- That's okay, I mean,
what she doesn't know won't kill her, right? Oh, my gosh! This would kill her! This is so fun! I am a horrible daughter. I'm going back. - Desire versus fear. That is exactly what I'm talking about. That right there is what
makes the difference between a success and a flop. What's up my friend, Abbie here, and welcome back to Science of Story, where we come together to
uncover the secret ingredients behind your favorite stories and learn how to use those ingredients to make our own writing unforgettable. Today, we're exploring Disney movies. More specifically, what makes
the most iconic Disney movies so successful and why have
others totally flopped? What if I told you there's
actually a science behind this? What if I told you there
is a secret ingredient at the beginning of every
successful Disney film that pulls you in and holds your attention without you even consciously being aware of why it is you care about
these characters so much? And that secret ingredient
is something that you can use right now for your own
writing, because guess what? It has absolutely
nothing to do with money, or advertising, or having the
Disney logo on your thing. It has everything to do with
storytelling and brain science. (hip-hop music) If you know anything about storytelling, you know that every good
story starts with a hook, an opening scene designed
to pull the audience in and hold their attention. The hook is often the most
daunting part of a story to write because it's
a make-or-break moment. You basically have five
minutes to grab your audience. But what if there was a scientific formula to a winning hook? And what if you could take
that scientific formula and apply it to your own story, virtually guaranteeing
your story's success? Yes, this is possible. And in this video, we're going to uncover that scientific formula by looking closely at some of the most iconic
and best-loved Disney movies and finding the patterns,
the hidden clockwork behind the scenes. Okay, I know what you're
thinking right now. "Abbie, come on. Disney is, like, this
huge, successful company. Isn't the secret ingredient
here just, like, money? Disney has plenty of funds to go 'round, can't they just throw a
ton of money behind a movie and make it look really
good with advertising, success guaranteed?" Well, no. If that was the case,
then every movie's success would be entirely based
on the size of its budget and you would never have flops. But Disney has made plenty
of films that flopped, films like "Tomorrowland, "John Carter," "Alice Through the Looking Glass," and even their live action
remake of the classic, "Mulan." For the sake of my argument, let's look at the film, "John Carter," also known as a one of the biggest box office bombs in history. Now, I've never watched this movie. To be honest, it was difficult for me to just get through the trailer. But while I was reading the plot synopsis, I immediately recognized
the glaring issues that made "John Carter" a total flop. Let me give you a hint, it
was not a lack of money. In fact, the film's Wikipedia page reads, "With a total cost of $350 million, it is one of the most
expensive films ever made." Film critics are quoted
saying, "To watch 'John Carter' is to wonder where in
this jumbled space opera one might find the intuitive
sense of wonderment and awe screenwriter Stanton
brought to "Finding Nemo." Where, indeed? (inhales deeply) - Oh, yeah. A fish can breathe out here! - [Abbie] "Finding Nemo" was
obviously a massive success, with a budget under $100
million and a box office nearly scraping $1 billion. Financial success aside, the film spawned a highly anticipated sequel,
as well as a 3D re-release, a video game, theme park
attractions, and more. With the same screenwriter and
the same production company, how do you explain the
devastating difference between these two movies? It clearly was not a money problem, and it clearly was not a genre problem because there is a rather
large audience for space opera, and Disney thought so too when they bought the "Star Wars" franchise
for over $4 billion. A wise investment. But "John Carter" was not. Why? Because it's driven by a rather
clumsy and meandering plot, not driven by the characters. "But wait, Abbie! Don't you need a plot to
drive your story forward?" (laughs) No. Characters are what
drive the story forward. Am I saying that you
don't need a good plot? Of course not. You do, because plot is an important, essential part of storytelling. Because the plot is external conflict, and without external conflict, your characters don't change. But without internal conflict, your plot is meaningless. Without internal conflict,
