Book review: Pixar Storytelling by Dean Movshovitz

My 29th read of 2017 was Pixar Storytelling: Rules for Effective Storytelling Based on Pixar’s Greatest Films, by Dean Movshovitz.
The art of storytelling is such a valuable marketing tool and this book didn’t disappoint. I’m a huge fan of Pixar films and, in Pixar Storytelling, Movshovitz does a brilliant job of deconstructing and explaining the storytelling techniques used in the movies.
Immediately after reading the Kindle edition, I purchased a paperback copy for my eldest daughter who is a keen fiction writer. If you want to learn more about storytelling techniques, I highly recommend this book.
Here are some of the passages I highlighted on my Kindle:
Most good stories revolve around watching a character struggle outside of his or her comfort zone.
On a different, deeper level, your idea must force your characters to go through an emotional journey. A character, forced out of its element, is compelled to work hard to get back to its comfort zone, just as we would in life.
This discomfort is more than just bad luck or a worst-case scenario. It is a catalyst that forces our hero to react, and in the best movies, to grow and change.
Ideally, even before the gears of the plot start to turn, there should be a problem in your protagonist’s life or world.
Once you have found the existing flaw in your core idea, craft a story that pushes it to the extreme.
Whatever the existing flaw, it must be clearly related to the plot you have crafted for your protagonist. The more these two work in tandem, the higher the emotional stakes will be and the more invested your audience will be.
Everything in your screenplay should relate to your core idea, to your main conflict.
Uncomfortable characters are so appealing because we all like feeling comfortable. And once our cushy existence is taken from us, we need to reconcile these new circumstances with who we are and what we have lost.
Strong, unique characters are the secret to a movie’s success. No matter what your story is, the events that construct it are happening to someone. And that someone better be interesting and, more importantly, must care about what is happening to and around them.
Good characters care. Great characters care because they have strong opinions.
When your characters’ opinions are rooted in their experiences, especially painful experiences, it gives them depth and makes them more realistic.
That’s the third level of “liking,” in which you become personally invested in the world of someone else to the point that their wins are your wins, and their losses are your losses.
The first layer of a character is easy to create but fades quickly. The third layer requires more details and originality, as well as more patience from your audience, but is more rewarding and creates a stronger bond with viewers.
When we see a character truly desire something, we almost immediately take their side and hope they obtain it. Why? Because we hope to have our goals met just like the character does.
Characters must experience these dark moments, because a character devoid of self-doubt and fear is unrelatable.
Fighting for their life is the biggest conflict a character can face, as death is an insurmountable obstacle to all goals a character might have.
Conflict is more effective when there is something your character is risking.
In storytelling, the most powerful instance of construction is personal, when a protagonist must change something deep within themselves to achieve their goal. This is deeply moving because true change is extremely hard to achieve — in fiction and in life.
Bonding should involve two characters who have clear reasons not to like each other. Only through a parallel process of external events pushing them together and inner changes that remove the relationship’s emotional obstacles, can they come together in a way that is truly meaningful.
Pixar’s films usually have a layered structure that involves an adventurous life-or-death action story, an interpersonal story of bonding, and an inner emotional struggle. These layers are interconnected. This structure serves as a force multiplier, enriching each of these stories separately and creating more major events, which audiences seem to enjoy.
It’s good to keep in mind that there are no such things as small characters.
Antagonism refers to anything that stands between your protagonist and their goal. It can be a character, an object, a concept, or even the protagonist themself.
A good ending must make sense without being predictable. It should come with a bit of a surprise but also justify and elucidate the journey leading it up to it.
Next up, I’m reading Perennial Seller: The Art of Making and Marketing Work that Lasts, by Ryan Holiday.
