Task A1 - Todorov's narrative structure

Todorov's narrative structure - 'The Lion King'

'The Lion King' is a Disney movie and a lot of Disney movies follow this conventional of Todorov's narrative structure. There's normally an orphan child and a sinister character who wants to ruin everything, however it does usually have a happy ending.

The first stage of Todorov's narrative structure is the equilibrium, this is when there is normality and calmness. This helps to set the pace of the movie from the start which makes the audience feel as if it is going to be a relax film and nothing bad will happen. At the beginning of 'The Lion King' Simba is shown to be a spoilt lion cub who isn't appreciative of everyday life, he is very loved by his friends and family around him and is excited to become 'King of the land'. The audience may feel as if Simba is just a child and doesn't understand the importance and reality of life. However, some of the audience may understand that Simba is the only child which means that he is spoiled so much as his parents could just want to give him as much as they can before he grows up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ij-vIh3gBPw

Then there's the disruption of the movie, which is when something disrupts the normality of the story line. This makes the audience feel as if that there isn't going to be happy ending, Simba finds out the his father Mufasa has been killed and feels as if it is his fault even though it's not. It's Scar's who suggests that he should flee the land which makes the audience feel sympathy for Simba as he is been taking advantage of by Scar because he is jealous and wants to become 'King of the land'. The audience perhaps is also angry at Scar for taking advantage of his family member at such a vulnerable moment, especially when he caused the loss of current King Mufasa.

Moving onto the recognition, this is when a character realises there's a crisis which makes the audience feel hope that something good may come out of the film. During 'The Lion King' after time has passed when Simba has flee'd, Nala (Simba's best friend) tracks down Simba and informs him that the land has been ruined by Scar. Therefore, he must return home to save his family and friends which makes the audience feel as if because Simba is much more grown up that he maybe much more responsible and understand the importance of helping his land.

There's an attempt to then repair the disruption by the hero, which makes the audience feel as if there's more progress of getting the happy ending that his family deserves. Simba then returns to island and discovers that it was Scar who killed his father Mufasa which leads to a between the two lions and Scar dies. This makes the audience feel proud of Simba because he has defended his father title, however the audience may also sympathy for Scar because he has just died and death shouldn't be wished upon anyone.

Then finally the new equilibrium is portrayed and this is when there's a reinstatement of the equilibrium, which is expected by the audience as it portrays the happy ending every Disney movie has at the end. Simba then becomes the King he was suppose to, but this time he is more humble and appreciative of everything that he has. This makes the audience feel ecstatic and proud for Simba because he has matured a lot since the beginning of the film. Also, delighted that he is able to go home and take his position as King since his father has died. 

This is also a convention in other Disney movies, such as 'Frozen' and 'The Jungle Book'. In 'Frozen' at the beginning the two orphans are shown to be very close with one another which represents the equilibrium as Anna asks 'Do you wanna build a snowman?'. Then the disruption occurs when Elsa accidentally ice spikes at Anna's coronation as she is unable to control these unexpected powers of hers. The kingdom turns into an ice town during summer and Anna is determined to find Elsa after she decides to run away which is the recognition stage. An attempt to repair the disruption occurs, and Anna is sacrificed in an attempt to save Elsa from Harn and the new equilibrium is when Elsa returns to the land to restore the world of the cold, and its natural climate.