:26
convey how he feels.
2:28
The characters around Joe are also impressed by his musical ability.
2:32
Joe Gardner, where have you been?
2:34
Clearly communicating that he's talented.
2:36
And once Joe is in the great before,
2:38
we get a glimpse of how much rejection he has faced in pursuit of his Sorry, Joe. Sorry, Joe.
2:45
We're looking for something different.
2:47
But what makes soul special is that Joe's want is something that is culturally
2:51
accepted as being worthy of pursuit.
2:54
Our culture tends to assign value based on achievement.
2:58
And most of us have probably thought at some point,
3:00
if I could just accomplish
3:01
this one thing, then I would be happy.
3:05
So, the film not only uses triedand-true
3:07
filmmaking techniques to help us identify with Joe,
3:10
but also gives him a culturally
3:12
encouraged want, something we might by default
3:15
assume is indeed a good and worthwhile thing to pursue.
3:19
And this brilliant choice
3:21
ultimately makes the film's themes
3:22
even more powerful once Joe realizes his need.
3:28
There's a great summary of the relationship
3:30
between need and want in CM Wland's book creating character arcs.
3:35
Your character will spend most of the story pursuing an outer plot related goal
3:39
related to the thing he wants.
3:41
But what the story is really about on a deeper level is his growth
3:45
into a place where he first subconsciously
3:48
then consciously recognizes and pursues his inner goal,
3:52
the thing he needs.
3:54
So, how does Joe come to recognize and pursue the thing he needs?
3:58
This is where Joe's antagonist,
4:00
or opponent, if you want to use a softer word, 22, comes in.
4:05
I'm going to make you wish you never
4:07
As a soul who has never been to Earth, nor ever been in a body.
4:11
I'm in a body.
4:12
WHY ARE YOU IN MY BODY?
4:13
The experience of living is entirely new to 22.
4:18
Don't worry, it's okay.
4:19
Just keep At first, being stuck in Joe's body is overwhelming,
4:25
but around the midpoint of the story,
4:27
22 starts getting into this whole living thing.
4:30
Meanwhile, Joe, who was stuck in the body of a cat,
4:34
watches as 22's complete lack of interest in jazz,
4:37
creates new opportunities for human connection.
4:41
It is nice to finally talk to you about something other than jazz, yo. Huh?
4:45
How come we um never talked about your life before?
4:48
You never asked, but I'm glad you did this time.
4:51
22 delights in living life moment by moment,
4:54
appreciating the things Joe overlooks
4:57
as he continues to pursue the thing he wants.
5:00
This hints at Joe's need
5:02
to realize that attaching his purpose in life to accomplishing
5:05
a singular goal prevents him from actually living.
5:09
Although Joe starts to become conscious of his need at the midpoint,
5:13
this need is actually present from the start of the film
5:16
in ways we may have even been blind to because we were swept up
5:20
in Joe's culturally encouraged
5:22
pursuit of his want.
5:24
In that same first scene where Joe struggles as a teacher,
5:27
we also see that he experiences
5:29
joy watching just one of his students falling in love with music.
5:34
In the second scene,
5:35
Joe's mother points out all the things he doesn't seem to appreciate about teaching music.
5:40
And Lord knows we need more teachers in this world.
5:43
And just think, playing
5:45
music will finally be your real career.
5:48
And if we revisit
5:49
Joe's lines when he's faced with the great beyond,
5:52
we see that they reveal his subconscious
5:54
awareness of his need.
5:56
I'm not dying today.
5:57
Not when my life just started.
5:59
Deep down, Joe knows that he hasn't really been living his life,
6:03
but instead waiting for some magical future
6:06
that will mark when his life really starts.
6:09
Joe's need is present subconsciously
6:11
from the start of the film.
6:13
And while he begins to recognize it consciously
6:15
at the midpoint, how does he finally accept it?
6:19
In the final stages of a positive change arc, the story must force the
6:23
character to confront their need at the crisis.
6:28
A protagonist can end a story having gotten what they want,
6:31
what they need, or both, or neither.
6:34
In most quote unquote
6:35
happy endings, the protagonist
6:37
gets what they want
6:39
and what they need.
6:40
In Groundhog Day, spoiler warning,
6:43
Phil gets what he needs when he learns how to be truly selfless
6:46
and in doing so becomes worthy of the thing he wants,
6:50
the affection of his love interest, Rita.
6:52
Check out our video on Groundhog Day.
6:55
In more bittersweet endings,
6:56
the protagonist sacrifices the thing they originally
7:00
wanted for the thing they need.
7:02
In Children of Men, spoiler warning,
7:05
Theo just wants to make some money and maintain his apathy toward the future of humanity.
7:10
But in the end, he realizes that the thing he needs is to reawaken
7:14
his passion and to fight for humanity.
7:16
And he makes the ultimate sacrifice to that end.
7:19
Check out our video on Children of Men.
7:22
Soul does something interesting.
7:24
The film makes Joe realize his need
7:27
by giving him exactly what he wants.
7:30
By the end of the second act, Joe is back in his body and
7:33
manages to make it to his gig with Dorothia Williams.
7:36
Though it's clear he still hasn't embraced his need.
7:39
Get ready, Joe Gardner.
7:41
Your life is about to start.
7:43
He plays the show and absolutely kills it.
7:46
Receiving a standing ovation.
7:49
Welcome to the quartet. Teach.
7:52
Joe has finally gotten everything he has ever wanted.
