El héroe en el cine de animación contemporáneo de principios de siglo XXI

Abstract

El presente trabajo abordará el estudio de los protagonistas de las películas de animación Shrek (Dreamworks, 2001), Gru, mi villano favorito (Universal, 2010) y Brave (Disney-Pixar, 2012), con el fin de identificar aquellas estructuras y características básicas sobre las que se sustenta la historia y la evolución de los protagonistas, en tanto héroes de cada uno de los relatos analizados. El cine es un arte vivo, en constante evolución, que busca incesante nuevas formas de expresión. Sin embargo, bajo estas nuevas formas narrativas, heredadas de la tradición literaria, subyacen estructuras primitivas, muy entroncadas con los relatos míticos, y sobradamente testadas a lo largo de la historia de la humanidad por su efectividad a la hora de transmitir mensajes de generación en generación, desde que el hombre comenzó a transmitir historias alrededor de una hoguera. Así, nuevas formas narrativas y nuevas formas de expresión nacen de la búsqueda incesante de nuevos relatos que, sin abandonar del todo los recursos narrativos existentes, incorporan elementos nuevos para hacerlos atractivos a un público cada vez más moderno y exigente. Este estudio busca la impronta de estas estructuras esenciales en los relatos animados contemporáneos de principios del siglo XXI seleccionados que, a primera vista, quedan muy lejos de las estructuras míticas de las que se nutren...The present work will deal with the study of the main characters of animation films Shrek (Dreamworks, 2001), Despicable me / Gru, mi villano favorito (Universal, 2010) and Brave (Disney-Pixar, 2012), aiming to identify the basic structures and characteristics that support the whole story and main character’s evolution through the films, as each of them are the Hero of the audiovisual texts analyzed. Cinema is a living art, constantly evolving, that incessantly seeks for new ways of expression. However, under the new narrative structures, heritage of literary tradition and narrowly related to mythic stories - well tested along the history of humanity for being very effective to transmit knowledge through different generations, since man started to orally transmit stories around the fire- primitive structures remains. This way, new narrative forms and new ways of expression arise from the constant search for new stories that, without abandoning all the already existing narrative formulas, incorporate some new elements in order to make these stories attractive to an increasingly modern and demanding public. This study seeks the imprint of these essential structures in the selected contemporary animated films from beginning of 21st Century that, at first glance, are far from the mythic structures that feed. Characters are one of the basic pillars on which every narrative is based. Therefore, understanding the way in which they, and especially the main character, are articulated to support the weight of the stories and the ability to convey emotions and messages of all kinds in the so-called information age, it is key for all viewers. In this sense, having a greater and better knowledge about the mechanisms that are involved in film messages addressed, but not only, to kids, it is critical if we consider that in addition to the entertainment that these films bring, they also are, inevitably, a vehicle of moral and social values, in a world in which the audiovisual image is becoming increasingly important...