Rambles, Musings, and Other Attempts of Writing

A Quick Film Theory Lesson: Cartoon Edition

An alternate version of "A Quick Film Theory Lesson" for those of you who made the wise decision not to read it in fear of spoilers. Your strength has been rewarded.

This chapter contains spoilers for the Star Vs the Forces of Evil season one finale, Over the Garden Wall, and Gravity Falls.

In films, especially in battle/confrontation scenes, the direction of which the characters are facing and moving in matters. There's a common rule used in filmmaking that teaches why it matters and how the direction of the characters are being portrayed facing matters. While this rule isn't always used by everyone, this does apply to movies and other visual arts most of the time.

In Western culture, we read right to left, so subconsciously, that's the way our eyes always want to look. It's easier for us that way. So when a character on screen is moving from left to right, it's because that character is the protagonist or because that character is the more powerful one. Sometimes, it's for both reasons.

In the Star Vs the Forces of Evil episode "Storm the Castle", when Star enters Ludo's castle to face off with Toffee and free Marco, she comes in running from left to the right. In the beginning of her fight against the monsters, most of her movements continue to be left to right, until the audience realizes that the odds are not in her favor. Once Star realizes that she cannot destroy Marco's prison and she jumps on the table to offer Toffee her wand, their positions switch with Star standing on the right and facing left and Toffee sitting on the left and facing right. In that moment, Toffee has leverage over the Mewian princess and therefore is the more powerful one. (As a side note, when Ludo jumps on to the table to attempt to grab the wand out of nowhere, he also appears coming from the right, showing that he isn't a threat at the moment. Toffee, on the left of the screen, is the threat.)

Another example of this can be found in Over the Garden Wall. In the last episode where the Beast appears to Wirt when he is holding the lantern and is attempting to free Greg, the Beast stands on the right of the screen facing left. Wirt is on the left, and when he faces the Beast, he is facing right. Despite the Beast's seemingly powerful darkness, Wirt has the advantage over him since he holds the lantern, even though he doesn't realize it at first. He's the more powerful one in the situation, and the Beast knows it.

Sometimes, this screen direction rule is flipped to be used in an equally powerful way, like in both season finales for Gravity Falls. During the robot fight scene where Gideon is about to walk off with Mabel captured and Dipper left behind, Dipper jumps off the cliff towards Gideon's robot. This jump goes from right to left, and during the entirety of the two boys' fight inside of the robot, Gideon is always on the left and Dipper on the right. With his control over the townspeople, his robot, and his capture of Mabel, Gideon is the more powerful one between the two, and yet Dipper, who has been left with practically nothing, still prevails.

When Bill enters Grunkle Stan's mind in "Weirdmageddon 3: Take Back the Falls", he stays on the left of the screen while Stan is on the right. Just like with Gideon and Dipper at the end of Season One, Bill is the more powerful one in the situation. At least, he thinks he is, but at the end of this segment, Stanley Pines, the man who had been kicked down by his own family and told all his life that he wouldn't amount to anything, is the one to defeat the all-powerful dream demon.

So that was a quick film theory lesson from your girl Emerald. I hope that was somewhat cohesive and educational! Feel free to ask more questions if you have any, and if you spot any more examples of this, please tell me!