Intro
I am going to start a new series, going into the twelve character archetypes and giving some Disney Characters as examples.
I will be starting with the Hero Archetype. If you hear this for the first time, you might be thinking: "That's easy, the hero type is just the main character of the story. The main character is the hero." But it's not really that simple. Your main character might be the hero of the story, but that doesn't make them have a hero character archetype.
So let's dive into this and see what this actually means!
Disclaimer: Take the character archetypes with a grain of salt. They are fun, yes. But there aren't only 12 character types. You can use them as a base or your characters add extra character traits or dept. You can even combine archetypes. Perhaps your character falls into two or more categories. Either way, when you want to create a characters, these are a good base, but add dept with different things.
What is the Hero Archetype?
Though the main character often has the hero archetype, it is not as simple as that. The hero archetype wants to save the world, ready to make sacrifices to help others, instead of themselves. These characters are often natural leaders, the ones that others look to in a time of crisis. They have courage and determination, prepared to take on any challenge and inspire those around them.
Character Strengths
- Confidence: They are confident that they are able to lead and save the world, though sometimes their confidence could go to their heads.
- Talent: They often have some talent that makes them special, or just something that could make them a good hero or leader.
- Physical or mental strength: They could be very strong, but that doesn't have to be their specialty. Sometimes mental strength is what makes them hero material or leaders. Perhaps they can strategize really well, or they are street smart and know more than the average person.
- Courage: They show a lot of courage. This could be displayed by going into unknown territory before telling the others the coast is clear. Or perhaps showing no hesitation to save a complete stranger from an attack. Even standing up to a bully I think could be considered for this. Showing bravery doesn't just mean "kill the villain" or "Slay the dragon".
- Determination: They have a goal, and they will not stop until they have achieved it.
- Leadership: They can show good leadership, even when they are not the main character. They could gather allies and collect an army for the actual main character. Or come up with a plan to defeat the villain and save the world.
Character Weaknesses
- Egotism: Sometimes a character WANTS to be the hero, and they might be, but they have a huge ego. Because they are like a hero, they could end up thinking that they are better than others. Maybe they even think they can do it all on their own (I can think one character at the top of my head)
- Over-confidence: Perhaps throughout the story they are, or become a bit too over-confident and go into things far too quickly without thinking cautiously.
- Blinded by their own sense of justice: They want the world saved. They want a criminal behind bars... They will do anything to do what they have set their mind too, and they can get blinded. They could unknowingly become bad too, even if their intentions are good.
Disney Character Examples
Now that we have established the strengths and weaknesses of a hero archetype, you'll notice that the hero of a story is not always this archetype. It is often tied to it, but not always. The following list are a few of my examples of who I think is a hero type.
Hercules (Hercules)
Alright, this is a very obvious and easy one, since the story is literally about him becoming a hero, but I will go briefly into his character anyway.
Since he's a god, he obviously has supernatural strength. He already has that as a baby, and it only gets more as he gets older. He doesn't start off as a hero though. He doesn't even want to be a hero, but wants to be normal. But when he finds out he came from the gods, and has to become a god to go back to Olympus, he is very determined and goes of on his journey. Even when Phil rejects him and doesn't want to help him at first, he shows him what he can do and doesn't take no for an answer.
You could say that he becomes over-confident near the end of the movie, especially when he has the fight with Phil about Meg. He is too busy training and doesn't actually want to listen. He ends up saying he doesn't need Phil, even though he does.
Other than that, he shows a lot of courage, especially when he has to fight the hydra. He could have ran away, but he refused too and continued to fight it, even when there were hundreds of heads. That was his first win, and also his path into becoming a hero.
Maui (Moana)
He's a demigod, having done a lot for the people on earth, because he really wanted to be a hero. He does everything to get approval from them, even stealing the heart of tefiti. He has a huge ego, thinking everyone loves him and everyone is his biggest fan. So this ties in perfectly to the hero archetype. He wants to be a hero, but he has an inflated ego, and not everyone loves him as much as he thinks they do.
Gaston (Beauty And The Beast)
Surprised to see a villain character on this list? Please hear me out on this one.
Gaston literally is the town hero. Everyone loves him. He has a huge ego and is over-confident because everyone praises him. He thinks Belle loves him and will want to marry him because of his big ego and over-confidence.
He is also very determined and to be fair, he also shows courage by the end of the movie when you think about it. Like, there is a beast in a castle nearby and he looks dangerous, even though Belle tells him he is not. Though he is blinded by his own sense of justice he shows leadership telling the rest of the village not to be afraid and come with him. Yes, a big part of it is because he wants to marry Belle and she chooses a beast over him, but I would consider he also feels like he is saving the town from a dangerous monster.
Hiro (Big Hero Six)
After his brother died, Hiro stays alone with the robot that was meant to help a lot of people. Though Tadashi made him simply a health care robot, Hiro took it a step further, wanting to fight crime and making the world a better place.
While he is not very strong, he does have a lot of mental strength. He is smart and skipped a few classes, making him one of those special kids. By the end of the movie he is blinded by his own sense of justice because he finds out the reason for his brother's death was because the antagonist caused the fire and set his own death in scene.
When the movie ends, he is literally part of a group of super heroes, fighting crime and making the world a better place. Technically honoring his brother's dreams to help a lot of people.
Conclusion
So, this was the first in the series of the 12 archetypes analysis, and I hope you like it and learned something from it. Do you agree with my picks? Are there any characters you think should be on this list? Let me know why, I would love to hear what you think. If you are wondering if a certain character fits into this archetype, feel free to ask!
----
No comments:
Post a Comment