Chapter 5: Pig—The Movie Summary and Analysis

A neophyte director would do well to spend time watching and studying cartoons and animated movies. Animators understand the value of images—everything in the film comes from imagination. Watching cartoons, a director can learn much about choosing shots, telling a story in images and the editing process where cuts are made. "Dumbo" is a perfect movie. It tells the story of an elephant born with ears that are too big making him the target of ridicule. In his journey, Dumbo learns that he is not bad, just different. He learns this through self-discovery, not ear reduction surgery.

The audience has a vested interest in the outcome of a film story. Begun properly by the director (once upon a time), the audience is with the director from the beginning and wants to...