In the world, there exists only a finite number of stories
to tell. When people cry out that most
stories that they hear of are unoriginal, they are right. With the limited amount of stories, it is
impossible to be original. But these
people are also wrong at the same time.
The originality of a story does not come from the core concept. Originality in storytelling comes from how a
tale is told. The flourishes that a
storyteller brings to the material can help to make it different from what came
before. Therefore, while a limited
amount of stories exist, originality still exists through how stories are told.
Take Shakespeare for example. He is one of the most well-known storytellers
in recorded history. He wrote numerous
plays, one of the most famous being a simple tale of love conquering all. That play was titled Romeo and Juliet, and is
the most famous romantic story of all time.
That is for a reason. Shakespeare
knew how to craft the story into something exciting. He knew where to use the love story, and
where to add tragedy. He knew the
perfect mixture of the two to make an old idea seem new again. He brought the originality through the way he
relayed the story to an audience. He put
an original spin upon an unoriginal concept.
He also helped to inspire many generations of storytellers through the
years following the release of Romeo and Juliet.
Where the idea of originality truly becomes interesting is
looking at what Romeo and Juliet has spawned.
Many plays, movies, and novels use Romeo and Juliet as a basis for the
story they are telling. Does this make
them less original? Can West Side Story,
which is heavily based upon Romeo and Juliet, be considered completely original
or completely unoriginal? In terms of
unoriginality, West Side Story is really just a retelling of Romeo and Juliet
in a different setting. Instead of
feuding families, you have gangs. There
are different names for the characters.
There are musical numbers. The
language is different. But it still is
Romeo and Juliet. The story beats are
still the same as in Shakespeare’s classic.
Some people will argue that the changes are enough to give it a fresh
feeling and to add originality to an existing story. I would agree with these people. Though the story is essentially the same, the
changes give it a new look and feel.
West Side Story brings something new to the table. That counts as originality to me.
You’ve probably spent your entire time reading this post so
far thinking something along the lines of “How does this relate to the blog
series?” How does it relate to the
Sunday “Bad” Movie? I’m about to explain
it, though the title probably already does that much for me. The movie for this week’s post is none other
than Jonah: A Veggietales Movie, which is a movie depicting the biblical story
of Jonah, through the use of the Veggietales universe.
As I stated earlier, my opinion of originality is based upon
the context in which the story is told.
If a story is told in the same way as it has been told many times
before, it is less original than a version of the same story told in an
entirely different way. I used
Shakespeare as an example. Let us now
look upon the Bible to determine how original the Veggietales interpretation of
the story of Jonah is. The story of
Jonah goes like this. Jonah is told by
God to go save Nineveh from destruction.
Jonah doesn’t want to and instead books a voyage on a ship going in the
opposite direction. When a storm attacks
the ship, Jonah is dropped overboard.
The storm immediately ends and Jonah is eaten by a great fish
(whale). He survives for three days and
nights before telling God that he will do as is wished. The whale vomits him out, and Jonah goes to
Nineveh to tell them they will be destroyed if they do not change their
ways. Jonah leaves Nineveh and waits
outside to see it destroyed. God does
not destroy the city since the people changed their ways. Jonah questions God and is taught a lesson in
compassion.
In Jonah: A Veggietales Movie, the story of Jonah unfolds on
screen. It is almost exactly what I just
told you the story of Jonah is. The only
differences are that the characters are vegetables instead of humans, some very
small bits of childish humor are added, a few songs are thrown in, and a
bookend with the usual Veggietales characters is added. But the story is the same. It still involved a character named Jonah in
ancient times disobeying God when he is told to go help Nineveh. It’s practically identical to the Biblical
tale. No originality is thrown in. Okay, the minor amount is thrown in to give
it the Veggietales brand. Other than
that, though, there is a massive lack of originality.
Jonah: A Veggietales Movie is the perfect example of a movie
that does not show the originality that can help to make a tale feel new and
fresh again. The story is not told in an
innovative and interesting way. It is
instead told in a derivative way that has been relayed to the population many
times before. The only changes made to
the story were made so that it would be easily digestible for children. There are no unique spins put upon the tale
to give it some sort of new life.
Instead, it’s a plain old retelling made to get children interested in
religion.
As you can see from my description of Jonah: A Veggietales
Movie, there are poor ways to execute original storytelling. That is how this topic fits into the Sunday
“Bad” Movies. There are some great,
original ways to retell a story so that it seems like something new that shares
similarities to a work that came before it.
There are also many bad ways to execute this kind of storytelling. Many bad movies are bad thanks to this method
of telling a story.
In the end, it still all depends on the specific person’s
idea on what originality means. Does it
mean that the entire concept, structure, and story must be new without any hint
of feeling like something that came before it?
Or can it mean a new way of telling an old story? Personal interpretation of originality will
dictate the way that you feel about it.
But you can’t deny that there are different levels of originality and
some films are made more original than others.
The way that a story is told can help to differentiate between these
levels. That’s all I am trying to say
with this post, and I’ll leave you with that.
There are a few notes to make before I leave you for another
week:
- Other animated movies that I have covered include A Car’s Life and Tappy Toes. There was also a large portion of Attack of the Super Monsters that was animated.
- I discussed movies with similar stories in my post for April Fools, way back at post 18 of the Sunday “Bad” Movies.
- A big thanks to @AaronsPs3 for this week’s movie.
- If you have any suggestions for the Sunday “Bad” Movie, the comments are below, or you could go and find me on Twitter. I will consider your choice, and it will be added to my list of potential future movies.
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