your characters just become the punching bag for the plot. If you've been here for a while, you've probably heard me say this a lot. External conflict, the plot,
is all about what happens, but internal conflict, the
story, is about why it matters. This is such an important
rule of storytelling. I'm honestly shocked by how
many writers get this wrong. They might write a bunch
of crazy, exciting, dangerous stuff happening
to the characters, but they fail to show us why any of this matters to the characters. And if we don't know why it
matters to the characters, we don't know why it matters to us. That's what loses our attention. And that's what loses
your money as the author. Or as the massive film studio. So hopefully, a Disney executive is watching this video right now, and if they are, here is the secret to never making a flop again. Story is not about what happens. It's about how what happens affects and transforms the characters. ♪ What can I say except you're welcome ♪ (laughs) Okay, now let me show you what
I mean by internal conflict. It's quite simple, actually. It's just desire versus fear. Every single person has internal conflict that they struggle with. You right now, sitting there watching me. You have internal conflict. You have something that
you desire and you have some kind of fear that's
getting in your way of getting the thing that you desire. That fear is a misbelief, something that you decided was true, probably
back in your childhood or at some point during
your life, you decided, "This is true about the
world and about myself," and that's how you make decisions now. That's how we all make decisions,
is based on our beliefs. That's just a part of the human condition, which means if you want your
characters to feel human, they have to experience this
internal conflict as well, even if they're not human. This is the formula, the
hidden science behind every winning Disney movie. So now let's look at
some of the most iconic and successful films and I'll show you what this pattern looks like. - [Rapunzel] Look this way. - [Abbie] Once you see
it, you can't un-see it, so fair warning, I'm about
to obliterate the magic of Disney storytelling. So if you want to stay in the dark, feel free to shut off
this video right now. But if you want to make your
writing all the more amazing using these same storytelling
principles, keep watching. Let's look at some of the
most popular and iconic Disney films and see
what they have in common. What do they show us in
the first five minutes that makes us care about the characters? Let's start with the
obvious one, "Frozen." One of the highest grossing
Disney films of all time, and for good reason. While some may argue that many elements went into the film's success, including a catchy soundtrack
and impressive animation, I think we've determined by this point that those technical components
don't have the deciding vote in making your audience fall in love. That's all up to the
characters and the story. "Frozen" follows the
storytelling technique I like to call "the five minute rule," revealing the main
character's internal conflict within the first five
minutes of the story. Through a backstory sequence
in the beginning of "Frozen," we learn about our two
protagonists, Elsa and Anna. They're sisters, and obviously
close, but Elsa is different. She has a special power that gives her the ability to magically
create ice and snow. It's all fun and games
until Anna gets hurt, and Elsa's fear of hurting
others with her power takes root. How much time has passed
since the film started? Five minutes and 10 seconds. Throughout the following 10 minutes, we learn the rest of the
characters' internal conflict. Elsa's desire, to be
herself and to be free, to not hide her power from others. ♪ Don't let them see ♪ ♪ Be the good girl you always have to be ♪ Elsa's fear? That she will hurt the people she loves and that she will be seen
as a monster by others. Elsa's misbelief? In order to be happy and live freely, she must be isolated from everyone else. What does Elsa do in
order to achieve her goal and avoid her fear? Elsa flees into the
mountains and builds herself an ice castle to live alone and
to be free to use her power, but she inadvertently
freezes her entire country as a result. - What? - You kind of set off an
eternal winter, everywhere. - [Abbie] Running parallel
to Elsa's plot, we have Anna, who is also affected by the past. Anna's desire? To have a life outside her
castle and fall in love. Anna's fear? That she will be trapped and isolated, that she will never be loved. Anna's misbelief? That her sister Elsa has shut her out because she doesn't truly love Anna. What does Anna do in
order to achieve her goal and avoid her fear? Anna is determined to marry
Hans because she is afraid she will never have
