Visual Story – EXSM 3989 – Digital Storytelling Class Blog

A Lifelong Love of Gargoyles

Growing up, my mother was big on introducing me to shows she watched as a child, which were primarily shows produced by Disney. One that has stuck with me from a young age was Disney’s Gargoyles, an animated show not normal for Disney in that time, the 90’s. It had complex storytelling, darker themes and would be considered a melodrama. I think the first time I watched it, I was in elementary school, I might’ve been as young as 8 or 9 when my mother introduced me to the show.

Even now, at 20 years old, I’ll go back and rewatch episodes of Gargoyles now that it’s available 24/7 on Disney+. It’s a show I’ve grown to immensely love and want to delve into deeper if given the chance, something I’d absolutely write an entire essay on if I was allowed. The show had on-going character development over the course of the four years it was aired, 1994-97.

The show’s darker themes and continuous storylines was probably what drew me in. I enjoy shows that aren’t episodic with its storytelling, like normal kids cartoons meant to keep children’s attention for the standard 15-20 minutes. The show would keep continuity from the first episode all the way to the end of season two. It ran for 65 episodes, plus a 13 episode third season that is not considered to be part of the main continuity, both by fans and the creator, Greg Weisman.

Overall the show is something I happily recommend to those looking for something new, or maybe even reminding people who have seen it before that it exists, prompting them to rewatch it like it’s brand new to them. It has dark themes and lots of tie-ins to Shakespeare works, giving interesting world building. I continuously rewatch it, probably having more than a few episodes subconsciously memorized at this point, and I’m happy to have it easily accessible so I can watch it now that I can fully comprehend the topics and overall story. The creator has even gone on to currently continue the series with comics, working more on the storytelling and happily showing more of what he wanted to do with the original series.

Gargoyles tells stories of the nocturnal, titular species, gargoyles, showing them grow accustomed to ‘modern day’, at least at time of first release it was. They were originally from 994, living in a castle in Scotland, before being forced to sleep in stone for a thousand years. ‘Modern day’ is referring to 1994, the year they awoke from their spell. It’s then, in Manhattan, that they must adapt to all the new technology and human customs in order to keep their clan alive. The show goes on to follow them in 1994, while occasionally diving back into the past either before 994 or in the thousand years of sleep, showing other characters’ backstories and how they came to still be alive and kicking in 1994. The episodes are full of brilliant ways to give children life lessons you’d traditionally find in other kids shows, though the show is more straightforward and doesn’t hide behind needing to censor everything to make sure it’s appropriate for young children to see.

We get to learn about and befriend all the characters we’re meant to learn to love, and we follow the characters through betrayals, losses and across-the-world adventures. The show gives us characters we’re meant to hate, but then learn why they act the way they do, and that they weren’t always the villain, now acting out of fear and self-hate for what they did in the past.

The show is a beautiful example of amazing, long term, storytelling, giving us reasons to pity the villains, love the heroes, and even give us chances to disagree with the characters we love the most. Practically every character ends up written so wonderfully that it’s clear any character flaws are meant to be a normal flaw you’d find in a person you’d meet every day.

I enjoy Shakespeare probably a little more than the average 20 year old, not a crazy amount, but just a slightly above average love that originated from Gargoyles. It used characters like Macbeth, Puck, Oberon and many more from Shakespeare’s works. It had characters use the same names and mirror the love triangle from the play Othello. The use of his works in Gargoyles made me interested in reading the actual plays, and I always get excited when it’s brought up in conversation.

I think the show is a wonderful example of storytelling and giving life lessons, not being afraid to delve into darker themes while still retaining its rating of TV-Y7. I’ll always recommend it to people and love hearing people get back to me after they’ve watched a few episodes and tell me their opinions!

Uncle Ben said it best…

With great power, comes great responsibility. Even to this day, those words spoken famously by Uncle Ben to his nephew Peter Parker, send chills down my spine. It is a quote forever marked in time. The story of Peter Parker, AKA Spider-Man will be forever marked in time. It has been classified as good storytelling since its inception by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko in August 1962.

The story has evolved over time, from comics to tv shows, to numerous franchise movie reboots. Some done better than others (*Cough* Tom Holland *Cough*).

But most recently, Sony Pictures created a newly animated Spider-Man story that follows a young New York teenager named Miles Morales in the movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and this story has inspired a new and great storytelling platform for Spider-Man.

This story still has the fundamentals that make Spider-Man good, the unlikely hero we love and cheer for. Good vs. evil, the witty loveable supporting characters, the struggle to triumph journey. But what sets Into the Spider-Verse apart? It’s the visual storytelling.

The colours, the animation, and the digital design all draw you in because it is new and exciting. Something we have not seen done before.

Let’s dive deep into how visual storytelling is setting itself apart and why it’s paving the way for new ideas.

The unique modern-day comic book design hits the nostalgia button for all comic book readers, which still includes action and thought bubbles. The colours are bright and vibrant, which is shown off in the spray paint art Miles does at the beginning of the film, or the portals that open between different multiverse. You can’t help but have your eyes drawn in by it all.

But the most intriguing aspect of the movie is the frames per second (FPS). When you first watch the movie as Miles learns about his powers and starts his journey to becoming Spider-Man, he is displayed as clumsy, awkward, and lacking confidence in the way he moves. Compared to Peter Parker, who is teaching Miles the ropes of being Spider-Man, who moves smoothly, and effortlessly across the screen. Typically, in animation, this is hard to show. Animators would have to use incidents, like dumping into things, falling down, etc. This conveys to our brain that the character is indeed, clumsy.

But as you watch Miles, his walking, running, and swinging just seems…wrong. This is where it gets interesting, and where Sony has stepped up visual storytelling. The movie and characters were filmed at a 24 fps for Into the Spider-Verse.

Watch how Peter Parker swings verses how Miles Morales swings…

But, Miles, at the beginning, was filmed at 12 fps compared the 24 fps around him. This creates a message to our brain, that something is off, that he seems to be slower and clumpier. As Miles becomes more confident as Spider-Man, Sony began to increase the fps on Miles until the end when he is finally at 24 fps with the rest of the film and easily glides across the screen. Pretty cool huh! This small attention to detail has set this film apart from other visual storytelling. It has become one of the most beloved Spider-Man movies to date.

Visual storytelling allows us to create these magical worlds and scenarios that seem impossible and fantastical. But when you take that storytelling outside of the box, like filming at different frames per second, the storytelling is taken to a whole new level.

For me, the story, the animation, and the characters have made Spider-Man: Intro the Spider-Verse one of my favorite stories, and it will continue to be for a very long time.