7:55
So he's confused when he finds himself feeling lost. What's wrong, Teach?
8:02
It's just I've been waiting on this day my entire life.
8:06
It's I thought I'd feel different.
8:12
This conversation with Dorothia
8:13
is what finally prepares Joe to fully recognize his need.
8:17
And it does this in two ways.
8:20
On the Spotify podcast
8:21
Soul Stories, Soul's coowwriter and director Pete Doctor
8:25
recounts a story told to him by Trent Resner,
8:27
who co-scored the film and is the driving creative force behind the band 9-in Nails.
8:32
He said, "I felt as a musician,
8:35
boy, if I could someday just play a stadium show,
8:39
that would mean that I've made it."
8:41
He said somehow he felt like it would fix him,
8:44
make everything make sense.
8:46
And what happened was instead
8:48
he plays the show.
8:49
It's great and everybody
8:50
has lives and they went home
8:52
and he's left there going, "Wait,
8:56
I thought that was supposed to be
8:58
the thing that put it all in place and it didn't."
9:01
And it was because of that story of like waiting backstage
9:04
for people that we put in.
9:06
Remember camp we put in the thing with the subway?
9:08
The thing with the subway is a reference to earlier in the film when
9:12
Joe associates riding the subway with monotony
9:14
and dissatisfaction in life.
9:16
and he imagines a future when he won't have to be concerned with such things.
9:21
Every day the same thing day in and day out.
9:25
But once I get on the stage tonight,
9:27
all my troubles are going to be fixed.
9:29
You're going to see a brand new Joe Garden.
9:31
But after playing the gig of his life,
9:34
he realizes that even his dream job
9:36
is still a job.
9:38
So, uh, what happens next?
9:40
We come back tomorrow night and do it all again.
9:44
Immediately after this interaction,
9:45
we see Joe ending his day by riding the subway home
9:49
just like everyone else.
9:51
The second way the conversation with Dorothia
9:53
prepares Joe to recognize his need
9:55
is through the story she tells him,
9:57
which succinctly summarizes the problem with Joe's want.
10:03
I heard this story about a fish.
10:06
He swims up to this older fish and says, "I'm trying to find this
10:09
thing they call the ocean." "The ocean?"
10:12
says the older fish.
10:13
That's what you in right now.
10:15
This says the young fish. This is water.
10:18
What I want is the ocean. See you tomorrow.
10:27
After getting what he wants and hearing this story,
10:30
Joe now understands the theme at the heart of the film.
10:34
Attaching your purpose and life to a goal
10:36
will not bring you permanent happiness
10:38
even if you achieve it.
10:40
And in the meantime,
10:42
you'll miss out on all the life happening around you.
10:45
Armed with this knowledge,
10:47
Joe returns home, remembers the joy 22
10:50
found in all the little things in life,
10:52
and finally gets what he needs.
10:55
So, what do you think you'll do?
10:57
How are you going to spend your life?
10:59
I'm not sure, but
11:02
I do know I'm going to live
11:06
every minute of it.
11:08
Soul clearly demonstrates the importance of a character's want and a character's need.
11:14
By making the thing Joe wants
11:16
something that our culture often encourages us to want as well,
11:19
the movie teaches a valuable life lesson that we unfortunately hear very rarely.
11:25
If we decide that our lives won't really begin,
11:28
won't really have a purpose until we achieve a singular goal,
11:32
then we may miss out on all the life happening
11:35
around us in this very moment.
11:39
Hey guys, hope you enjoyed our video on soul.
11:42
I have a question for you.
11:44
I'm thinking about putting together a video essaist
11:47
roundt that would premiere on Nebula.
11:49
And I want to know from you guys, who are some video essaists that
11:52
you'd want to see be part of the conversation?
11:54
And what are some topics that you'd want us to talk about?
11:57
Let me know in the comments below.
11:59
If you're unfamiliar with Nebula,
12:01
it's a streaming service created by a group of educational
12:04
YouTubers where we don't have to worry about the algorithm
12:07
and we can experiment with new kinds of content.
12:10
It features some of the best creators on YouTube and all the content there is adfree.
12:15
Plus, there are things called Nebula
12:17
Originals content made exclusively for Nebula.
12:21
If you're interested in signing up for Nebula,
12:23
we've done something to sweeten the deal.
12:26
If you sign up for Curiosity
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Stream, not only do you get their thousands of amazing documentaries,
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you also get Nebula for free.
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So, for example, you could on Curiosity
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Stream check out The Science of Cute,
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a documentary about how and why we perceive cuteness
12:42
that features tons of adorable imagery.
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And then also check out on Nebula,
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Tom Scott torturing some YouTubers
12:50
or Real Engineering's series on the logistics of D-Day,
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which is really fascinating.
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And if you use the link in the description below, you get 26%
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off an annual plan.
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So that's both Curiosity
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Stream and Nebula for less than $15 a year.
13:05
So head to the link in the description below to sign up for Curiosity
13:08
Stream and to get Nebula for free.
13:11
Thank you to Curiosity
13:12
Stream for sponsoring this video.
13:14
If you haven't yet, this is also a great time to check out our
13:17
podcast, Beyond the Screenplay,
13:19
where each week the team and I do a conversational
13:22
deep dive analysis into a different film.
13:24
The link to our episode on Soul is in the description below. Thank you.
13:30
As always to the patrons for making this channel possible
13:33
and thank you for watching.
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