another shot at true love. She doesn't know she's walking into a trap because she's too busy trying
to accomplish her goal. We see similar character goals in "Mulan." Not the live action 2020 version, which totally failed to
bring the internal conflict, and thus failed to make us
care about the characters, and thus failed to make a profit. But in the original film, the
writers actually constructed some good internal conflict
for our protagonist. While everyone is telling Mulan
what she is supposed to be, she knows that she is
meant for so much more. She doesn't really fit
in with her society, but what others see as weaknesses are actually her greatest strengths. Mulan is clever, valiant,
and thinks outside the box. She wants to make her family proud, but struggles with the idea of conforming to society's expectations of her. We begin to see all of this within the first five minutes of the film. Mulan's desire? To be free to discover who she really is and to use her talents
to make her family proud. Mulan's fear? That she will bring shame
upon herself and her family. Mulan's misbelief? That in order to bring
honor to her family, she must hide who she really is. ♪ When will my reflection show ♪ ♪ Who I am inside ♪ What does Mulan do in
order to achieve her goal and avoid her fear? Mulan joins the Imperial
Army disguised as a man, taking the place of her father. She uses her clever resourcefulness to overcome challenges and
ultimately save the day. "Tangled" is another movie that relies on a backstory sequence to show
us who the characters are and why we should care about them. Born with magical healing powers, Rapunzel is kidnapped at a young age by the evil Mother Gothel
who hides her away in a tower and exploits Rapunzel's magic
to keep her forever young, but Rapunzel is discontented with her life and longs to be free. We learn all of this in, you guessed it, the first five minutes of the film. Rapunzel's desire? To see the floating lights, and in effect, be free to enjoy her life
and discover who she is. Rapunzel's fear? Basically everything,
thanks to her "mother" scaring her with ideas of
what the real world is like. But Rapunzel is mostly afraid
of disappointing her mother. Rapunzel's misbelief? That she is weak and incapable
of handling the real world. What does Rapunzel do in
order to achieve her goal and avoid her fear? - Do you know what these are? - You mean the lantern thing
they do for the princess? - Lanterns? - [Abbie] Rapunzel is determined
to see the floating lights and find out why they appear
on her birthday every year. To do this, she must make a
deal with a wanted criminal on the condition that he will return her safely to her tower so she
doesn't break her mother's heart. Are you starting to see a pattern here? Protagonists trapped inside a "bubble," also known as their comfort zone, unable to break free
and achieve their goal because something is holding them back. It doesn't always have
to be a physical place or antagonistic force holding them back, but it does have to be
rooted in their fear. We see a similar internal conflict in "Beauty and the Beast." Belle is a romantic, nerdy introvert, whom everyone thinks is weird
just because she prefers books to her provincial life. Like most Disney heroines,
she flouts societal norms and longs for something more than what seems to satisfy everyone else. ♪ There must be more than
this provincial life ♪ These are all necessary character traits, which we learn in the first
five minutes of the film. Belle's desire, to find
adventure and true love, to explore her true potential beyond the expectations of society. Belle's fear? That she will find herself
trapped and imprisoned in a traditional life void
of true love and adventure. Belle's misbelief? That she will never belong or be loved because of her rebellious nature. What does Belle do in
order to achieve her goal and avoid her fear? Belle's inciting incident
shows up when her father is imprisoned at the Beast's castle. When Belle decides to
take her father's place, she dives headfirst into the
adventure she's always wanted, but it comes at the cost
of becoming a prisoner, her greatest fear. Does this also work for
non-human characters? Of course it does. Let's return to "Finding
Nemo" for a minute. You could say the main
character here is Nemo since he is the one whose
actions really trigger the events of the plot, but there are really two
protagonists in this story, Nemo and his over-protective
father, Marlin. In fact, I would argue
that Marlin's character arc is even stronger than Nemo's. He's the character we
begin the story with, and thus the character we're going to measure the importance of everything by. - How many stripes do I have? - I'm fine! - Answer the stripe question! - Three.
