A brief discussion of "humor" in Disney animated films

Humor can be said to be an indispensable element of animated films, especially for Disney animated films, humor is innate Come. Professor Nie Xinru defined Disney animation as "mainstream animation" in his book "Introduction to Animation" and pointed out that this type of animated film has a relatively fixed pattern [1]. What I want to discuss here is the formation pattern of "humor" in cartoons. Specifically, the formation of humor in Disney animated films can be analyzed from two aspects: sound and picture.

Painting - exaggeration of image

In the silent film era, movies mainly relied on the image of characters, exaggerated expressions, body movements, etc. to create jokes. The same was true for cartoons. Its particularity - the difference between animated films and live-action films is that the subject itself is not a living body, but a hypothetical image made by means of plastic arts, that is, "a picture painted on a flat surface or a three-dimensional 'puppet' and "Films in which objects are the subjects" [2], therefore, cartoons have more room for change in exaggerated deformation of images, movements, expressions, etc. This is why even after the advent of sound, exaggeration in performance is still the first choice for creating jokes in cartoons.

For example, in the classic Disney animation, Donald Duck wears a navy hat, a blue sailor suit, a red bow tie, and no pants. He is always making trouble, losing his temper, and squirming. It has a fat butt and a big flat mouth, and it keeps shouting with its loud voice. This character image itself is very humorous.

Starting from external image design to create animated characters with a sense of humor was probably more common before the birth of "Snow White", because the animated short films at that time were intended to be funny, and "When the first feature film "Snow White" came out, the structure of the entire film changed, and comedy was no longer the main purpose. Therefore, funny characters took a secondary position in the film"[3], although Disney animation The image of the main characters begins to look closer to real people, but there is still no shortage of humorous images in the film's supporting characters, and these images become the explosive factor of humor in the film.

In traditional Chinese dramas, there are specialized clowns who perform gags, and the supporting characters in Disney cartoons also play a role in adjusting the atmosphere and creating a relaxed atmosphere. For example, the dwarf in "Snow White", Mushu in "Mulan", the hermit crab in "The Little Mermaid", Puffy in "The Lion King", Mo Li in "Single Island", "Under the Sea" The forgetful fish in "Cars" and so on. They occasionally pretend to be stupid, be clever, act funny, and make a fool of themselves in order to get laughter.

Compared with early animated images such as Donald Duck, Disney animations after "Snow White" no longer highlight the funnyness in the image, but more prominently highlight the funnyness of the action behaviors. Exaggerated deformations of daily behaviors are used to create an atmosphere. For example, in "Donald Duck Soldiers", the large military uniform on Donald Duck is instantly shrunk when water is poured on it. Some clothes will shrink. This is common sense in life, and in Here, exaggerating it becomes a gimmick to create humor. This kind of behavioral exaggeration is often seen in Disney animated films. For example, when running fast, the legs will turn into rolling tires; a person who is crushed will turn into a piece of paper floating in the air... and so on. The use of images to create humor is very effective, so it is not only a common method of Disney animation, but also the main method of animated films around the world.

Sound - the foil of music

We mentioned earlier that before sound entered animated films, the humor of cartoons mainly relied on the exaggerated performances of the characters, and when sound entered In movies, he is also used more to enhance the atmosphere and create humor in conjunction with the action.

In November 1928, "Steamboat Willie", one of the Mickey Mouse animated shorts, was shown at the Colony Theater in New York City. It used synchronized sound technology for the first time. With music synchronized with the action, the character called Mickey Mouse "sounds" and moves on the screen.

This short animation comes from a silent film "Steamboat Bill, Jr." independently produced by Buster Keaton. Keaton was a comedy genius during the silent film period. His greatest characteristic was his exaggerated and comical performances. This characteristic is prominently reflected in the film "Steamboat Little Bill." Disney's animated film "Steamboat Willie" with Mickey Mouse as the protagonist is a mocking version of the live-action film "Steamboat Little Bill". It makes good use of music to support the exaggeration and comedy of the character's actions. For example: In the film, a cow on a steamboat ate the musical score "Turkey in the Straw" that fell to the ground. Mickey Mouse found out that he could not take it out, so he came up with another idea. One way: he opened the cow's mouth with both hands, and Minnie (Mickey Mouse's girlfriend) folded the cow's tail into the shape of a rocker and shook it, using the cow as a gramophone. At the same time, in conjunction with this scene, the tune of the folk song "Turkey in the Straw" came from the cow's mouth. It is conceivable that without music, such humorous effects would be completely impossible to express. Although this work seems a bit ridiculous and crude now, it was indeed a sensational move at the time. In "Steamboat Willie", there are only a few lines of dialogue, and most of the sounds come from music. The exaggerated and humorous effects brought by these music are enough to make people who have just come into contact with sound Viewers of the cartoon were surprised and excited. Due to its huge influence, this animated film became the first animated film with sound in the history of film.

"Early 'Mickey Mouse' comedies were often based on musical gimmicks, such as a piano that matched the animal's movements, a tinkling pot, a ballet performed by numerous characters, and a xylophone The jawbone of a cow to be beaten, etc.” [4] Animation music at this time was used as a means to produce comic effects. So, how does Disney use music? Professor Nie Xinru pointed out that there are two main ways to use music to achieve a joking effect: "One is to use the unconventional arrangement of timbre and intervals to create a strange musical effect, so as to achieve the purpose of joking." For example, in the film "Rugrats" ——In "Paris Reversed", when the protagonist vows to prevent the vicious amusement park manager from marrying his father, the background music shows a kind of overwhelming heroism, but when asked how to do this , he was immediately discouraged. This music uses a series of descending scales to express discouragement. "Another approach is to change the music that originally has a fixed mood or atmosphere (or not change it at all) and use it in irrelevant or completely opposite situations to produce a comedic effect." More common The method is to use a lot of dance music as background music, and the characters in the foreground follow the music to dance their movements. For example, a war between the hermit crab and the palace chef in "The Little Mermaid" is carried out with familiar music, which makes The picture produced a very comical effect. Of course, in Disney animations, these methods of using music to create humor are usually used comprehensively.

After many years of sound entering movies, it gradually plays its own unique role in movies and can carry out independent narratives. However, in creating humor in cartoons, especially in Disney animation, it is mainly Rely on the cooperation between sound and picture. This method is very effective, so the sound and picture follow a single synchronization relationship, and it will continue to play a role in Disney animated films.

[1] "Introduction to Animation": Nie Xinru, Shanghai-Fudan University Press, first edition, December 2006, pages 97-98

[2] "World Cinema" "History" [France] Written by Georges Sadoul, translated by Xu Zhao and Hu Chengwei, Beijing-China Film Publishing House, September 1995, Chapter 22 Cartoons

[3] "Introduction to Animation": Nie Xin As written in Shanghai - Fudan University Press, first edition in December 2006, page 106

[4] [France] Georges Sadoul: "History of World Cinema", translated by Xu Zhao and Hu Chengwei, No. 20 Chapter 2 Cartoon, China Film Publishing House, September 1995, page 501