Children's film questions.

Propp's theory
We don't conform to Vlad's theory as we lack most of the conventional narrative characters, mostly due to the time limitations along side the lack of characters.
The character types we have managed to use in relation to our film are:
Donor - the person who puts the chemicals into the jelly.
Hero - the alien
Dispatchers - the girls who leave the box
Helper - the little alien and possibly the girl who enters at the end, if the story was allowed to progress further.

The narrative structure of our film follows the first two stages of Propp's 'journey' theory.
Preparation - the alien being made from the jelly and chemicals.
Complication - the alien being left on it's own to fend for itself.

It does conform to an extend to Propp's theories, but we didn't have the time to expand it to the length of completion.

Strauss
Human/Non-human
Little/Big

Todorov
Equilibrium - Human world, we haven't heard about the aliens
Disruption - The discussion of the chemicals being put in the jelly
Recognition - We actually see the result of this as the aliens appear.

Questions
1. Does my text have a clear story?
Our story doesn't get much beyond an introduction, so the storyline is still unclear to those who watch it, leaving it open for the audience's imagination.
2. Is the structure linear/non-linear/montage etc?
Linear. The story follows a simple pattern, with no flashbacks. Everything is explained as it goes along.
3. Are there key roles within the narrative?
Our hero character would become the alien, the dispatchers were the girls who left the box behind, the donor is the boy who 'created' the alien by adding chemicals to the jelly, and the helper would become the smaller alien.
4. Is my text structured by cause and affect?
Yes, it is structured by Todorov's theory as we followed the pattern of equilibrium, disruption and recognition. We would have continued this pattern throughout the rest of the film if we were to finish it.
5. What are the audience's expectations of narrative in this genre?
When we first thought about children's films, we immediately thought of animations, as it is a popular format for children's films at the moment due to Disney and Pixar. We think the audience also expect this, especially because of the technological advancements in this area. The general modern narrative expected from a children's film/fairytale uses Todorov, Propp and Struass's theories in conjunction with modern technological advancements, we have followed these theories in our opening to continue with this kind of structure of films.
6. What is the function of narrative for audience's and institutions?
The audience doesn't mind watching the hero in distress because they know it will end happily. However sometimes this can be predictable and films don't always follow this pattern. They may purposefully have a unexpectedly unhappy or unresolved ending to challenge the audience's expectations. However the 'norm' for children's films does follow this theory as children supposedly should not be exposed to the complexity of adult life.