- No! See, something's wrong with you! I have 1, 2, 3. That's all I have? Oh, you're okay. - [Abbie] Unsurprisingly, the
movie opens with backstory showing us that Marlin
wasn't always paranoid about the big, scary ocean. That fear took root after he lost his wife and all their unhatched
eggs in a Barracuda attack. The only survivor was Nemo,
which Marlin swore to protect from that day onward. - [Marlin] I promise I will never let anything happen to you, Nemo. - [Abbie] After a time-jump,
we're in the present day. It's Nemo's first day of
school, Marlin is paranoid about letting his only child out of his sight, and guess how many minutes have passed? Yep, you know it, exactly five minutes. Marlin's desire. To protect Nemo, keep
him safe from danger. Marlin's fear, that he will lose Nemo the way he lost his wife. Marlin's misbelief, that
Nemo can only be safe if he stays inside the
protection of the reef where Marlin can ensure his safety. What does Marlin do in
order to achieve his goal and avoid his fear? When Nemo's foolish rebellion
leads him to getting captured by divers and
taken to an aquarium, Marlin sets out on a mission
to find him and bring him home. The misadventures that
ensue create the plot, but it all started
because of Marlin's fear, which was established during those crucial first five minutes of the film. At this point, you're
probably starting to see that all of these characters
have something in common. They are all active protagonists. In other words, they
don't just spend the story absorbing what happens. Rather, they are the agents of change, complete with a deep desire
that drives their motives and a conflicting fear
that holds them back. This is why it's so
important to make your story character-driven, because
it's the characters who bring the truth, the meaning,
the value to your readers. It's the characters who make us care. It's the characters who go on a journey and realize the truth about something, the truth that you want to
scream from the rooftops. If you're only going off of the plot, the external conflict, to
make your story unique, then you'll quickly lose
confidence in your story the moment you see something
kind of similar to it out there already. "But Abbie, I want my story to have a thrilling, exciting plot! I want it to be full of action,
and adventure, and peril!" Okay, fine, cool, go for it. But make sure the characters
are still driving the story because action is 1000
times more interesting and nerve-wracking when
we first get to know and relate to the characters. After all, if you don't really
care about these characters, then it's only perilous
to watch them in danger because your mirror neurons are firing as if you are in that situation. When you care about the characters, not only is your brain
engaged with the action as if you're in that situation, you also have an emotional
attachment to these characters, and that is what really puts
you on the edge of your seat. It's the same thing I was saying earlier. Why do you care more about
an animated clownfish than you care about John Carter? Because in "Finding Nemo,"
the writer spent more time developing the characters before he threw the perilous plot at them. He made you relate to the
internal conflict of emotions, and that's really what
held your attention, not the exciting stuff
that happened externally. In the same way you care more
about your friends and family than you care about a
stranger on the street, you can only truly
empathize with a character when you feel like you understand them and you can relate to them. That exciting external
conflict can still happen in your story, but ask yourself, "How can I make this more
important to my character? How can I show my reader
why this stuff happening matters to my characters
because of their desire, fear, misbelief?" After you create your character profile for your protagonist, it
will become so clear to you what their internal conflict is, where it all came from,
and the millions of ways that you can showcase
this internal conflict in the first five minutes of your story. Let's recap what we learned today. The hook is internal conflict,
and internal conflict is desire versus fear. Good storytelling is all
about finding the balance between plot and characters. Without external conflict,
your characters don't change, but without internal conflict,
your plot is meaningless. Don't let your characters be
the punching bag for your plot. Rather, they must be the agents of change, complete with a deep desire
that drives their motives and a conflicting fear
that holds them back. If you want your story to have
an impact on your audience, it must be character-driven
because it's the characters who are going on a journey to realize the truth about something,
the truth that you want to scream from the rooftops. So ask yourself, what does my protagonist think will bring them true
happiness or contentment? And how is their fear stopping
them from going after it? What is my character's misbelief, and what happened in their
past to create this misbelief? How can I show my audience
in the first five minutes why what's happening
matters to my protagonist, given their desire, fear, and misbelief? If you want to take this even further, I highly recommend checking
out my free character building and writing templates linked
in the description box below this video. I also recommend checking
out my video series on how to write a story with
the three act story structure using all of the storytelling principles that we talked about in today's video. You can check that out right here. Smash that like button
if you liked this video and be sure to subscribe to this channel if you haven't already because I post writing videos
every single Wednesday, and I would love to have
you here in the community. Also, be sure to check out my Patreon because that's where we go beyond videos and take storytelling to the next level. The Patreon community is not
only the best way to support what I'm doing here on YouTube, but it's also the only way
to connect one-on-one with me and get better guidance
and advice on your story. So, go to patreon.com/AbbieEmmons
and check out all the awesome exclusive content I have over there for you. Until next week, my friend, rock on. You can't laugh. This is serious. (clears throat) (laughs) I'm sorry, it's just, I laugh every time I think about "Tomorrowland"
because it was such a horrible movie. I don't know if I should laugh or cry because it's two hours of my
life I will never get back. I'm about to obliterate
the magic of Disney. (laughs) Oh my God, I can't stop, okay.
