Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan >>Nobody has yet commented on my "Jaws" example of how two parents could play off each other both dramatically and humorously in a storyline. Just because Hollywood only does one type of plotting, doesn't mean it wrong to try something well thought out and different once in a while.<< I'll take the bait -- pun intended : ) In the opening sequence of Jaws, we witness a horrific shark attack. We as audience members don't know when the shark will return. There is a nervous edge to the scene you mention -- as Brody's kids are sitting in the boat, we're thinking "Get them OUT of there!" (Not that it matters to this conversation, but you also have the scene a bit backwards. Brody is the one who doesn't want the kids in the boat -- remember, he is the one who is deathly afraid of water even BEFORE all the shark business begins. His wife tells him to relax, let kids be kids, until she glances at the book and sees the painting of the shark popping through the bottom of a boat. Then she screeches "Did you boys hear your father!?") The reason Jaws works so well is because we find out right away that there is a very real, unseen threat in that water, waiting to gobble up its next victim. There is a lot of dark humor in Jaws, made all the more effective because it balances off the graphic violence of the various attacks. I suppose they could have shown other fish getting attacked rather than Marlin's family to illustrate the danger and build the story's presence. But the struggle between Nemo, who is sick of being protected and Marlin, who fears for his son at every moment, is different in many ways from other Disney FA fare. Different, and entertaining enough, that we can overlook the plot device of "killing off the mother." 101 Dalmatians did exactly what you are saying should be done. Both parents struggle to save their pups. I think what you are suggesting (a couple who both work together to find their son) could certainly work, but it, too, has been done before. And back to your example of "Jaws" -- I think the movie would have been much less successful or exciting if Mr. and Mrs. Brody had gone after the shark. Poltergeist might be a better example -- both parents working together to save their family. Yeah, Nemo could have worked that way, too, but it's such a great film, why quibble over which plot device they might have chosen?
Originally Posted By TomSawyer Maybe Jaws would have been more powerful if Mrs. Brody had been killed by the shark. Maybe it would have raised the stakes for Roy Brody even they were. You'd immediately add levels of anger and revenge and sadness to the hunt with that simple change to the plot.
Originally Posted By JeffG >> "Maybe Jaws would have been more powerful if Mrs. Brody had been killed by the shark. Maybe it would have raised the stakes for Roy Brody even they were." << Even more importantly, it might have prevented the making of "Jaws 4: The Revenge"... -Jeff
Originally Posted By coral_barks Just to knock the nest here, I only count about 50% of the Disney features incorporating dead/missing parents as a plot premise, and with that I'm being generous. Toy Story, for example, in no way hinges on the parenthood issue (Andy's mother could be divorced, but it doesn't matter to the story), nor really do Aladdin, Little Mermaid, or Beauty and the Beast. So I don't see that Disney is overusing the concept at all. They are using it when it makes sense to do so, and varying it as the story demands.
