Reflection on how far the hero’s journey is completed

Whilst Batman can be described as not a ‘typical hero’ due to his controversial decisions, he does complete a hero’s journey during The Dark Knight. During The Dark Knight Batman has to overcome his clever villain, The Joker, who throughout the film continues to surprise him. After The Joker robs the bank, Lucius Fox assists Batman by helping him make new equipment due to his call to adventure. Batman then continues his journey whilst The Joker tries to kill the commissioner and then storms the party. Batman then hits the crisis of his journey when Rachel is killed as The Joker forces him to choose whether to save Rachel or Dent. The treasure of his journey is when The Joker is caught however this soon becomes a catastrophe when The Joker corrupts Dent and he becomes two-faced. Batman’s new life during his journey is when he flees Gotham City in order to do what the city needs. During the resolution Batman is perceived as the villain and is disgraced.

We created a story mountain of the Pixar movie ‘Finding Nemo’ in order to understand the narrative analysis. The film consists of three main acts and five stages which convey the key themes and messages.

In Act 1 the audience is introduced to the main protagonists Nemo and Marlin. In the set up we learn that Marlin is an overprotective father as Nemo is the only egg that survives the attack and is left with some disability.

During the disruption, which takes place in between Act 1 and 2, Nemo gets captured by a scuba diver when he ignores Marlin’s instruction to stay away from the boat. After being caught Marlin goes into a frenzy whilst Nemo is put in a fish tank at a dentists. At first Nemo is afraid of the other fish in the tank but soon realises they are friendly.

In Act 2 during the climax the other fish, especially Gill, help Nemo escape by being flushed down the drain. This allows him to get back into the ocean and is luckily found by Dory who met Marlin whilst he was searching for Nemo. With the help of Dory Nemo and Marlin have a joyous reunion. However this is cut short when the other fish flag that there is a big fish net scooping up the fish.

Unfortunately Dory is trapped in the net alongside the other fish. Nemo, who is desperate to save his new friend, realises that he is able to save her with his genius plan of telling the fish to swim down. He insists to his dad that he needs to go back into the net to inform all the fish of his plan. Marlin, who has grown as a character throughout the film, realises he has to let Nemo go and to support him. As Marlin chants ‘Keep swimming, keep swimming, keep swimming’ the fish all work together causing the net to break free. This means that Nemo’s plan saved all the fish. This sequence causes the revelation to take place. Marlin realises that Nemo has grown into an independent, intelligent and caring fish who no longer needs his dad to hold his hand.

In Act 3, the denouement takes place. The themes of independence, nature and a father-son relationship are conveyed. Marlin, Nemo and Dory return home and life continues for the better. Their father-son relationship is restored and even stronger than before as Marlin allows Nemo to happily go off to school without being strict or worried.

In this presentation we analyse the narrative features such as the structure, character functions, themes and conflicts in the film ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’. It gives a good understanding on the particular choices Del Toro chose and his style. In addition it helps us to grasp the meaning behind the context and what the themes symbolise as well as signify.